Mountain Biking - mountain bike for under £500

Hi guys. My name is barry and i am new to the group and hope you guys would help me. I am looking for a mountain bike for under £500, I would like to ask what is the best out there for around that price at this time.

Hope you can help and thanks in advance.:)

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/67259-Please-Read-Before-asking-Question-MTB-FAQ.

No best bike for that price out there. Depends on your riding style and what fits you. Read that sticky I just linked for for more information.

well i had a carrera banshee full suspension 27 speed and for the same speck it would cost around £700. but after getting it nick i can only get one for around £500. And being a heavy rider i just want a bike that does not after a month start making crunchy sound from the crank which for the 5 years having the bamshee never happen. everthing else is a bonus.

Being in the UK you should check out Chainreactioncycles or wiggle. CRC is having some good deals right now if you are the right height. Otherwise try going used. You could also probably get a much better hardtail (if for you suitable) for the money I would think.

Checkout the Raleigh Talus and the Giant Revel.

All depends on what type of riding you do, £500 is the low end of anything which will survive going off road,but it's the sales time, so there is a lot of choice out there if you are happy with 2011 models.

If you can stretch to £599, Halfords has the 2009 Banshee X http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_751801_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

There are plenty of other places to look at, like Pauls Cycles, Winstanley, CRC, Evans & Wiggle.

As with ShimmerFade, getting a hardtail will give you a better bike, but if you are used to riding FS, you may want to stick to that.

For bikes making crunchy sounds from the cranks, that happens, some people can ride for years without wearing kit out, some for weeks, a lot will also depend on were you ride, and how you clean / maintain your bike

At that price range, most bikes from the major brands (Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, Giant, etc.) will be pretty similar. I'd say go out and test ride as many bikes as you can in that price range and come back to us with a list of the ones you like, then maybe we'll be able to help you out a bit more.