General Cycling Discussion - Seeking advise

Hello dear people.
I am a 20 year old high school student from Iceland and well things like gas prices and my will to get in to better shape have led me to a decision to get a bicycle.
This decision has led me here, you see, currently I ride my "Wheeler proride 900" which is Ok of a bike but his time has come and I need a replacement.
This is where I turn to you for advice.
I have been looking at this bike here http://mountain-bikes.findthebest.com/l/3760/2012-Mongoose-Tyax-Expert
The Mongoose Tyrax Expert 2012
This is exactly the type of bike I am aiming to get.
Because I have no clue what so ever which manufacturers produce best "reliability to price" product I turn to you.
I want to know is this a good deal (in Iceland the price tag is currently 1.200 US dollars on Tyrax Expert). I am prepared to spend this much on a good bike but will not go higher.
Is this bike durable and reliable ?
Are there any better deals around that you could recommend considering the practicality and durability.

Thank you,
and I apologize for my English.

Dreki, do yourself a favor and find a nice old steel hard tail and build your own bike.

You will be well ahead of the game when all is said and done, I promise.:D



Tom

Welcome To Bike Forums, Dreki!


What bicycles are sold nearest you?

I mean...Do you have Trek?....Do you have Giant?....Do you have Specialized?....Do you have Raleigh?...What bikes are sold there in Iceland?


Also...What type of terrain will you be cycling on?...Do you have hills to climb?...Are Surly bikes sold there?

we don't get that model of Mongoose here. But the SRAM shifters should give you years of trouble free service. However if you can find Giant bikes this one should be priced about the same and Giant does make good bikes. http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/rainier.29er.1/9059/48962/
They have a more entry level one as well. http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/revel.w/9060/48963/

But as asked Trek, Specialized, Jamis and several other well known makers offer bikes in that class that have a good reputation for durability.

Dreki, how can they have a good reputation for durability when they have shipped their manufacturing to china?

Their reputation was made when they built steel frames in the US.

Go to retrobike and find yourself a nice Dekerf or something sick for $1200.

A walmart mongoose over this? Come on.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/files/dekerf_127.jpg

Hello again.
Tom
This is a good idea ! But I will need to gather a lot more knowelege about whuch parts to buy before I can get started, I will look into this and thanks.

SlimRider

There are good variability of Jamis and Trek bikes available also Mongoose, few Giant bikes, cannondale and some authors.

Jamis durango 2 or 3 seem nice, I can also get a 30% discount on them
I was also looking on some 29"ers
but the are far too expenseive and only some in my range like
Trek Mamba 29"
and from giant the one of two bikes I found was Giant Talon 2

Terrain is mostly a tarmac, but I like to go off road from time to time.
And well... all you can see in Iceland are hills so you are constantly going up and down...
Thank you for your replies

Mobile 155, thanks I will try to check if I can find more Giants here,

For the type of riding your considering doing you may want to look into cyclocross bikes. They are a nice middle ground between a road bike and a mountain bike. They are more durable than a road bike, have wider clearance for wider tires, and a heavier duty frame and wheelset compared to a road bike. cyclocross bikes are lighter than mountain bikes, can be ridden off road (though not great on true mtb trails) are way faster than mountain bikes on tarmac. for that kind of money you could likely find a good solid cyclocross bike, just something to keep in mind.