protocoder

Hello,

Please seek your advice. In In New Zealand, which is the brand of Mountain bike to buy, which i use extensively to go around the town, so which it does not tire me up. durable and with in the budget of less than 500 New Zealand Dollars.

My search gave me some results like Specialized, Trek, Jamis, Giant, cannondale, scott, schwin, GT. Please any opinion from you please. I understand, that we also need to buy from really good bike store for a professional assembly. Please can someone advice me.

Regards

CB HI

You should probably up your limit to 6-700 New Zealand Dollars.

Be careful with Schwinn, because some of their bikes are low end, made for sale in large Box stores. The other brands should get you a good bike if you spend at least 550 New Zealand Dollars.

protocoder

Thank you
I would be careful on that. I am getting varied response across spectrum, couple even suggesting to go for old bikes as they are best made for commuting. I guess the range and options are so big that opinion is not in narrow band for me to choose. To go for used old bike of big brand or buy a new one with advised specifications. The specs i am presented for each brand is above my head as i have no clue to measure their standards except for hey is this alloy good or steel? How light is the bike? Can some one help me to look for a minimum of these specs to qualify for effortless hassles free durable commuter bike which can go on steep roads as well.

Thank you in advance

njkayaker

Keeping in mind the caveat about Schwinn, all of those are reasonable brands (and there are others too).

Are you planning on riding on fairly-rough trails? If not, then a mountain bike (with suspension) is overkill.

You might get better answers if you indicate the particular models you like in your budget.

500 New Zealand dollars = 367.4 U.S. dollars. This would be a bit on the low end for bikes in the US. In the US, you can get quite nice front-suspension mountain bikes for about $600+.

See if you can get a line on something from last year.

For LBS (local bike store) brands, the quality/weight will generally be about the same for the same basic price. In the US, it looks like $600 will get you a very-reasonable mountain bike.

You might need low gearing to go up steep hills (mountain bikes do have low gearing) but you don't need a mountain bike to go up steep hills. If you are not riding on trails, a mountain bike isn't what you want because it's going to be relatively heavy.

protocoder

Thank you njkayaker,
Yes i am not going off the road, no dirt trails, no bumps, stunts, speed racing. Yes on road, recreational road biking on the mountains. To me strurdy, effortless, durable bike to go around the city, office is main criteria with weekend trips to mountains on road only. I was referred to Trek 3900, whcih is around 900 dollars New zealand here and so above my budget. The options are Naverra buzz V bike, unfortunately not available in New zealand, made many enquiries but will still pursue.
The closest comes to my budget is Avanti Blade, please can you go through the specs and let me know if this is ok, suggest changes to be made for my requirements so that if you think this bike is okay, alternatively i will continue to explore other bikes. https://www.avantibikes.com/fitness/b...e.aspx?bid=267. At this moment, all i was given quote is 2010 Avanti blade is around New Zealand 600 dollars. Please review the specs and let me know if earlier versions of blade will also be okay with modifications you suggest, the savings will go to my accessories and bike insurance ( lot of bike theft here).

Thanks in Advance.

lil brown bat

A mountain bike isn't the thing for riding on pavement.

The problem with the internet is that people think that they can compare specs and prices (or get someone else to do it) and come up with The Right Bike For Me. That doesn't work. I don't even need to read the specs and I can tell you that that bike is "ok": it's got two wheels and brakes of some kind and a steering system and it's a bike and it'll get you from point A to point B. Are you going to like riding it? Is it going to fit you? How would I know? You need to do some in-person research, by going to dealers and riding the bikes.

njkayaker

If you are not doing trails, you don't need a suspension fork, which adds weight and cost to a bike.

Which particular model were you looking at?

The Avanti Blades look fine on paper but it's not a brand we get up here.

I think the Blade with the 8-speed internal gear hub (IGH) might be more appropriate for flat places but I don't really know what the gear ratios on the IGH turn out to be.

The Blade 2 has the lowest gearing. The brakes look OK but the pads probably aren't (expect to replace them with non-Tektro pads). I recognize most of the components on the Blade 3.0 and Blade 4.0. Based on components, I'd choose the 3 or 4 (but these are more than your budget, I'd guess).

You can also google the components to get an idea of what other people say.

Ideally, you'd be able to get some local advice on particulars.

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I agree with "lil brown bat". You'll get better answers if you ask more specific questions.

The unequivocal thing to learn from this thread is that a mountain bike really isn't what you should be looking at.

protocoder

Thank you all.

Thank you njkayaker, lil brown bat, CB HI and all.

I been to dealers and looked at some models, with no knowledge of bikes i am totally confused by the enormous amounts of brands. I am also looking at used good brands to have a feel. In all likelyhood i will be choosing Avanti Blade ( very basic model) called just blade. Unless otherwise advised. Yes i am finding road bikes difficult to think of holding the handle and managing gears. So flat handle road bike style is my best choice. Keep you informed with a picture.

Many Thanks Cheers