I would like a little bit of advice regauding which mountain bike to for, if any?
I only in intend using once during the week after work and at weekends.

I would only bee going out to ladybower and riverlin area with the odd dirt track.
i`m looking at a claud butler alpha D2 normal rrp £350 down to £250.
Is this a good deal please help.

i love mountain bikes and take a great interest in them so ill advise accordingly with your budget i was looking at buying a bike a few year back and i went to rother valley and they had a mongoose mtb cant remember the exact model but ill find it for you anyway i had a look at the components of it ie wheels, crank, etc and it was a decent enough spec when i looked into it the price was £189 brand new not bad at all mongoose is a good make and the bike was a pure dream to ride.

option 1
RST Omega T7. With preload adjustment and 100mm travelShimano Alivio 24 speed with STI shifters.

option 2
Suntour XCR-LO. Includes preload adjust, lock out and 100mm travel.
Shimano Deore 27 speed STI “pod”shifters and Quad brake levers

is there much diffrance between these folks and gears, but the bottom set are £140 more.

Hi Gav,

I was in your same position about a year ago when I first got into mountain biking and was unsure as to what bike to buy. There's so many to choose from out there that knowing which bike to get can get abit confusing.

The Claud Butler bike you mentioned sounds ok for the price your willing to pay. Basically its a very, very entry level mountain bike that will get you round the easier trails and see you right on the roads. If like you say, your only planning on doing the odd dirt track twice a week, then yes this bike will be fine for you.

However, as soon as your start riding a couple of times, there's a good chance you'll get into it more and therefore want to go on more demanding, longer trails (theres plenty to choose from around Sheffield), and therefore theres a good chance you'll wish you had spent more money on a better bike. Paying around £150/£200 more will get you a hell of alot better bike (Disk brakes, better forks, lighter frame, etc).

See if your work has a cyle to work sceme. If so then your laughing as you'll be able to get a decent bike for next to nothing.

Hope this helps?

Oh and if your wondering, the bike I ended up getting was a Rockrider 8.1 from Decathlon. £500 - beauty!

discodave21, what do you think to the "claud butler cape wrath d27" ?

try this one much better than the claud http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/felt-q520-mountain-bike-id40181.html

I was told by folks on a number of websites if budget is an easy just buy the best you can afford from Decathlon, their "home brand" ones do the trick.