Dawes XC 2.4 Gents XC bike £319.99 (RRP £550)

Bargain!

Yep hot deal!

You don't live in Canada then ???? ;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/americas/7581764.stm

Seems like a real bargain with those brakes and suspension plus the Dawes names.

I normally ride on roads and grassy tracks (like bridleways) so this type of bike is of no benefit to me, but if I was doing any mud plugging or rough track riding I would buy this, so heat added.

i got a similar sort of bike at the moment 5years old. not sure whether to invest?! this is a good deal but duno!

excellent mid range hardtail mountain bike. the Hayes hydraulic disc brakes give greatstopping power for the money! baring in mind some people *ahem* spend twice this just on a pair of forks, i'd say this is Hot!

for £80 more from halfords gets you a superior frame (GT) but almost the same spec... (and its this years model not 07 like the Dawes)

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...d=-1&source=td

Good deal, especially as you get hydraulic discs here. I personally prefer hydraulic blocks, but I'm not going to take that away from a damned good deal.

Marzocchi make excellent forks, but as mentioned, probably not ideal for jumping around anywhere. Been a while since I looked at forks, but RockShox are usually pretty decent. I recommend Panaracer Fire XC Pro tyres too, providing you take a bike off the tarmac once in a while (nothing too serious, just a good tyre all 'round for me at 2.1)

Seems reasonable for the money but dont get too hung up about the forks. Neither will set the world on fire but OK for general use by most people who would be looking for a bike around this budget.
Hayes brakes are genrally very good and you shouldn't go far wrong with them. I'm <ahem> one of those who would spend more than twice this on a pair of forks, but putting my sensible head on this looks OK for the money. However, I'd still check out Chain Reactions sale and possibly Wiggle.

January sales are usually the best time to buy bikes. in Jan 09 you can get 08 bikes for almost half RRP from the big retailers

It's an "ok" budget bike, but pretty much everything on it is cheap spec, and at 15 kilos it's an absolute porker.
For people just wanting a half decent cheapo bike though, it's ok.

would you reccomend buyin this over a scott aspect 45
for and extra £40

I find a 2.1 just too wide and it gives sooo much rolling resistance. I've got 1.95 wide Michelin XC Dry2's and my bike rolls so much better. For crazy low rolling resistance you should try some 1.75 Michelin Country Rock's. I bought some for the wife but tried them on my bike I can go quite a bit faster on the nice hard packed trail I ride and you don't get the feeling that you're riding with the brakes on when you're on tarmac or concrete but they are definitely not good if it's slippery or if you really want to lean on them when there's any hint of looseness about.

I just like 2.1 for the cornering ability (the Fire XC Pro have some rather decent grip at the angles I sometimes corner). I had 1.9 a few times and while resistance was much less, I nearly lost my front-end a couple of times and on one occasion had a quite nasty accident on tarmac :(