Looking at $500 MTBs, mainly for bike path / urban trail commuting with occasional off road use. I have not owned a MTB before, but rode a lot of BMX as a kid, and still a bit now.
I have been riding to work on an old racer, but after crashing it I am now looking at getting a MTB to replace it. I ride about 25km each way to work and back most days, on bike paths, footpaths, road and sometimes short dirt trails etc. But I also want to have a go at off road riding every now and then (nothing serious).
It seems there are a lot of bikes in this price range, but I have narrowed it down to a few:
Trek 3700 is my first choice. Good brand, decent value bike?
Giant Upland, or Upland SE is 2nd on the list. Seems similar.
A couple of others are the GT Outpost and the Orbea Tuareg.
But I also wonder about other brands like Mongoose, Diamondback, Merida, Progear, Norco, Haro, Optima, etc. They too have bikes in my price range, but are they really as good as my 1st two options?
So what do you think, is the Trek really the pick of the bunch, or is Giant a better brand at this price point or maybe something else?
All help appreciated! Thanks.
I have been riding to work on an old racer, but after crashing it I am now looking at getting a MTB to replace it. I ride about 25km each way to work and back most days, on bike paths, footpaths, road and sometimes short dirt trails etc. But I also want to have a go at off road riding every now and then (nothing serious).
It seems there are a lot of bikes in this price range, but I have narrowed it down to a few:
Trek 3700 is my first choice. Good brand, decent value bike?
Giant Upland, or Upland SE is 2nd on the list. Seems similar.
A couple of others are the GT Outpost and the Orbea Tuareg.
But I also wonder about other brands like Mongoose, Diamondback, Merida, Progear, Norco, Haro, Optima, etc. They too have bikes in my price range, but are they really as good as my 1st two options?
So what do you think, is the Trek really the pick of the bunch, or is Giant a better brand at this price point or maybe something else?
All help appreciated! Thanks.