MTB

[Sbc]

There is a massive shortage of new bikes currently and has been for a while and is going to stay that way till the summer. Unfortunately that has pushed the price of used stuff up massively so people are digging out all sorts to sell while the prices are good. If you can avoid the older (once expensive 26" wheeled stuff) used bikes as the bits are getting difficult to get as the spares are running out and being manufactured less.
At 4'8" look for a small framed bike with 27.5" or 29" wheels and make sure the chain and cogs are in good condition as the price for replacement parts are currently at the highest they have been for along time

 

[Ashley Burton]

price for replacement parts are currently at the highest they have been for along time

I disagree!

Parts haven't gone up much, Maybe a little due to B-exit nonsense. But availability is the biggest issue! Suppliers like Madison are running out of alot of popular Shimano products. The main reason is people are fixing up old bikes as they don't want to buy or wait for new ones

 

[Sbc]

As supplise are so low everyone is selling parts at full retail. It was possible to by a basic shimano hg50 8 speed cassette online for £13 which less than trade price. Even if you can find one now they are £23. Madison are quoting end of May and suppliers to are now being given delivery dates of next February for bulk orders.


But my main point was to get something that is good working condition as some parts are harder if not impossible to find.

We have had people that have bought a bike that "only needs a bottom bracket" or "it's just the gear hanger that has snapped " and the bike has been out of action for months.

Plenty of people got bikes in lockdown 1, as that was the only thing people were allowed to do. So as soon as everyone is free again there will be loads of very lightly used nice bikes for sale.

 

[Ashley Burton]

as soon as everyone is free again there will be loads of very lightly used nice bikes for sale.

Definitely!

 

[atomant48]

As supplise are so low everyone is selling parts at full retail. It was possible to by a basic shimano hg50 8 speed cassette online for £13 which less than trade price. Even if you can find one now they are £23. Madison are quoting end of May and suppliers to are now being given delivery dates of next February for bulk orders.


But my main point was to get something that is good working condition as some parts are harder if not impossible to find.

We have had people that have bought a bike that "only needs a bottom bracket" or "it's just the gear hanger that has snapped " and the bike has been out of action for months.

Plenty of people got bikes in lockdown 1, as that was the only thing people were allowed to do. So as soon as everyone is free again there will be loads of very lightly used nice bikes for sale.

Agreed. And trampolines !

 

[marlinspike]

I second the views on used carbon mtb's. Look over the frame very carefully. I have a carbon road bike that I bought used but a road bike will have had far fewer bumps and bangs than an mtb that has been ridden on trails.

There are few bike bargains around at the moment, though stock seems to be coming back into the bigger shops. Don't discount stores like Decathlon and Go Outdoors as they do some good value bikes.

£500 is a lot of money to invest if he is going to be just riding the streets and leaving it locked outside Tesco. If it's for general riding he might do better with a cheaper or used bike. If I'm going to the shops I take my £30 ebay mtb. I wouldn't leave my £200 used carbon bike anywhere as bike theft is huge atm.

 

[cr500dom]

Thanks for the advice,he’s 4’8” tall at 9,so it’s his 10th birthday present in 3 weeks,he wants to put his own £150 towards it.

You`ll be looking for an XS adult frame then, so 14" or 15" max
Mine are 8 and 10 and this year I had to get new bikes for both, which was far from easy.
I got a 26" wheeled junior mtb from CRC for my lad but they were sold out in minutes so couldnt get one for my daughter.

EDIT: this one: https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-nucleus-26-youth-hardtail-bike-2021/rp-prod195902

She didnt want a kids bike any more when my lad was on a bigger bike.
So She started using her mums XS framed 26" MTB
And we then bought Mum a new bike from Paulscycles, small frame and 27.5" wheels as adult bikes were easier to find than junior bikes.
Mum has now lost her Lightweight Reba Race fork and carbon bars upgrade to daughter but everyone is happy and we can at last all ride together.

 

[Farside]

I read that as Motor Torpedo Boat
I'll settle for the Brave Challenger

Brave Challenger – Classic Triple Gas Turbine Ship

bravechallenger.co.uk

Hmm, not much on that site, looks like the boat could be under new ownership, try this instead...

Brave Challenger | National Historic Ships

www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk

Bloody 'ell. Triple gas turbines. You'd need to be a millionaire (as was the case ) to run that.

 

[Wedg1e]

Bloody 'ell. Triple gas turbines. You'd need to be a millionaire (as was the case ) to run that.

It used to be moored at Gunwharf Quays at Portsmouth; last time I looked on Google Earth it was alongside in a marina in Southampton, but apparently it wasn't getting much love. I saw it being towed across from Gunwharf to the Gosport marina once, a little alloy dory with its stern almost underwater pulling the Challenger Could never get close enough to talk to the guy on deck about it, but then someone told me what it was and I found it has several mentions on the internet. As I recall it was once clocked doing 60kts across the English Channel - in the 1960s I think. Spendy, as you say
When I saw it I instantly thought of the Vosper MTB and it turns out it was built by them on a MTB hull: it wasn't a conversion but some rich guy's toy.