# Beginner Rider Looking for the Best Mountain Bike for $300



## jasonelmore (Apr 8, 2014)

I used to ride bikes a lot when i was a kid, and i live near a lake now, with tons of trails and beautiful scenery.

I'm wanting to get the Best Mountain Bike for around $300. Yeah i know thats not much money to work with, but its all i got until i decide if this is going to be a big hobby of mine.

I'm mainly doing it for the exercise and scenery. 

So far i've found one on Amazon, The Schwinn Protocol 1.0.

I know people say stay away from big box store bikes, but this one looks decent. It has a thumb shifter which i like, and shimano gears i think.

There arent really any shops in my area, the nearest one is about 1 hour away but i'm willing to travel if i can find a good deal.

What would you guys recommend? I'm 5"10 220lbs.

Thanks


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## ser jameson (Jun 24, 2012)

In before Yoda attempts to sell you a Marin. 

For 300 bucks, your best bet is a used bike that fits. Check craigs list, you can copy and paste the ads here for advice if you want. Good luck.


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## Clicker1 (May 29, 2012)

Save your money and spring for something around $500-600. Tough finding a decent 20-inch bike for $300 these days, much less a mountain bike with gears.


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## jasonelmore (Apr 8, 2014)

Clicker1 said:


> Save your money and spring for something around $500-600. Tough finding a decent 20-inch bike for $300 these days, much less a mountain bike with gears.


Why you think 20" is a good size? My height? Sorry I'm new.

so you wouldn't recommend the protocol 1 at all?

Amazon.com: Schwinn Protocol 1.0 Men's Dual-Suspension Mountain Bike (26-Inch Wheels, Red): Sports & Outdoors

Regarding craigslist, I'm in a small town, in Kentucky, Louisville is about 2 hours away and I looked this morning, and their wasn't much. They were either $1500 or $90. Nothing much in between


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## Burt4x4 (Feb 21, 2013)

Get a coffee can and start saving more $$
If you double your budjet you can get a great recreational MTB that will work well.
If you end up with a heavy clunker that doesn't perform well you will be looking to buy a motorcyle instead as you experiance may not be so great. Better bikes are eaisier to ride..smoother lighter faster all the good stuff you want in a bike!
Oh and get a 29er YYEEEHHAAAA


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## jasonelmore (Apr 8, 2014)

Something like this?

GT Timberline 1.0 29er Mountain Bike - 2014 - Performance Sales Exclusions


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## 70sSanO (Nov 20, 2013)

Well you are in a tough spot. Whatever you do don't get a cheap full suspension (shocks front and rear). Get a hardtail. If I were you I'd buy used. You can find a better bike on eBay if you look hard enough and do the research. There are a ton of threads on what to look for when buying used. A decent early 2000's 26er can be had. Just need to find one that hasn't been ridden much.

John


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## Clicker1 (May 29, 2012)

I was using the 20" (BMX) bike as an example. Not a suggestion.


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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)

What's your height/inseam? Gotta make sure you get something in your size range, most important.

Not sure if any of these are in striking distance of you, but with some negotiating and maybe a little stretch of the budget (and if they're the right size of course, and it doesn't hurt if you're comfortable around tools in general)...any of these would work better than bikes I paid 3X as much for back in the 90's. 

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4413453349.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4385884485.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4411995811.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4371960989.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4365987932.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4399906361.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4371296489.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4408768466.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4393250803.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4391258925.html

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/4399161147.html


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## El Cheap0 (Mar 23, 2013)

Get used, get 26" wheels (more quality for your $), get a hardtail (the squish thing in front only). 

I met a guy at a bike shop to check out his bike so I wouldn't buy a fake piece of trash. It was free too!


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## ou2mame (Apr 23, 2010)

How about bikes direct? 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2


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## beshannon (Oct 14, 2012)

jasonelmore said:


> I used to ride bikes a lot when i was a kid, and i live near a lake now, with tons of trails and beautiful scenery.
> 
> I'm wanting to get the Best Mountain Bike for around $300. Yeah i know thats not much money to work with, but its all i got until i decide if this is going to be a big hobby of mine.
> 
> ...


I recommend you go to the nearest bike shop.

$300 is not going to get you much, you would be better to shop around and save up more money, IMHO


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

These Marin Bobcats on ebay are current deals while they last because they have good quality light weight air forks(4.5lbs.) and good reliable drive components. This will cost you a little more upfront. You will have a trail ready instead of a bikepath only bike.
You save over upgrading the cheaper bike.
2013 Marin Bobcat Trail 29er 19" MTB Hardtail Bike Shimano 9S Hydraulic Disc New | eBay


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## goodmojo (Sep 12, 2011)

jasonelmore said:


> Why you think 20" is a good size? My height? Sorry I'm new.
> 
> so you wouldn't recommend the protocol 1 at all?
> 
> ...


Seems like there are a lot of bikes in between..

This could be a good one. New they go for 900 so you should be able to get it for 300-400 depending on year.

This tassajara, but the fork sucks, could be shot. Maybe 200 and then you can afford to upgrade fork.
2006 Gary Fisher Tassajara

This trek 8000 looks ok, I cant tell what fork it has
Trek 8000 Mountain Bike 17.5 Medium

This marlin could work
17 Inch Gary Fisher Marlin Mountain Bike

Giant Talon 1 29er


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## defleppardsg (Jun 8, 2009)

I saw that one add for the Trek 8000, I did the exact same thing when I was getting into biking and bought a used 8000 for about $400. It was an awesome bike, I definitely recommend it. Super light quick and stout.


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## 70sSanO (Nov 20, 2013)

I bought a hardly used 2001 Trek 8000 for my wife. It was a pretty high end aluminum bike for Trek as the 8500 was their top of the line. XT and LX compnenets are good. If the 8000 in the picture hasn't been abused it is a very nice bike and pretty light at around 26lbs. That Judy Race fork is not bad. I think the bike was originally around $1100 msrp.

Your job is to take theses examples and then go on the web and read the reviews on them. MTBR has a bunch of them. I spent $400 for my wife's bike. I would never even consider a bile like the Schwinn Protocol as it is not even close... in fact it isn't even close the the '93 GT that someone gave me.

John


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## PouyaA (Jun 25, 2014)

jasonelmore said:


> I used to ride bikes a lot when i was a kid, and i live near a lake now, with tons of trails and beautiful scenery.
> 
> I'm wanting to get the Best Mountain Bike for around $300. Yeah i know thats not much money to work with, but its all i got until i decide if this is going to be a big hobby of mine.
> 
> ...


The funny part is how people tell you to save money to get 500 dollar bike.. That's my budget and people tell me to go for $1000, to be honest I can see the difference, go for a used bike, around $300 is hard to find a great bike make sure they are not stolen you can lose your money and your bike -_-. I know brands such as CCM and other big box stores will do what you want but not good enough to be honest. Buy used 300 dollar bike with good forks on it, or you could buy a used one for 100 with bad fork and maybe good brakes and upgrade the fork with 150 and get a disc brake with the other, all of them have to be used though since it's really low budget


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## madonarosy (Aug 1, 2017)

*cheap mtb under 300 dollars*

Finding the best cheap mountain bikes is not an easy task for a newbie like me. I was looking for best mountain bikes under 300 dollars and got this forum from the google search.
I was looking to know about the fact before buying a low budget mountain bike. I got the information from here. You can check also. 
Thanks, everyone for putting your valuable opinion.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

If you would prefer a new bike for around $300:
Merax Finiss 26" 80mm fork, dual disk brakes, hardtail, 33-35 lbs, 3x7 freewheel-based drivetrain. $270-350 depending on the wheel options.

Vilano Ridge 2.0 21 speed (again freewheel), dual disk brakes $299. This comes in 26" and 29" forms. Not sure about the total weight and fork size (I assume 80mm).

Both bikes are essentially replicas of each other. All of the components are at the same level of performance. If you upgrade the brakes to hydraulic later, you'll have a bike that can do light and moderate trails (NOT downhill, jumps, boulders, etc.). I don't want anyone to buy this level of bike and end up in the emergency room lol. For better or worse I appear to be the resident cheap/crap bike aficionado on here. Laugh if you must! BTW if you can somehow scrape up $600 you will get a much better bike but if you can't I understand, times are tough now for a lot of us.


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## redfire07 (Aug 1, 2017)

I have started looking for a bike used as well. I have seen some bikes on Facebook marketplace for what seems to be a decent price. Might be worth checking out in your area.


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## Tim_Wilson (Oct 9, 2017)

What type of MTB you're looking for? Hardtail or Full Suspension? 26", 27.5" OR 29" ? That should be clear. I just find the website by doing a simple search. You can check there if you want

*Best Mountain Bikes Under 300*


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

If patient and you know what you are getting and what to look for, used isn't a bad way to go but as a noob, that seems a lot of contradictions.
If a friend or relative of more bike experience / caliber can help, that's good. They may also be a source for having an extra bike themselves to sell or lend or know others personally that have something to sell.

If you are in the testing stage to ride a bit and see if it is something to pursue with more verve or interest, get a loaner from a friend to use now and then. Within weeks, you may decide it's something you'd be serious about and better off saving a bit more toward the bike budget. Think "bike investment".

Move your idea from $300 to something sale-priced at $600 or $650 . You can get a decent and sturdy bike in that range but anything used for even $200 stands a chance of needing work or parts/service soon into rider-ship ie; More money thrown at it.


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## phantoj (Jul 7, 2009)

Old thread, brought back to life with a bunch of weird spammy postings.


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## White7 (Feb 9, 2015)

wonder how much more money he was able to save in 3 years,,should have enough for a nice HT by now


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

Tim_Wilson said:


> What type of MTB you're looking for? Hardtail or Full Suspension? 26", 27.5" OR 29" ? That should be clear. I just find the website by doing a simple search. You can check there if you want
> 
> *Best Mountain Bikes Under 300*


lol my 26" bike is #1 on there. However, all of those bikes are 3x7's and I assume with freewheels. That in itself is not the end of the world for under $300, but if you can get a 3x8 for the same price then do that...

There was an URSTAR 26" on Amazon that was a 3x8 for $249 and of course now out of stock.

Currently in stock: Vilano Deuce 650B (27.5") Mountain Bike 24 Speed, 17" (frame). I believe the fork is 80mm. $229.00. A total steal. You can upgrade to hydraulic brakes (and stand-alone shifters) for as low as $120, so you'd have a bike that can do trails for $350 total, not including bike ship labor for the brakes/shifters if needed. Make sure to upgrade the front tire too on every bike at this price. I like the Maxxis Minion DHF for $50 but anything 2.35 to 2.50 should be better than the stock tire (as in Kenda Nevegal 2.35, although they are loud as hell on pavement).


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## AK Happy (Jul 22, 2011)

The Sundeal M7 is a 3x9 with hydros for $300, it’s gotta be near the top of the list of $300 bicycles.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

AK Happy said:


> The Sundeal M7 is a 3x9 with hydros for $300, it's gotta be near the top of the list of $300 bicycles.


It's normally $600, on sale for $300. If you don't mind I'm going to post this in the 26" forum.


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## AK Happy (Jul 22, 2011)

richj8990 said:


> It's normally $600, on sale for $300. If you don't mind I'm going to post this in the 26" forum.


I don't mind at all


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