Mountain bikes: €300 is enough to get started without wasting money

A decent mountain bike starts at €300, not €2,000

An adult returning to mountain biking after years away is almost always asked the same question before getting advice: do you want a hardtail or full suspension? Nobody starts with what's important. The real cutoff is an awkward figure: under €200, bikes are expensive, and from €300 onwards, you can start finding gear that holds up. Anything above that is another conversation, and not really the one that interests someone who just wants to pedal on Sundays.

Why does a €150 bike end up costing more than a €300 one?

The experience with big-box store bikes is the first warning sign: gears that go out of adjustment on their own, noises as soon as you leave the bike path, and pedaling resistance that can't be explained by weight alone. A €150 bike from a hypermarket like Carrefour won't last on a rocky trail, and whoever buys one ends up fed up within months. Not all Decathlon bikes are the same: there are €120 ones that aren't worth it and €250 ones that do the job, although they come poorly adjusted from the factory and it's advisable to tighten screws in the first 500 kilometers. The range where a hardtail stops being a problem is between €300 and €500. Spanish brands like Orbea or BH are mentioned in the thread as manufacturers of good products.

What does a €2,000 bike give you that a €350 one doesn't?

Weight, smooth gear shifting, hydraulic disc brakes, and fork quality. The list is clear up to that point; what's debatable is how much of it is noticeable. Hydraulic brakes are worth the effort even if they are dispensable, and the improvement in suspension above a certain level is very limited. A recurring paradox: sometimes a cheap wheel is more robust and causes fewer problems than an expensive one. There are jumps that are truly noticeable—from a €150 bike to a Trek for €650, the change is described as significant—and others that are barely noticeable. To start, a hardtail: less maintenance and better for learning. For components, aim for mid-to-high range, like Shimano XT or LX, never the basic ranges.

Second-hand, October, and the calendar hardly anyone checks

A Rockrider 5.2, which originally cost €250, was bought second-hand for €150. The pattern repeats: mountain bikes with a year of use, owners who upgrade before wearing them out, and a parallel market where real bargains appear. The recommendation is to scour second-hand websites and even Cash Converters, where bikes that only gathered dust in a garage end up. And the calendar matters: new models come out in October, sales arrive at the end of summer, and online outlets (Canyon, Radon) are another avenue. Buying in the middle of the season is the worst time price-wise.

MTB or hybrid: the mistake of buying for the gadgets

The hybrid is the aesthetic trap. It has fenders, a rack, and lights, and looks like the ultimate bike. In practice, it can handle dirt paths but isn't made for them: its thin tires cope well on asphalt and bike paths but struggle on gravel, loose sand, and rocks. For the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), the recommendation leans towards the MTB. And watch out for load capacity: a rear rack typically supports a maximum of 25 kilos; those that attach to the seatpost, ten.


The tyranny of the scale and the neighbor's complex

On weekend rides, the 'mine is bigger and fatter' complex appears. €1,000 bikes alongside €250 ones and a twenty-year-old un-suspended bike on 40-kilometer routes, where some participants conclude that the rider, not the frame, makes the difference. Some put it bluntly: we feel inferior if we don't have the best. And others warn the opposite: 17 kilos with a rack, lights, and fenders is a lot, and losing a kilo is more noticeable than shaving grams off the frame.

In the end, the data that throws you off: someone rode nearly 4,000 kilometers in a year—city, road, and goat paths with stones, bumps, puddles, even actual goats—on a cheap-range hybrid. The darn thing held up. The only thing it asked for was a screwdriver in the first 500 kilometers to tighten what the factory left loose.