hey kona make one of the best cross country bike frames for the money

ive got a kona explosif and its the best bike ive ever owned and ive had a fair few

put the budget up to 300 quid and ya will get a decent old model cycle on sale that will suit ya and last, 200 quid is kids bike money to drive to the football pitch and play post to post

have a look in halfords and tell me what ya see ect and ill tell ya if its to avoid or not , avoid any cycle in halfords with carrera in there as there all shit speced and have the worse brakes in history fitted as standard, oh and dont get cable oporated disc's, the v brakes are better than the cable jobbys

speak top boxer as he works with em and a few here use em every day, dave hinde is a nice FRAME to buy but thats all ya gonna get and it will be a tad over 200 quid too

konas are abit pricy compared to GT, marin, trek btw but people will pay the price for em, i payed 700 for my explosive frame a few years ago but it is the bollocks