Hey guys,

I have looked at previous threads to find where I can get a decent mountain bike. Xiaong brothers have come up a lot but from what I can understand they sell pretty high-end stuff.

Does anyone have any suggestions about where to find a mountain bike that won't break the bank? Thanks in advance.

I suppose the two big questions are, what are you going to do with it and what is your budget?

Will it be mostly commuting, or road riding, with some soft-roading? Will it be riding around in the hills on dirt tracks? Will there be furious downhill riding?

Basically just to commute around town. I would get a road bike but there are some serious potholes here. I don't really know, maybe 2000 max? I don't mind paying a bit as long as it doesn't fall apart on me.

You will get a nice bike for around 2,000 try joining a wechat group of cyclists they will know good places to find one

Note that the town is pretty flat, you don't really need a Y2000 bike for the town. However, if you want to head out into hills and countryside it would be a good idea.

Well if I can find something cheaper thay works then I am happy with that. Do you know any stores in town?

Here are two in classifieds. www.gokunming.com/[...] Don't know the brand.

And
www.gokunming.com/en/classifieds/item/58974/misc-for-sale

690 rmb. This is a Merida, which is an OK German brand. I have been abusing my Merida (different model) for over 5 years now.
Both these should be suitable for daily commuting, bumping down kerbs, and pot holes. Much cheaper, you can use the extra money for something else.

It depends on how you define "mountain bike". A lot of people these days claim only the downhill bikes with high end suspension forks are the "real" mountain bikes, which is nonsense of course. I'll assume you just want a bike that can ride on trails.

It also depends on how you define "decent". I consider decent to be something with a cleanly welded frame, and a mid-level groupset such as Shimano Altus, Acera or Alivio. If you cheap out and get a bike with low end components (like Tourney or even lower), the springs and mechanisms will rust or wear out quickly, or require constant tuning. In my opinion, if you buy new you won't get anything decent for less than 1200RMB unless you are really lucky.

My personal recommendation is to buy second hand. Depreciation on bikes is astronomical. 700 will get you a well equipped second hand bike that cost 2000+ when new. Normally the best way you can get these is from other foreigners who are leaving China, but I've also seen some pretty good deals in bike shops. Don't worry about some minor scratches as long as everything works. Just spend 100-200 more to get new tires and brakepads, and you're good.

BTW is Merida German? I was pretty sure it was Taiwanese.

Agree with Anonymous, though I don't see why you'd need to wait for a foreigner to leave china or whether you need a bike for trails: buy secondhand, too many useful things get junked, too many new things uselessly produced.

There used to be a great shop beside BaoZhu Si hill but it got demolished and moved if you find em can get a good bike second hand 650-1000