Top 5 Hardtail Mountain Bikes For Less Than £1,500

Contrary to popular belief, we don’t solely feature £15,000 superbikes here at BikeRadar.
We absolutely love a back-to-basics hardtail that’s cheap to buy yet still capable and a whole lotta fun to ride.
We’ve rounded up five of the best budget mountain bikes around – all for less than £1,500 or dollars.
Which is your favourite? Let us know in the comments!

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:20 Voodoo Bizango Pro
01:48 Calibre Line T3 29
03:36 Whyte 529
05:06 Kona Kahuna
06:13 Specialized Rockhopper Expert

Can I Beat This PRO Enduro Racer? Budget Hardtail Vs $$$ MTB
→ https://youtu.be/Q9vWIEzVV_8

Top 5 2024 Hardtail Mountain Bikes
→ https://youtu.be/L-Qawtdd3Gg

R.I.P Hardtails? Are Full Suspension Bikes Taking Over?
→ https://youtu.be/eBwanpjg8HY

The ONLY Mountain Bike You Need | The Humble Hardtail
→ https://youtu.be/z_xTKw0R9YM

£500 Hardtails Take On Big Mountain Riding! | BikeRadar Diaries
→ https://youtu.be/YcK-m6Lepu8

Gravel Bike Vs. Hardtail Vs. Full-Suspension Mountain Bike
→ https://youtu.be/HyVHEX945Ng

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Contrary to popular belief we don’t just feature 15,000 super bikes here at bike radar we absolutely love a Back to Basics hard tail that’s cheap to buy yet still capable and a whole lot of fun to ride we’ve rounded up five machines we rate as some of the best budget bikes

Around just for you all for less than 1500 quid or Freedom Units Voodoo bizango Pro always shoots towards the top of any budget bike list and for very good reason it’s a bluming excellent Trail Tamer that claimed our budget mountain bike of the Year award in 2023 for under 1,000 you get a bike with brilliant spec modern geometry and upgrade potential the centerpiece is

Without doubt the excellent frame constructed from lightweight aluminium it combines with the components to offer a low for the price overweight of 13.3 Kg on our scales there’s also a tapered head tube 148 by5 mm boost axle spacing and internal routing for a drop of post

All that and solid but not wild geometry with a 66 1/ 12° head angle and 459 mm reach on a size large means the Bango Pro is a blast to ride on the trails even once you step up to harder red- graded runs the excellent Rock shock 35

Gold Fork certainly helps here too with 35 mm stanions adjustable air spring with the option for fitting volume spaces and adjustable rebound damping it’s a brilliant Fork to find on a bike of this price the rest of the spec is dial 2 with top shelf 3C triple compound Maxis tires tubeless ready Wheels

Shimano’s Benchmark duor 12-speed drivetrain and mt400 brakes there really is little to complain about for the £950 price it does like a dropper post out the box but that is more easily sorted than upgrading a fork like you may have to do on some Rivals caliber bikes are a common site

On UK Shores and the line T3 is fun future proof and has great geometry to go with the incredible y reasonable 1,300 price tag or just £1,100 if you buy a go Outdoors member card for just a fiver the brand may have gone quiet during the pandemic but the line and its

Siblings such as the rake are wasting no time putting caliber back on the map the lion t329 may be a budget bike but there is very little to suggest the brand has cut Corners to get the price down the 6061 aluminium frame features a slender top tube which should boost compliance

And speaking of boosting things the rear axle is the commonplace 148 x 12 mm boost standard this is rare to see at this price with many bikes still getting old school quick release skeers it also means the bike can grow with you as you’ll find it easier to pick up

Replacement Wheels should you need them down the line the tapered head tube holds up a 140 mm travel Fork break out to 65 1 12° and that Slinky top tube extends out to give a 450 mm reach on a size medium but it’s not just the frame

That makes the line stand out that 140 mm Fork is an air sprun Rock shcks Recon with a through axle the brakes are shrams four piston guide te’s and you get a proper Trail Ready cockpit as well a dinky 45 mm stem is steered by a wide

780 mm handlebar and you get a Dro a post into the equation as well the only thing that you might pick fault with is the lack of tubeless ready tires but honestly for this price you really can’t complain the wheels are tubeless ready though so it’s an easy upgrade to make

When the stock rubber wears out we thoroughly enjoyed our time on the line T3 when we recently reviewed it cementing its place on our budget heart tail wish list if you want to read that review check out the link down in the Description white bikes has a long history of making Trail Ready hard tailes and the 529 is one of the latest in the family sharing a frame with the more expensive 629 the 529 aims to offer capable geometry teamed with a great value versatile build sporting a rock

Shock Recon RL fork with 120 mm of travel a Shram SX 12-speed drivetrain four piston Tetro brakes a KS dropper post and tubless ready WTB wheels and Maxis tires the 529 has plenty of capable kits to help you get shreddy whites helped to Pioneer One by drive

Trins so it’s no surprise to see the four menion frame is compatible with single chain Rings the frame is constructed from lights but tough 6061 T6 hydroformed aluminium hydroforming means the tubes are shaped using High Press fluid which means they have multiple thicknesses or butting along

Their length but the geometry of a frame is almost as important as how the tubes are shaped if not more so the head angle is 65° while reach on a size large is 467 mm they’re hardly the most out there numbers ever but for a budget bike

Likely to be ridden just as much by novices as more experienced Riders it should strike a nice Middle Ground of stability and userfriendly handling one outlier on the geometry chart is the 450 mm chain STS which are longer than most other Trail orientated for suspension bikes around let alone hard tails that

Usually have relatively short rear ends do you think we’ll see more bikes follow the 529 lead in moving to longer chain stays let us know down in the Comments another brand synonymous with its hardell history is Kona the more expensive Hanzo might be the bike that Hogs the Limelight particularly the wildly slack steel framed ESD model but the cheaper $1,499 or $1,299 Kahuna is still a solid package it might sport the second least Fork

Travel and Ste head angle at 100 mm and an unridable according to the internet 68° respectively but there is still a great bike for hacking around the hills and trails on re reviewed the Kahuna back in 2022 rewarding it four and a half Stars praising its impressive ride quality and excellent drivetrain and

Breaks for the price a rock shock Recon RL solo air fork with a boost do axle leads the we up front while shimano’s Evergreen Dior group set drives you forward seen here in full 12sp speeed guys with a wide range 10 to 51 tooth cassette shimano’s brilliant Budget mt410 Brakes

Slow you down leaving the only glaring hole in the spec is the light of a dropper post and shess ready tires but if you want a non-nonsense hard tail that offers great band for your book The Kona Kahuna could be a great shout the specialized rock copper is a

Stor wart for the brand as the entry model into the range of mountain bikes the rock copper offers a quality frame solid componentry and a huge dealer Network to keep you on track if you have an issue compared to the more Trail orientated bikes here it’s also a great

Started cross country race bike with more traditional geometry and lighter weights compared to the others on this list but all the same The Rock Copper’s A1 buted alloe frame is packed with nice touches like the internal cable routing full length Chase day protection as well as dropper seat post compatibility shr’s

SX Eagle Dry train Powers you forward on the expert model while level brakes are in charge of slowing you down it’s great to see quality wheels and rubber fitted too with hook plus chapless ready wheels and specialized race winning Fast Track rber in tough yet light control casing

And grippy T5 compound we tested the rock copper Elite in 2023 is budget mountain bike of the Year test and it impressed our testers with its low 13 kg weight impressive turn of speed and reliable spec list it may be more about speed on the climbs and shredding the

Descents but that doesn’t mean the rock copper isn’t worthy of your attention what was your favorite bike on the list or do we miss any out that you might own yourself let us know down in the comments give this video a thumbs up if you haven’t already and if you want to

See how we built one hardel to rule them all then check out this video