Quote: Fungus The Muffin Man "In your price range then the Spesh or the boardman are quality bikes. I have a sub for What mountain bike and they rate the Carrera Fury as the number one starter mtb bike for your price range And also the voodoo Hoodoo (£500) is rated higher than the spesh.
I also wouldn't rule out this from Canyon rlhttps://www.canyon.com/_uk/mountainbikes/bike.html?b
Or if you could stretch the budget a bit this from Planet x rlhttps://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FBOOINX529/on_one_inbred_x5_29er_bikerl
I'd also look at this Giant which has a great spec on it rlhttps://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/giant-revel-ltd-0-12rl'"
The Voodoo Hoodoo is a great bike, its what I have at the minute, due to our c2w scheme being limited to £500.
It's lighter than my roadie (which was only a starter bike, no trick bits) so i like that
just keep a look out on the forums and you will spot plenty of rides up there 
