I am looking to purchase a trail/mountain bike. I have owned many cheap bikes from no suspension to front suspension to full suspension and they all crap out on me. Any recommendations??

I was recommended a python with front/rear disc brakes and front lockable suspension for $400/£244 

I love my Novara. It is a cross between a Mountain Bike and a Street Bike so I use it around town as well as when we go camping. I think they're an REI exclusive bike but they aren't' cheap either. 

Well, I went ahead and purchased the Python 9000 ultra dd. Actually they had to order it on a Wednesday. It is a hard tail with front lockable suspension with disc brakes.

The builder was the one who recommended the bike to me.

It came in Friday afternoon. I picked it up on Saturday. I took it to Brandon Country Park. I was going down hill and adjusting the gears the chain comes off the gear. I put the chain back on the gear. I thought nothing of it.

We started going through the woods on some narrow trails and i come to a turn and the handle bar turns the opposite way of the tire. I was trying to turn right and only the handlebar turned.


Just for fun I try out my cheap $100 full suspension mongoose bike that is 3 years old and it handles a lot better.


So Monday comes along and I bring the bike in to try and return it and they cant do it. They say it was a special order item and it cant be returned. They try to bring up the fact that the the reason why they cant accept it is due to the fact that it is now 2nd hand.

Their policy on returned items does not say anything about brand new items only. It specifically says "As New Condition." It says that within 7 days an item may be returned with a restocking fee of 10%. So I ask them what is the point of a return policy if you cant return an item that is used. I ask them if i bought something that broke on me or fell apart there would be no return on it? I also ask is that policy only if you buy something, keep at home and just eye it but never open it? No comment.

I explained to them how my cheap bike feels/performs better than my brand new bike that costs nearly 5 times the amount. The guy who builds the bikes and fixes the bikes has some nerve. He says "So before you brought your cheap bike in to get the gears fixed it was broken and now you like it?" My response was "Were you not the same guy who assembled this Brand new bike? Are you implying that the problem is not the bike but the user?" Their response was no,no,no we did not mean that.

The only person who may be able accept the return was on leave. Out of the office until maybe next week. So I explained my situation for nothing. They made me stand there talking for nothing when they could not make a decision themselves.


I do not care for a full refund. I told them I would just want fair value. I would let them keep the $50 down payment and the 10% restocking fee. I simply do not feel that the bike that I have purchased was well worth the money I have spent. Especially lately being in the Military does not mean a steady paycheck.