GT's Avalanche 2.0 is a good value basic mountain bike, at £399.99

Not so long ago mountain biking was the new kid on the block in the cycling world, but it is now very much the mainstream.

Off-road biking is one of the fastest growing participatory sports in the country, with numerous purpose-built trail centres throughout the UK.

The chief distinguishing features of the mountain bike are a sturdy frame, fat knobbly tyres, a wide spread of gears and some form of suspension.

For practical purposes, the chief distinction is between "hardtail" bikes, which have front suspension only, and full-suspension bikes.

You'll need to shell out at least £300 to get a useable cross country hardtail - but spending £500 or more is preferable if you can afford it. You'll soon want to upgrade bits on a cheap bike, and it's more cost effective to spend the money at the time of purchase.

The law of diminishing returns sets in at £1,000 and anything beyond £1,200 is fancy pants stuff.

Full-suspension bikes are available at all price levels, but you'll regret buying one for anything less than £1,000. They start getting good at around £1,250 and £1,900 will buy you something at the benchmark performance level.

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