mountain bikes

[MILO]

i'm looking into getting a mountain bike cuz i need the exercise and would love to get out on one. mostly on local roads and quad trails. this will be my first bike in about 15 years, lol, so i'm not looking for anything major like a cannondale, trek, etc. just enough to get me to the trails to play around and stuff, no cliff jumping or rock climbing, no way. i haven't been to any bike shops yet but good ole wallyworld (wal-mart) has a lot of mongoose bikes. i was looking at the blackcomb- seems to be top of the line there($280) seems pretty cool - ft and rr suspension, ft-rr disc brakes, shimano hardware, etc. i'm really looking to stay under $300, and this bike seems to be pretty cool. any experience or other suggestions? thanks.

[Lee]

Milo, here's my take on getting a trail/mountain bike:

As a long time trail and generally off-road adventurer (sp?) I've found time and time again that if you get mainstream gear, you'll get mainstream life out of it. If you plan to take the bike out often you don't want to get stuck out there w/ damaged parts (or at least you want the damage to be minimal).

 

About 5 years ago, I bought a Specialized, after having some mediocre bikes. I waited & priced. Then just went to the bike shop here and they hooked me up with the previous year left-over. Priced at $100 or so less than retail, for a new bike; i couldn't say no. The difference between the Specialized and the mediocre/mainstream bikes, was that I still have and use the Specialized. You can certainly find one for $350-$450. Learn as much as you can before spending the money though. Talk to people about what kind of riding you'll be doing so they can help you with the right fit, otherwise you might get a bike that wears you out too soon or counterproductive to your style of riding.

 

The same goes for hiking and kayaking for example. I've learned my lessons with both as to, hold out and spend a little more to get the right gear.

 

If you only plan on going out once in a dogs age... then a mongoose from Wally will probably work for ya.

 

Just 2 cents, from the guy up in the north country.

[watkins]

I too vote for Specialized.... now my bike was a bit more than $350 - 450 (try $2100), but my Specialized Stumpjumper has been to hell and back and is still in one piece. My old school GT Mountain bike held up good too... but started falling apart in the end. IMO Specialized makes some of the best mountain bikes out there.

Edited June 30, 2006 by watkins

[Lee]

Yeah, I didn't get too crazy, I got the Specialized Hardrock. They can definitely get pricey when you get the higher models.

[watkins]

Yeah, I didn't get too crazy, I got the Specialized Hardrock. They can definitely get pricey when you get the higher models.

 

 

Yeah for a while i was getting the cheap Costco bikes (Motive i think was the name) and would snap a frame almost every trip... so definitly spend the money for a good bike.

[rjvoight]

i'm looking into getting a mountain bike cuz i need the exercise and would love to get out on one. mostly on local roads and quad trails. this will be my first bike in about 15 years, lol, so i'm not looking for anything major like a cannondale, trek, etc. just enough to get me to the trails to play around and stuff, no cliff jumping or rock climbing, no way. i haven't been to any bike shops yet but good ole wallyworld (wal-mart) has a lot of mongoose bikes. i was looking at the blackcomb- seems to be top of the line there($280) seems pretty cool - ft and rr suspension, ft-rr disc brakes, shimano hardware, etc. i'm really looking to stay under $300, and this bike seems to be pretty cool. any experience or other suggestions? thanks.

 

 

Stay away from the store brand bikes. I know they look good and have name brand parts but trust me on this, THEY WILL NOT LAST! If you are just trying it out to find out if you will like the sport pick up something at a garage sale for 25 - 50 bucks and hit the trail a couple times. I can almost gurantee you will like the sport, especially if you hook up with a couple people who like to ride. Then toss the thing in the trash.

 

Then hit the tell and sell, ebay or even your local bike shops. I would look at anything that says KONA on it. Specialized is excellent as well. Any older Schwinn, MOAB Rocket or HomeGrown model would do you well. (Any new schwinn is the same as mongoose and Diamond back, they were bought out by suncoast) Haro makes pretty good bikes as well.

 

Personally, I ride a prebuyout Schwinn Moab 3. That bike has been abused and I still ride it every chance I get. A buddy of mine bought a Moab 1, disk brakes, higher end components shortly after and it has been the same story, bullet proof.

 

If you are already in that 300 dollar range, wait a couple weeks and spend a little more to get something that will last. Or ebay it.

 

RJV

[racer]

A buddy of mine bought a Moab 1, disk brakes, higher end components shortly after and it has been the same story, bullet proof.

i used to want a Moab 1 so bad i could taste it. then i discovered banshees and said, fuck pedaling.

[2K1Banshee350]

yeah ive had store brand bikes and schwinns and gary fishers etc. the higher end bikes barely take my beatens, but atleast it took years to break my 98 s-30. i havent ridden it in a few years, but dont be fooled by those schwinns at wal mart, they're roadmasters with schwinn strickers. what a shame

[bansheefreestyler]

like the other guys said get something a little more up there. if your going to be riding old roads and such and quad trails then get a hard tail. get a full suspension if you will be riding down actual bike trails and such. i would spend the extra couple hundred and get something around 600-800 that way it will last you and you would pay that in repairs to your walmart bike

[MILO]

thanks for all the responses guys, i think i'll hold off on the wallyworld bikes and check out a few of the local shops before doing anything. i currently have no intentions of being a hard core mtn biker, but you never know. i'm all for investing more in a better product that will pay off in the long run, but still don't want to get in too deep, at least not until i would happen to ride enough to make it worthwhile.

:beer:

[Slayer1018]

The dual suspension bikes at Wal Mart are actually dangerous to ride. I'd concentrate more on a hardtail bike w/ front suspension. Check out your local bike shop. Here is my SALSA that I built a few years back... Every single part is accounted for. It was a fun project and is race ready. My wife's is the NORCO which is really sweet also. Good luck in your mountain bike quest!

 

[EastCoast Banshee]

All i can say is you get what you pay for. When i used to montain bike all the time i had a few cheapo ones that broke all the time. After i finally spent the 600 on a nice Diamondback it was like a whole diffrent world everything always worked great and never had issues with anything. I would deff. recomend Diamond back bikes they are reasonably price and well constructed.

[J.J.]

What the others said...

 

If you're on a budget, stick with a hardtail from a reputable company.

Going with a cheapo full susser is going to give you a heavy bouncy ride, with lots of slop in the linkages and no room for upgrades.

 

Get an alloy frame that's the correct size for you and has upgrade potential, ie, an "aheadset" style stem, a 68mm english thread bottom bracket shell and a replaceable derailleur hanger. Disc brake mounts would be nice. Most frames are made in Taichung in Taiwan anyway.

 

If you trail ride a few times a week (you said you need the exercise), shit will break and wear out.

When they do, you can upgrade to something that starts with "XT" and/or ends in "R" depending on your budget.

 

Here's my 99 TREK 6000, the only thing that's original is the frame. I ride it every day and don't see the need for anything better...

 

Good luck and show some pics when you've made your purchase.

 

 

[bansheefreestyler]

you guys have some pretty sweet xc hardtails. here is a pic of my freeride/dh bike.i bought the frame second hand for 1800 cad but dont spend even close to that for what your doing. like i said before go with a hardtail. much better for what your saying on doing. I bought my frame off a bike specific website. www.pinkbike.com go to buy/sell and they have anything your looking for with lots of good deals and there are barely any bad sellers. mostly all of em will tell you the truth. i highly recomend it man. well heres the pic.

[broke]

you guys have some pretty sweet xc hardtails. here is a pic of my freeride/dh bike.i bought the frame second hand for 1800 cad but dont spend even close to that for what your doing. like i said before go with a hardtail. much better for what your saying on doing. I bought my frame off a bike specific website. www.pinkbike.com go to buy/sell and they have anything your looking for with lots of good deals and there are barely any bad sellers. mostly all of em will tell you the truth. i highly recomend it man. well heres the pic.

 

 

Nice bike. I used to ride a Cortina DH8 with a first Generation Shiver on it. I raced most of the Norba DH circuit for a few years. I was a great bike for the non pedaling courses. I had a Team Issue FSR DH which didn't have the Cortinas layed back geometry but was a much better pedaler. I useds a Foes ZigZag for DS and that was my everyday trail bike. To me the DS bikes are some of the funnest bikes you will ever throw a leg over.

 

It seems sad to me that I had close to $15,000 into those three bikes(plus spare parts) and that was at shop cost or employee purchase pricing.

 

My opinion would be to buy about 20% more bike than you need. The extra cost up front is minimal, but you won't need to upgrade as much down the road as your skills improve(brain shrinks).

 

Good luck, I sure miss riding.