[11Past9]

I was wondering if anyone here is an educated Mountain Biker.

[jaiman]

I used to ride alot.

[11Past9]

Originally Posted by jaiman

I used to ride alot.

Why not anymore?

[jaiman]

Originally Posted by 11Past9

Why not anymore?

I was more a fan of downhill, but there really isn't anywhere in Ontario outside of Blue Mountain. And that's a 3 hour drive one way. In the time it takes me to drive to and from there I can play a round of golf.

[radix]

No, but I stayed a Holiday Inn Express once. Actually, I used to ride trails with a mountain bike, nothing really crazy though... about 40-80 miles a ride.

[montreal red]

i mountain bike... i've only used hardtails all my life though. i am more into cross county than the all mountain or downhill type riding. here's my latest bike. its already 3 yrs old.

http://www.d4m.com/axion/devinci/anc.../desperado.htm

devinci desperado. not much mods on it except for the seats and handle bar. just changed my seat recently to an SLR road seat.

[just4kickz]

mt bike as a daily... cheapish Jamis Ranger

and.....


for fun

[Heinzftw]

I ride a GT 1.0! Thing is one of the lightest hard-tails made. Picked up for $650 out the door 2 years ago. I love my deor shifters and hyrdaulic brakes too.

[KiokenM3]

been riding for the past 3yrs. what did you wanna know?

[11Past9]

I'm looking for where to get the best deals on bikes, what to stay away from and why and so on. I am a big fan of Rocky Mountain and Jamis but my budget isn't huge... close out pricing can get me a couple hundred off hopefully and I am looking to spend around $600-700.00 which hopefully will get me a damn decent bike. A buddy of mine is buying a Rocky Mountain Element 10 soon and I've riden it... I wish I had that money.

I like closed quarters cockpit feel (like Jamis, RM...)

Hand made frame would be ideal and I don't want a bike that is super mass produced so it's slipped up on

the best components for the money on the bike is key as well...

What to stay away from. For example, I am Gary Fisher scared because of all the frame crack stories even when used for basic trans. I am also ok with a hardtail it will get me more bike for the money I think.

OH! and Disc brakes!

[txusa03]

I have a moutain bike, but I cannot say I mountain bike as I have never taken my mountain bike to any trail yet, just riding around the neighborhood for now. Don't have time to load the bike onto a car and head out to a trail yet.

Santa Cruz and her name is Chameleon.

[ejheverest]

600-700$ your looking at a decent hard tail, stay away from full suspensions if you don't have more money to spend. I love my Felt Redemption, needed something where I didn't have to worry about cracking my frame.(last Marin I had, I bent the swing arm)

It is much cheaper to buy a good bike than to buy a cheap mtn. bike then upgrade components.

[TwinTurboXI]

Originally Posted by jaiman

I was more a fan of downhill, but there really isn't anywhere in Ontario outside of Blue Mountain. And that's a 3 hour drive one way. In the time it takes me to drive to and from there I can play a round of golf.

Same here, except there is nothing in my area. OP, what type of bike are you looking for? Just a trail riding bike that looks good and something to brag about alittle?

[11Past9]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboXI

Same here, except there is nothing in my area. OP, what type of bike are you looking for? Just a trail riding bike that looks good and something to brag about alittle?

Something that can take the temporary beating I will give it. The best bike for the buck until I can upgrade.

[KiokenM3]

Originally Posted by 11Past9

I'm looking for where to get the best deals on bikes, what to stay away from and why and so on. I am a big fan of Rocky Mountain and Jamis but my budget isn't huge... close out pricing can get me a couple hundred off hopefully and I am looking to spend around $600-700.00 which hopefully will get me a damn decent bike. A buddy of mine is buying a Rocky Mountain Element 10 soon and I've riden it... I wish I had that money.

I like closed quarters cockpit feel (like Jamis, RM...)

Hand made frame would be ideal and I don't want a bike that is super mass produced so it's slipped up on

the best components for the money on the bike is key as well...

What to stay away from. For example, I am Gary Fisher scared because of all the frame crack stories even when used for basic trans. I am also ok with a hardtail it will get me more bike for the money I think.

OH! and Disc brakes!

first of all, what kind of riding do you do? cross county, freeride, DH or a little bit of each?

[MisterSkiMask]

I wouldn’t call myself an educated mountain biker, but I have been riding and reading for a few months now. I don’t consider myself educated because there is a lot to know, and I have no experience with bikes other then the one I have now.

Long story short, my brother got me interested in riding, he had an Ellsworth built for him by the owner of a local bike shop that seem to be pretty well known in my area (bay area, California). I was not interested in spending the kind of money that it takes to build up my first real mountain bike ($5,000 easy), with full suspension etc. I asked the shop owners opinion, and then got online and bought some magazines.

I ended up buying a 2009 Giant Trance X2. I chose it for a couple reasons.
1. Value, the bike has components usually found on more expensive bikes.
2. The frame is basically the same as Giant’s higher end (5,000+) bike.
3. The bike got good reviews from magazine testers, for what that is worth.
4. The shop owner said he could recommend it to me because it was a bike that someone my size wouldn't destroy (6’2” currently about 220#, hopefully with more riding that will change), not something that can be said for everything on the market.

My advice would be do your research, find a local bike shop and ask a mechanic what is good. Consider a good mass produced bike (not a Huffy), nobody can by components and misc. parts cheaper then a company like Specialized or Giant.

[shaX 07]

This is my mountain ride:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...ries/4300disc/

[ejheverest]

Originally Posted by just4kickz

mt bike as a daily... cheapish Jamis Ranger

and.....


for fun

I love those fixed gears!! My buddy picked up the new Felt track bike and I am thinking of picking up a fixie soon. I am beating the shit out of my cannondale road bike so I wouldn't mind getting a fixie with stronger rims.

[Red Bread]

I've been riding for about fifteen years and have had a lot of different bikes. I presently have a few custom bikes (a ti/carbon DeSalvo roady and a steel DeSalvo 29er single speed) I also ride an Intense 5.5 fairly often and a Schwinn single speed roady (my soccer addled knees hate fixed). For your price range, you'll be much better off sticking to a hardtail and looking used.

To be honest, wheels should be your #1 equipment priority, with things like the fork, brakes and frame material being secondary, wheels will be the most expensive single component and the one that effects your ride the most. Your first overall priority should be fit, most importantly the effective top tube length. You can make small adjustments with stem and bar changes, but provided the ETT is right, you should be set. If you can borrow or rent some bikes to ride on your local trails, try that to get an idea of fit.

Your local bike shop, or a Performance Bike or similar will probably be your best bet, but cost more than used. I tend to order online, but I also build my own bikes and wheels and have tons of tools. If you're new to this, I'd recommend staying local and using their service. You'll benefit from this, and lots of shop service bikes they've sold for free for either a year or more.

[KiokenM3]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

I've been riding for about fifteen years and have had a lot of different bikes. I presently have a few custom bikes (a ti/carbon DeSalvo roady and a steel DeSalvo 29er single speed) I also ride an Intense 5.5 fairly often and a Schwinn single speed roady (my soccer addled knees hate fixed). For your price range, you'll be much better off sticking to a hardtail and looking used.

To be honest, wheels should be your #1 equipment priority, with things like the fork, brakes and frame material being secondary, wheels will be the most expensive single component and the one that effects your ride the most. Your first overall priority should be fit, most importantly the effective top tube length. You can make small adjustments with stem and bar changes, but provided the ETT is right, you should be set. If you can borrow or rent some bikes to ride on your local trails, try that to get an idea of fit.

Your local bike shop, or a Performance Bike or similar will probably be your best bet, but cost more than used. I tend to order online, but I also build my own bikes and wheels and have tons of tools. If you're new to this, I'd recommend staying local and using their service. You'll benefit from this, and lots of shop service bikes they've sold for free for either a year or more.

ive been riding mountain bikes for the past 5 yrs, to be honest, wheels are not the most important. when i had my custom built dt swiss and hadley wheels done it wasnt like night and day. when i through on my set of kendas and had my suspension dialed in, that to me was the best. followed by my brakes then wheelset. i guess it all depends on what you ride. maybe for road bikes wheelsets are more important. but for mtn bikes not so much

[BET325CI]

I started off with a hardtail from costco!!! took that bad boy mt biking for about a year!!! was not sure if i was going to like mt biking so i didnt buy the best bike. Realized how fun it was and seeing dual suspension, i went with a Specialized stump jumper comp! air shock front/back, hydrolic breaks!!!

my opinion is, if your going to get a dual suspension bike, i recommend a lock-out for the rear shock!!! helps to climb easier!!!
Goodluck!!!!

[Red Bread]

Originally Posted by KiokenM3

ive been riding mountain bikes for the past 5 yrs, to be honest, wheels are not the most important. when i had my custom built dt swiss and hadley wheels done it wasnt like night and day. when i through on my set of kendas and had my suspension dialed in, that to me was the best. followed by my brakes then wheelset. i guess it all depends on what you ride. maybe for road bikes wheelsets are more important. but for mtn bikes not so much

I was speaking more towards the budget end of the spectrum. I agree that there's not a huge difference in feel of my I9's and Kings, but the difference in an Alex wheelset with a non-eyeleted, single wall rim and a fair quality wheel with something like Shimano Deore hubs and a Mavic or DT rim will provide a lot more of an improvement than the difference in something like Avid BB5 brakes and Avid Elixirs or any other high end brake.