Any Mountain Bikers in here?

[Carbon Blue]

Just as the title reads are there any mountain bikers in here? Im actually going to hit the trails tommorow just to get acquainted with the sport again and i plan on getting alot more involved since i now have friends that are actually interested in the sport. I dont know much about what bike would suit my needs as a beginner, but i do know the basic terms and brands and so fourth ( so im not that much of a noob ). I stand at about 5'10-5'11 close to 180lbs and i currently have a 21 speed huffy (dont laugh too hard) and a 21 speed univega. I would really like a full suspension bike but since im just getting back into the sport what type of bikes should i be looking at? I dont need anything with disk brakes and i dont want to deal with side pull brakes as ive had so many problems with those. My price range is pretty open so im open to anything but definitely nothing absurd such as 800 to 1000$ bikes. Any basic guidelines i should take care of? Im bringing some knee pads, a helmet, and a 32oz bottle of gatorade for the trip. Am i missing anything else?

Basically what im asking for is that i need a full intro on what kind of helmet i should get to what I should or should not do or what i should or should not get. Ive done some tutorial searches on some of the do's and dont's but i would like to hear from some of you veterans out there. Ive been to toys R'us, target, and the navy exchange and they've got some full suspension bikes for a deal but is that what I should be looking at? or am i being a cheap *** and looking for problems in the future? thanks for any input/help!

[RoadDawg]

I used to ride a little bit. I used to use a plain Huffy. Never really did anything hardcore but I road some ski trails (summertime in Utah). It's fun.

[Jaan]

Stay away from department store bikes, they're basically junk. They're only made for people who ride 20 miles and park it in the garage until it gets thrown out after 10 years. Seriously. All those "brand names" you see are all built by a company called Pacific Cycle. Look at the little stickers on the seat tube. Junk junk junk. The cycling version of Brass Eagle.

The "suspensions" on those bikes are a joke, especially the rear. If you take one of those things that look like a shock apart, they're just a hollow tube with some kind of spring around it. There is no dampening effect to them at all. A cheap shock (and I mean a real working one) costs as much as an entire one of those bikes so what does that tell you? It will feel like riding on a pogo stick, if the dope who assembled it remembered to lube the pivot points.

You're going to have to spend about a grand to start thinking about a decent dual suspension bike.

Now, with that being said I highly recommend visiting a local bike shop. Most are good and you'll get much better service. For one thing you can be assured that the bike will be assembled correctly, something that the kids in the department store making minimum wage hardly ever do. For another, it's important to get a bike fitted to you properly. Bikes come in a range of sizes these days and if you get one too small or big then you'll get a sour back and hurt knees etc.

Linear pull V brakes are just fine, you probably just had garbage ones on your Huffy. Those and disks are your only choices really on a MTB.

There are good entry level hardtail bikes available for around $300. My friend has a Specialized Hardrock that I really like, and I LOVE my Trek 4300. They don't come in pimped out lava black anymore though )c: You can, of course, get better bikes from both these companies depending on your budget.

By the way, there are 6 bikes in that picture. They're all nice but the only one I bought new was the Trek. I got that white Cannondale road bike for $40 and it only cost about $100 to fix it up. You don't need a ton of money for a good bike, especially if you're willing to get a used one.

[ShooterJM]

Before you hit the trail make sure to have an emergency kit (tire levers, tube, pump, etc).

Full water bottles are a must and personally I couldn't live without my camelback. Gloves will help too. I'd definately look into a used bike. And try to ride a full suspension before you buy one. They're very nice, but you do lose some power with them. Especially if they're not tuned right. For a decent front suspension bike with the side pull brakes, new, you're looking at about $600 and up. But hit a pawn shop or used store and you could probably get one for $50 and up. If you're serious about disc brakes, make sure that your wheel set has disc mounts, that'll save you a couple hundred bucks later on when you want to upgrade.

[Muzikman]

Bikes are like paintball guns. Would you go to Walmart and buy a paintball gun? (I hope not). Go to a decent bike shop, get fitted for the bike. Height and weight are not so much the factor as inseam when fitting a bike. On a standard bike you should straddle the bike at the top tube (just infront of the seat). You should have about 3" of room between the tube and your crotch (this is for a mountain bike, road bikes are different). This is called the standover height.

If you are going to get serious about riding, I HIGHLY suggest disc breaks. When I use to ride it was amazing how much nicer the discs were. They saved my butt a few times.

For starting out I would avoid full suspension unless you plan on serious rough rides and big downhills. What you gain in comfort in the downhill you lose when trying to climb a hill. If you get a very good bike (in the $2000+ range they have suspension lockout which is nice). The problem is that when peddling as you push down on the peddle it causes the rear suspension to sad and takes a percentage of power from the rear wheel. The percent that is taken would depend on how stiff the suspension is.

You should be able to get a nice hardtail in the $300-$600 range. There are also so many different brands out there and so many that are actually identical frames, just different components.

[MiniSpdRcr]

I have been mt biking for about 18 years. I bought a 2500 dollar bike on Ebay for 800 dollars this was a few months ago. I would suggest looking on ebay.

Oh and if you have any questions dont heisitate to ask me. Just use my AIM or Yahoo.

[Jakedubbleya]

i did a little downhill racing on a gary fischer bike for about a year and a half.

build ur own bike, best way to go for the money (if ur gunna be serious about it), course we did that because we won the parts (well, i only won some new treads in all my racing ) and didnt have to pay for them so wed tradem or sell them to each other for cheap as we got new parts etc etc, i never got too harcore about the equipment like my friends, but the best bikes for cheap were alwas custom built.

course downhill bikes are a little diff so maby not

ur gunna be spending at least a K for a decent full suspension, so u might wanna think about a hardtail.

[Carbon Blue]

thanks for the replies everyone. Im heading out to the bike store in a few hours and get another tutorial over there. Ive been looking at some treks and specialized's for a while now and love how they ride and feel. My cousins have both of those and i love them. thanks again

[Creative Mayhem]

As like Carbon, I too am just getting back into riding(its been close to 8yrs) I recently purchased a store brand, with dual suspension. Yes the rear shock isn't the greatest, and its not the best bike out there, but it serves its purpose and can take some pretty decent punishment so far. As for how long I can abuse it, who the hell knows.



I am looking to get more into riding as the year goes on, but for know my Canadian Tire store brand works just fine and is built very well(not Pacific Brand ugh) My next bike will be one that I part and piece together, frame brakes, forks, yadda yadda yadda.... I kinda have my heart set on one of the new Santa Cruz "Nomad" frames, pricey, yes, but it looks like it will suit what I want to use it for.

There are so many things to consider when buying a bike, do some serious research, try as many out as possible(if shop will allow it), and take into consideration your dedication to riding. If you aren't planning on getting too far into the sport then a store brand may do you just fine(provided its well made), but if you think you are going to be "going for the gusto", then fork out the $$$ now and reap the benefits down the road, or trail, as the case may be.

[Carbon Blue]

Jaan i love that Trek 4300 you have it looks awesome. and thanks for the tips Mayhem,

[Muzikman]

Reflectors on a MTB?

[Creative Mayhem]

Reflectors on a MTB?

HAHA yeah, the stores HAVE to sell them with all the safety devices/reflectors, and they were the first thing to go... That picture was taken just before they were taken off.

Funny thing is, where I ride is relatively close to my house so I usually ride there, which means riding on the street, which requires reflectors and all the extra stuff. I got pulled over and warned by the local cops one day.

[frntplayer]

I've been mountain biking for bout three years...been in a quite a few xc races...as everyone else so far has said so far dont get a department store bike...definatly not a good choice. Hold off on the dual suspension as you cannot get a good dually for under 1000. Get a hard tail. As far as brands i would recomend trek, giant, specialized are some good choices. Get a bike with 80mm at least of front fork travel...100mm should be easy to get in this price range...disk brakes are god...get them if you can. They beat the everloving crap outta v's. Getting a dually from walmart is going to plague with problems and put u in danger if you ever really beat in the bike. I rode one of them walmart bikes once in a pinch for a trip to a shaloms course....a little way into the first run i took a hard jump...bottomed out the back spring n the retainer blew off n the back end collapsed....really good...They have harldy any suspension n what they do have it sucks horribly...as far as helmets...dont skimp here either...its ur brains on the line here..id drop at least 50 on it...i like giro...i have a xen...but thats a little pricey..i got it on a good sale... www.nashbar.com has some good stuf.f... but for a nike itself...support ur local shop please...they are a dying breed...almost as dead as gun shops around here...tips n points for riding...i can give u a few if you want...id recomend going to the libary and taking out a book on the topic as there are a lot. but basically...always keep your balance...always be relaxed and always be aware
Ed

[Jaan]

I would definitely reccomend Nashbar.com as well. They're great for things like tires and such. The Giro Xen is a good helmet and is on sale right now at Nashbar.

A complete bike is much cheaper than the same bike in parts. You can get a nice entry level bike with a good level of parts, and then upgrade as needed or desired. That Trek 4300 for example has the front shock and wheelsets upgraded already.

Reflectors are a joke. The only ones that make a difference on road bikes is the pedal reflectors. An acquaintance of mine, John S. Allen has a great web page all about bike reflectors: http://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/reflectors/index.htm

Get lights if you're going to ride on the road.

[Bolter]

About a month ago I bought a Giant XTC SE 06 which Im pretty pleased with.



And I know its nothing in the biking world, but Im hardly a Pro. Planning a few trips to some mountains though.