Mountain bike question

alphado
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alphado
Edited Date/Time 1/15/2012 5:56am
I am really digging the whole mountain bike thing. Did alot of trail riding last summer and have been hitting an indoor park in Cleveland on the weekends. Trouble is my bike is lacking in the suspension department. I have a 2008 Specialized Hardrock Disc model with a shitty Suntour fork.



Should I spend the money to upgrade the fork or get a full suspension bike? I found this GT brand new for $899 shipped. Would it be an ok all around bike? I don't want to spend much more than that on a bike.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/ruckus-i-…
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txmxer
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txmxer 2/3/2009 7:39am
2/3/2009 7:39am
no expert here...but, why a full suspension? Are you hammering some nasty downhills?
huck
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huck 2/3/2009 7:41am
2/3/2009 7:41am
Indoor Mtn. Bike park?
alphado
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alphado 2/3/2009 7:43am
2/3/2009 7:43am
I get into some rough stuff on the trails. I have demo-ed a FS bike at the indoor track and I liked it alot better on the drop-offs and rough stuff.
alphado
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alphado 2/3/2009 7:49am
2/3/2009 7:49am Edited Date/Time 2/3/2009 7:50am
www.raysmtb.com The place is like heaven.

The Shop

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BMLracer
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BMLracer 2/3/2009 7:52am
2/3/2009 7:52am
You've been going to Rays, right Alph?

A buddy of mine was the Diamondback rep for 10 years and had some demo bikes at Rays for quite some time. In fact, my MTB bike is one of those demo bikes (we took the 5 demo units and built 2 really nice, unthrashed, bikes).

How is your budget these days? I think in the short term I'd upgrade your existing bike and save $$$ to buy something more high end down the road. If you buy a really nice fork, you can always transfer it to your next bike and ebay the stocker. IMO, if you keep buying a bunch of middle of the road bikes you are going to keep ending up at the same point of uncertainty.
djp2k8
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djp2k8 2/3/2009 7:54am
2/3/2009 7:54am
It all depends on what you are riding. I wouldn't buy that bike unless you are doing some DH stuff. You would regret it for cross country trail riding. Also it doesn't make much sense to put a lot of money into your bike. Maybe you could find a closeout on a good fork. Check pricepoint.com or wheelworld.com. Something like a Rock Shox Tora 318 would be a good upgrade and not too expensive.
alphado
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alphado 2/3/2009 7:56am
2/3/2009 7:56am
Tora 318 is what I was looking at. Local bike shop tried to sell me a 10 y/o Noleen triple clamp fork for $299, I passed on it. Heard the fork is junk.
DoctorJD
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DoctorJD 2/3/2009 7:59am
2/3/2009 7:59am Edited Date/Time 4/16/2016 10:18pm
What kind of riding are you doing Alphado? Big drops? Jumping? Or just trail riding? Yes, there are "do-it-all" bikes to a degree, you just got to know what your limitations are. If you are truly "mountain biking" and regularly do a lot of climbing, you probably don't want to be lugging 35lbs up a hill. On the flip-side, a sub-25lb XC bike isn't going to be the most stable platform if you are bombing down a downhill run. That Rukus is a pretty solid platform, but it weighs 40lbs. EEEK! That bad boy will be bad ass going downhill, but I wouldn't want to ride it back up the mountain. If you are simply riding trails, I'd look for something in the "XC" or "All Mountain" category. These bikes typically have 5" of travel, but weigh about 10lbs less.

When it comes to buying a FS bike, you're almost better off to find a used one if you're trying to stay under a grand. Right now people are unloading them like crazy. On our club board we have a buy/sell forum, and every day I see new adds for bikes & parts. That's another thing, if you have decent mechanical skills, you could buy all the stuff you need and build it yourself. Just a thought.
Scotty
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Scotty 2/3/2009 8:03am
2/3/2009 8:03am
alphado wrote:
www.raysmtb.com The place is like heaven.
That place is crazy! I've never seen anything like that. Out here we just head for the local hills . That looks like a blast. i'm also getting ready for a new bike.
alphado
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alphado 2/3/2009 8:06am
2/3/2009 8:06am
Too much snow here in the winter. Ray is a savior. They have everything in there. I even jumped into the foam pit pit last week.
alphado
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alphado 2/3/2009 8:08am
2/3/2009 8:08am
Lots of hills where I ride, for every gnarly dowhill there is a steep uphill climb. Not much flat stuff.
FreshTopEnd
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FreshTopEnd 2/3/2009 8:09am
2/3/2009 8:09am
I picked up a hard tail 29er awhile back that's been a pretty fun rig and handles non-wacko stuff pretty well.
crowe176
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crowe176 2/3/2009 8:19am
2/3/2009 8:19am
My next ride is going to be a 29er too, just because. I've never ridden one, and don't know anyone who has one, but I'm doing it.

I have a Marin East Peak full suspension. It's nice, but I ride it more with the rear suspension locked out than I use it. I guess its there if I need it, but I wish I would have gotten a really nice light hard tail.. I got talked into this Marin after riding a SlingShot for years. It's just not as fun.
crowe176
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crowe176 2/3/2009 8:21am
2/3/2009 8:21am
For anyone smarter than the dipshit that sold me my bike: Do spring rates on MTB's matter as much as they do on MXer's? The guy I bought my bike from said no, but I just couldn't believe it.
noob
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noob 2/3/2009 8:24am
2/3/2009 8:24am
If your budget is $900, I wouldn't try to fit full suspension into it.. unless you're going to build it yourself.

Crowe, do they still make Slingshots? That was a pretty fucking cool bike back in the day
crowe176
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crowe176 2/3/2009 9:08am
2/3/2009 9:08am
noob wrote:
If your budget is $900, I wouldn't try to fit full suspension into it.. unless you're going to build it yourself. Crowe, do they still make...
If your budget is $900, I wouldn't try to fit full suspension into it.. unless you're going to build it yourself.

Crowe, do they still make Slingshots? That was a pretty fucking cool bike back in the day
Yeah, they've been updated quite a bit over the last 10 years. They're making a 29er too, and from what I've heard, they're bitchin.. If you ever get the chance, ride one... You'll be surprised. They have a pretty big following around west MI.



http://www.slingshotbikes.com/
noob
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noob 2/3/2009 9:14am
2/3/2009 9:14am
crowe176 wrote:
Yeah, they've been updated quite a bit over the last 10 years. They're making a 29er too, and from what I've heard, they're bitchin.. If you...
Yeah, they've been updated quite a bit over the last 10 years. They're making a 29er too, and from what I've heard, they're bitchin.. If you ever get the chance, ride one... You'll be surprised. They have a pretty big following around west MI.



http://www.slingshotbikes.com/
Yeah, I answered my own question and saw that 29er on their website.

Do you really feel a difference in pedaling efficiency?
Foster576
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Foster576 2/3/2009 9:14am
2/3/2009 9:14am
crowe176 wrote:
My next ride is going to be a 29er too, just because. I've never ridden one, and don't know anyone who has one, but I'm doing...
My next ride is going to be a 29er too, just because. I've never ridden one, and don't know anyone who has one, but I'm doing it.

I have a Marin East Peak full suspension. It's nice, but I ride it more with the rear suspension locked out than I use it. I guess its there if I need it, but I wish I would have gotten a really nice light hard tail.. I got talked into this Marin after riding a SlingShot for years. It's just not as fun.
I have a Gary Fisher HiFi 29er and absolutely love it! I think they are the way to go. Lately Ive been looking at the new Pivot 429. I hear those are pretty sweet.

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race
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race 2/3/2009 9:14am
2/3/2009 9:14am
I would look around for an All-Mountain full susp with at least 5 " front and back. You don't need more than that unless you are doing serious black diamond stuff. Even then, a good rider can do most of that stuff on a 5" all mountain. Aim for around 28-30 pounds tops. You will still be able to climb anything.

There are a million suspension choices and frame designs so you're going to have to educate yourself on things like VPP, DW Link, Maestro, etc. It's not like MX where you just buy a complete bike and don't have any choices how it comes. If you buy used, take the bike somewhere and have them go over it with a microscope for cracks in the frame. Start reading at the MBA and MTBR sites. Lots of info available.

I threw some posts out about Ray's when they were about to open a couple years ago and no one seemed to notice. Glad you guys are able to ride that place. We'll need some vids now.
crowe176
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crowe176 2/3/2009 9:48am
2/3/2009 9:48am
crowe176 wrote:
Yeah, they've been updated quite a bit over the last 10 years. They're making a 29er too, and from what I've heard, they're bitchin.. If you...
Yeah, they've been updated quite a bit over the last 10 years. They're making a 29er too, and from what I've heard, they're bitchin.. If you ever get the chance, ride one... You'll be surprised. They have a pretty big following around west MI.



http://www.slingshotbikes.com/
noob wrote:
Yeah, I answered my own question and saw that 29er on their website.

Do you really feel a difference in pedaling efficiency?
You can feel it for sure. When you peddle, it has a snap and it "feels" like it accelerates much easier. I couldn't personally tell you if it's more efficient or any better than a hard tail because I was never that serious about MTBing/cycling. But the guys I know who ride XC swear by them.

Mine was an early 90's model, so the frame has changed a lot. My only complaint about mine was it wasn't rigid enough, but they obviously were not designed to be. But, it does look like they've take big steps to really beef up the frame, so it probably feels lot different than mine.

noob
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noob 2/3/2009 10:11am
2/3/2009 10:11am
Thanks, crowe. Back in the 90's a local shop had one available as a demo... wanted to try it, but never did. I remember them getting rave reviews in the magazines.

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