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bents
10/27/2014 9:14pm
10/27/2014 9:14pm
Edited Date/Time
10/29/2014 9:02pm
I'm a total newb here, so I need some advice. My wife and I are mtn bike enthusiasts but we currently have piece of crap cheap bikes and are looking to get more serious about real trail riding. I need some advice about the type of bike we should be looking for (hardtail vs full suspension), and anything else I should be considering. I would think buying used would be better, so what should I be looking out for? Would 800-1000 per bike get me started? I'm all ears. From what I have read here many of you here are pretty hard core and know your shit here. Thanks in advance. I'm 5'5" and my wife is 5'7" if that helps.
http://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/VitalMTB/The-Hub,2
The Shop
At that price range you can pick up a nice entry level XC or All Mountain bike, Giant makes some high quality/ durable bikes that work like the trance mentioned above or the reign for more travel. I am a specialized guy myself, but, Don't get wrapped up in the lightest parts or the best suspension. You will get hooked MTB is a blast and great cross training, I have both a dedicated DH rig a Demo 8 and an all mountain bike, an Enduro Comp... Love them both for what they do and ride the tires off them every chance i get!!!!
Mountain Bikes NO ONE should buy!
-Specialized Enduro SL- Most enduros are excellent, but these bikes made from 2007-2009 had house brand suspension and were utter garbage. There are many of them and they will be in your price range, don't be tempted unless they have been swapped over to a rockshox or fox fork (which many have been).
-Maverick American- There is a reason these have depreciated from 6000 to 1000 dollars in value, once again proprietary suspension that is now obsolete. Maintenance nightmares, I should know I worked for their warranty department.
-Cannondale- Mostly dogshit to start with, more proprietary BS.
-Ellsworth- Don't be fooled by the high-end finishes and MSRP, these bikes are the laughing stock of anyone who knows anything.
-Older Transition Bikes- The model you might see is the Covert from about 2008, the first generation of which was a half baked pile of chinese shit. They practically broke under their own weight.
-Although there are exceptions, mostly stay away from things you've never heard of. Scott, Commencal, Brodie, Jamis, Felt, the list is endless. There are some decent bikes among the massive pile that makes up "the rest" but for the sake of narrowing it down just don't bother. Way more misses than hits in there.
-Pretty much anything where the company made it's own suspension (notice a theme?)
A quick glance around would lead me to believe that your best bang for the buck would be a Giant Reign, like this one...
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1644695/?directtolastphoto
Specialized enduros appear to be holding their value well, most in your price range I'm seeing are getting pretty old. A couple hidden gems are the Santa Cruz Butcher and Nickel, and the Specialized Pitch. There aren't a lot out there, but if you can find one you can usually get them for a song. Hope that all gets you somewhere!
Once you've decided what it is you want......
120mm + of travel is great. I believe this means any modern bike.
I have a Specialized StumpJumper and love it! There are always deals on Craigslist, Ebay. At your heights, I believe both of you will enjoy a medium frame.
If you buy off Craigslist, just take a close look at everything. Just because it's clean and shiny doesn't mean it's in great condition. Make sure there's no play in the frame pivots, and that everything works.
I'm addicted! It's great cross training for MX, and a lot of fun!
Firstly if you buy new try and buy 650b 27.5 the bike industry is ramming this down our throats at the moment and therefore if you buy a 26" wheeled bike you will lose a lot of money on it as not many people want to buy the old standard any more. If you are buying second hand and its cheap enough that re-sale doesnt matter then this can mean great 26" wheeled bikes for cheap.
Now bike choice is defined by trail choice and riding ability.
up to 120mm XC bikes including 29ers are great if your out for a fitness ride and pounding out the miles without any over aggressive features in the trails you ride. Hardtail or full suspension is rider preference you will get less bob on a hardtail but that little of bit of suspension on the rear of the bike can be nice to smooth out the trail sometimes. IMO full suspension is not very high maintenance if A) you stay away from the brands with short service intervals i.e. fox you are not riding heavy hitting features. Of course if you ride in mud or slop it can get into the fork and you may need a service. A full service on a fork in the uk is around £100. Rear shocks Ive found to be a lot more resilient and Ive run them for multiple years without a service and they have still performed great(again this depends on brand).
140mm 150mm 160mm travel suspension bikes are what Id consider an all mountain bike these are designed to be able to do both aggressive riding and XC riding but not really completely excel at either. Imo they are fantastic bikes and if your not pounding out DH laps or riding for miles and miles they are the bike to buy. They will take on all but the most aggressive trails and be able to ride XC loops at good pace.
170mm to 200mm aggressive All Mountain, Freeride, Downhill bikes. These are designed to be ridden on aggressive trails with large jumps and drops they are great at what they do but are useless for riding any kind of distance on. (170mm maybe the exception as some of the very latest AM bikes are now coming out with 170mm travel these are however to bridge the gap between All Mountain and Freeride)
As far as brands go Ive owned Giant,Norco,Evil,Nukeproof and all have been great bikes. My riding mates have owned Orange ,santa cruz, cube,lapierre, scott and all have been great bikes in one way or another. Everyones taste is slightly different but they are some brands to have a look at.
Hope some of that helps.
I have a Cannondale and I really like it. But having said that, the terrain in DFW isn't all that rugged. I really like the Cannondale but I haven't had to replace or upgrade anything on it until recently. I'm about to have to replace the cogs and chain. So I can't complain about their "proprietary" nature yet.
Pit Row
I have a Genius 930 and absolutely love it.
700 series for the 650B wheel size and the 900 series for 29"
Excellent all round bikes for XC and single track riding.
I like it because Giant uses the same frame for all trances or reigns, but each ride has different quality of components, so you can buy the cheapest Giant and still get an awesome frame that can be upgraded in the future.
When I lived in Texas I rode a hardtail Specialized and it was totally fine, but when I moved to Colorado, I quickly realized that the hardtail wasn't going to cut it. So I got the Giant and haven't regretted it.
I ride 50/50 - singletrack and blue runs at the bike park.
Ive owned a Giant trance as well it was a 2007 and it was a great bike. I highly recommend Norcos as well they make some great bikes and use a similar system to Giant to spec there bikes.
Reverb post, a set of wider bars and shorter stem and you're good to go at anything!
try PinkBike.com if you're looking to buy used.
you can get into some new/previous year model Specialized Cambers full suspension for your price range though, don't be afraid to buy new.
Do have an alloy Jekyll (new generation), 150mm rear and 170 mm front (Rockshox Lyrik RC2DH), that bike is awesome. This is what they like to call an enduro bike but I mostly ride bike park with it and it does the job just fine. Of course when the terrain get really rough a few inches on the rear would be a lot more comfortable but this thing can take real bad treatment and never complains.
The DYAD (rear suspension) can be locked to 90mm and hardens itself which is super cool for XC but honestly, I never use it cause even in long travel, there's really few pumping effect when pedaling especially when seated.
I highly recommand it but I'm not sure bents could find a used one for 800-1000 dollars...
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