bike suggestions?

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    • #72474

      I’m fairly new to mountain biking, and I’m still not completely familiar with all the lingo and concepts (xc vs all mountain?).

      I’m currently riding a hand-me-down cheapo, but it’s my first experience on a full suspension, so I’m not really sure what to compare it to. Compared to my old rigid bike it feals pretty great, except I lost power going uphill.

      I eventually want to get a new bike, but I don’t want to get caught up in the biggest and bestest sales pitch I inevitably receive whenever I go into a bike shop. I can’t really justify spending a fortune for my riding level. Any suggestions on a good entry level bike?

    • #72475

      Welcome to Singletracks, and mountainbiking!

      It’s a good thing that you’re wary of all the hype that’ll get thrown your way should you walk into an LBS, and tell them you want a new full-suspension bike.

      A good local bike shop salesperson will ask you what kind of riding you do. If the first thing they do is steer you towards the bikes, walk away. There’s no way an LBS can fit you with the right bike without getting an idea of what kind of rider you are…..
      So I’ll start there.

      The terms XC (Cross-Country), Trail, AM (All-Mountain), DH (Downhill), and FR (Freeride) cover a wide spectrum of riding styles; and there’s a lot of grey areas between when it comes to bikes and their intended applications. Also, the difference between XC and AM may not be as big to one person as it is to another. But I’ll give you the lowdown on the basics, and the bikes related to those specific trail disciplines.

      [u:3uqjbhv6]XC[/u:3uqjbhv6]
      This riding involves trails that are smooth and well maintained, with little in the way of technical terrain (drops, jumps, rock-gardens, root-jungles). XC bikes usually have no more than 4 inches of suspension travel, weigh no more than 26lbs, and are very lightly built. They cannot withstand much abuse, and are often found with tires no bigger than 2.1 inches in width. XC bikes have steep steering geometry, which means sharp steering on twisty trails, and a prime position for attacking climbs. But when things get steep & fast, XC bikes are a chore to control.
      Choices in upgrading an XC bike are limited, as quality lightweight parts are expensive and easily damaged. However, XC bikes are aimed towards racing and long-distance riding, so if that’s your cup of tea, a cross-country bike is for you.
      Full-suspension XC bikes can range from between $800 to over $7000.
      There is a recent marketing trend in mountainbikes recently, and these bikes are labelled as "trail" bikes.

      [u:3uqjbhv6]Trail[/u:3uqjbhv6]
      Trail bikes come with a heavier build (around 26-28lbs), can have 4-6" of travel, and wider tires (2.3"). They can handle a wider variety of terrain; i.e. rough trails, small jumps, drops, rockgardens, and roots. Trail bikes have a slightly more laid back steering geometry, allowing for more control on fast downhills while still allowing for a comfortable climbing position.
      Because they are built heavier, they can withstand more abuse, and are more versatile when it comes to upgrading. A vast majority of mountainbikers have been riding "trail" bikes for a long time; the marketing people have just given the bikes a label. Trail bikes won’t punish you with excess weight, can take a reasonable beating, and will take you from horizon to horizon comfortably.
      Full-supension trail bikes run from $800-$7000 as well.

      [u:3uqjbhv6]All-Mountain[/u:3uqjbhv6]
      AM riding covers all types of terrain, from wicked fast buffed singletrack; to white-knuckle rock gardens; to steep unknown downhill pitches. AM bikes have 5-7" of travel, weigh between 28-32lbs, and will generally accept tires up to 2.5" in width. These bikes also can have either two or three chainrings up front and larger brakes/rotors. These bikes have fairly slack steering angles, which means they will wander if not careful on climbs, but are stable and fun on downhills.
      They are built with durability and comfort in mind. Some racing is done with AM bikes (Super-D), and there are a few pros that have been known to run 6" travel AM bikes in downhill races. It just requires more finesse.
      If you like exploring every mile of the country around you, regardless of speed and terrain, an AM bike is for you, and they cost between $1500-$6000

      [u:3uqjbhv6]Downhill[/u:3uqjbhv6]
      The DH discipline is almost entirely devoted towards racing and speed. Whether racing the clock or your buddies, getting down the mountain fastest is the goal, and the steepest, rockiest, scariest of trails is no obstacle. DH bikes are heavily built, ranging between 35-45lbs, although the most recent trend is towards lighter bikes instead of gravity sleds. All DH bikes have no less than 7" of travel, and some can be found with over 9". They come standard with huge brakes, one chainring w/bashguard & chainguide, triple-crown forks, and fat tires. DH bikes have incredibly slack steering and seat angles, which precludes any sort of riding uphill (unless it’s a shallow fire-road).
      Downhill bikes run from $2000-$6000

      [u:3uqjbhv6]Freeride[/u:3uqjbhv6]
      See that 30ft cliff? See that guy just drop off it on his bike? He’s on a freeride bike. They’ve got between 8"-10" of suspension travel, large brakes, one or two chainrings w/ bashguard & chainguide, and weigh between 35-40lbs. With slack-ish steering (between AM & DH), they’ll let you ride up the trail…. just not very fast. The purpose is to get to the next ladder bridge, monster jump, or drop.
      Freeride bikes cost $1500-$6000

      So….

      And that’s not even getting into all the different suspension designs, of which there are a myriad amount, all with different hype.

      Check out my post [u:3uqjbhv6]HERE[/u:3uqjbhv6], I get into some of the different suspension designs.
      It’s been a while, but I’ve learned a lot since that post, and I’ve come to notice that the differences in each suspension design isn’t that big. Having a correctly set up fork & shock and learning proper braking technique will alleviate many of the ills often associated with full-suspension bikes (bobbing and brake-jack).

      My end point here is:

      Since you’re new to this, it’s really important that you get a bike that fits you (size), and will let you grow into your skills. Stick with one of the major bike brands (Santa Cruz, Gary Fisher, Giant, Specialized, GT, Trek, Turner) and spend no less than $800 on a 2004 (or newer); and you can’t go wrong! Riding a cheapo full-susser bike is no way to guage the full-suspension experience.
      Just try to buy the best bike as possible first within your budget, as it’s always LOTS more expensive to try and upgrade later.

      Good luck, and if you have any other questions, let us know!

    • #72476

      Mappencil, Bombardier gave you some great advice, and if I could only add one more thing to consider, is if you could come up with the bike that you would like to own, I would think about checking out Ebay. I have sold bikes on there that were perfectly good (FSR`s), and if you kept an eye on it I would bet that sooner or later you would find a smokin` hot deal. (but this is only based upon my past experience, others may not feel this way about using Ebay, pssst, I`m sort of a tightwad at times)

    • #72477

      one suggestion when selecting a new bike, try it out before you hand over your visa or a wad of $20s. personally, I ride my bike just about everywhere. I personally like my GT I-Drive 4 5.0 disk, but after riding a Mongoose Teocali Comp, I am now lusting for one of those. if I were shopping for a new FS bike, I would get one with an air shock that has some sort of a pedal platform, or I would get one with an adjustable coilover shock. I don’t know what kind of riding you do, but I’d like to step up to something with roughly 130-160mm of travel front and rear. also, I test rode a Titus Monolite 2 ($4K, 140mm travel, featherweight bike), which had a pedal platform shock and a fork with lockout (a fox TALAS 32 fork), and it rode nicely, but didn’t feel nearly as sturdy as the Teocali did, but I didn’t notice any weight difference. the more relaxed steerer tube angle on the teocali made it a smidge slower to react, but I like that. the monolite 2 was a really nice bike to ride, but it didn’t feel as overall plush as the teocali, but it seemed to be a race bred bike so i’m not suprised. although it isn’t likely to matter to anyone who already has a saddle, the saddle on the monolite felt very rigid compared to what I’m used to. if I had to choose between the two, I’d go for the teocali comp from performance. $900 ready to ride out of the cardboard from performance’s website, $1K ready to ride off of the display rack in store for a bike that can handle more abuse than a $4K bike with less travel is a deal that can’t be beat.

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