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What kind of MTBing are you planning on doing? If you were to buy a Shimano XT, even just for the fork, you will be spending more money on it than your bike is worth. I agree that spending some money on a better bike is the best idea. Even for 1,000 to 1,500 you can get a good quality hardtail. If you can’t put out that kind of money up front most LBS have same as cash, 12 months to pay, zero interest, so you can pay a bit at a time. Just my opinion.
I know how you feel bro. I am 6’4” 245 myself. I learned the hard way that as a heavier guy you will always have problems with lower end forks. It WILL NOT be better with a Tora. I tried it and it will fail too. Not as quick as the Dart but will fail the same. I had a Specialized FSR Comp with a Tora and after tacoing both my rims, trashing the fork, and bending the frame(not all on the same ride) I talked to a bike mechanic who has worked with some pro riders over the years. He enlighetned me to some wisdom I will try to keep it short. 1) As a heavy guy you need at least 120mm of travel to protect the wheels, frame, etc., a full-suspension bike will help. 2) A better quality fork and bike will be needed, because better quality wheels, forks. etc. generally hold up to abuse better. 3) Your brake pads will wear out faster than everyone else. You will need to keep a closer on your bike for wear and will have to change out other components more often than lighter guys. 4) Most riders will give you wisdom about bikes and parts not taking into account how heavy you are.
My advice is to bite the bullet and buy a mid-level or higher bike. You can get bikes at most bike shops "same-as-cash" so if you can’t shell out $2500 plus for a rig you can still get it while paying $100 to $150 a month with no interest. I was torn between getting a Rumblefish or a Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29. I went with the Stumpjumper. It has 120mm front 130mm rear travel. The Dual Air Reba and Fox Triad are air cutom tunable so you can set them up for your heavier weight. I have ridden the crap out of my Stumpy 29er for two years and the only thing I have had to replace are my brake pads and a rear derailer cable. Just my opinion, but I wish a heavier guy would have dropped a little advice on me.I ride a ’10 Stumpy FSR 29er so I can’t speak personally for it. My girl however rides the ’10 EX 8 and loves it. The tires that came with it sucked in muddy conditions so those had to be replaced, but other than that, she has thrashed it on the trails and loves the EVO link and the Fox fork. She said to tell you to go for the 8 and you will love it.
I have used the Lizard Skins Lock-On Northshore grips for a couple of seasons and love them. Check out Lizard Skins full line. You can personalize the color of the grip and text on the lock ons.
Ya I don’t know if it’s me being retarded or what? I wear the Bontrager RL’s and the "tread" around the cleat seems a lot deeper than me friend’s shoes so I don’t know if that is an issue. Even with the riser pads on the Eggbeater cleats the are still noticably lower than the tread. My SPDs cleats are level with it, so I am starting to think that might be a contributing factor. I definately agree that for mud shedding ability the Eggbeaters are hands down better than the SPDs.
As far as a LBS that does MTB rentals, someone else will have to fill you in on that. My shop by my house doesn’t do rentals and neither does the other shop I go to. Within an hour of central Louisville your best bet is either Fort Duffield, Waverly Park, or even Cherokee Park/Seneca Park. I think that Fort Duffield is the most challenging of the three and has some good views from the top of the park. If you can make a little more of a drive Brown County Park is better than all three. Daniel Boone National Forrest is good too but even more of a drive. If it was me I would make a little extra drive and go to Brown County Park, just my opinion though.
From what you said you want to do, my opinion is that you should look to get an all-mountain rig. It will be the most capable on the rough down hill and jumps, while still being a good ride on the climbs. Some can argure other bike types but I think an all-mountain ride will take care of you.
Three to take serious consideration and have models complete at under 3K:
1)Rocky Mountain Slayer
2)Trek Remedy
3)Giant ReignI can’t speak for past year’s models, but the 2011 models of these bikes are superb rides.
My personal opinion is for the Rocky Mountain Slayer because I think it descends as well as it climbs. Just my opinion though…I have had a bulged disk for years as well. There is little you can do to change your riding position that will make a significant difference in pain. There can be good in using a full-sus. bike over a hardtail for obvious added shock absorbtion benefits. There are some things you can do to mitigate the pain. Ibuprofen prior to a ride can sometimes help to ease inflamation. Stretching daily is important. There are several lower back stretches that can be added in with your overall body stretching. Particular attention must be pain to your ham strings because of their correlation with the lower back. Building your core is very important as well. I use front and side planks as well as using the lower back machine(roman chair) without weight, and crunshes, obliques etc. Traditional sit ups can be detrimental to your back so if you choose to do them use caution. Not all these exerciese can be safe for all bulged disk sufferers so be careful with all things. I use glucosamine as well, but you must use a reputable brand or I feel you will be wasting your money. Just some suggestions.
Is it now open?
If you can make it to NC, check out Tsali. I loved it.
When is the projected date for the trail to be open to ride?
No I am not kidding you. It is all a matter of opinion. If you feel DB national forrest trails are better than that’s fine, suggest it. I think their flow is terrible and they are poorly maintained. And so do many riders I have talked to here. Those are the best from riders I have talked to here and from my experience. Brown County is the best trail system that is the nearest. But that is not KY. Don’t think I am limited in experience. I have ridden most of the notable trails in the US, Western Europe, and Austrailia, so my opinion is from my experience. Those I have talked to are some of the sponsored riders here in KY, so that is their experience.
Thinner tires, in my opinion, are a product of many racers desire to lighten their bikes as much as possible. I agree that Kenda makes some of the best tires on the market. I think one of the best all around tires, that are tough, do great in mudd and slick conditions are the Kenda Tomac Nevegals. They make it in 29er as well.
Thanks for the advice. I will give it a try and if it doesn’t work I will talk to my LBS.
Good choice bro. I have the ’10 model and I love it too. It sounds like a great deal to me. Having been on 26ers until I got mine as well, you learn to use it to your advantage. I agree it is a matter of preference and I prefer the 29er too.
My opinion is that if you want a frame only? Santa Cruz, Trek, Specialized, Giant, Kona etc. all make good frames. I am a big pusher for the idea that it is preference more than brand on most of the "good" companies. I agree that the technology has changed quite a bit just in few years, let alone longer. Are you bike savy enough that you are going to build the bike yourself? You could always bounce ideas and components off of your local bike shop too. The guys at my shop will always talk about ideas and what I want to do.
Just remember also that if you buy off of Ebay, you will have no warranty. Don’t let anyone BS you otherwise. For example my Specialized has a lifetime warranty on the frame. Plus one year on all componets, I have had a few things replaced that I broke on the trail. All warranties I know of are void if you sell the bike to a new owner.
If you plan on getting back into it for good I would personally go with a higher end bike. Like a Stumpjumper etc. but that’s just my opinion.If you are going with one of the better brands i.e. Specialized, Trek, Giant, Rocky Mountain, Santa Cruz etc. it is more about preference than brand. Overall they all make good bikes. It is more about what you prefer in a bike.
I personally have little faith in Diamondback. Since they have gone to that "high" level of mass production their old standard of quality has been hurt. At the very least with their low end bikes. I can’t say I know that much about Nishiki as a company though. I assume that if you are going with these bikes as options that it is a beginner bike? I always considered when I bought a bike what upgrades I would probably want and or need to make. So that should be put in the overall cost thinking. My humble opinion is that if you plan on really getting into mountain biking you should consider going a little higher with the bike quality like maybe a Specialized Rochhopper or Hardrock, some of these models aren’t much more in price and the quality I feel is better and will have less need for upgrades over at least the Diamondback Response.
I didn’t see it mentioned(might have missed it) but as far as 29ers you might want to consider the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp 29. I just got the 2010 and not only does it look great, but it rides great as well. It has 120mm of travel on the front and 130mm on the back. The Reba on the front is improved and great. You might want to consider it.
December 17, 2009 at 17:05 in reply to: Specialized Stumpjumper FSR 29 vs Gary Fisher Rumblefish 1 #84871The BB height according to the geometry Specialized lists says the Stumpy FSR Comp 29 has one of 338mm and the Rumblefish II according to the Fisher website it’s BB height at 332mm. So they are pretty close but the Comp 29 is a bit higher.
Also according to the two companies website’s listed geometry and using the size large as a base line the FSR Comp 29 has a wheelbase of 1156 mm and the Runmblefish II has a wheelbase of 1145.1 mm so there is only a difference of 11.1 mm which to me is slight. Thought I would put that out there, happy trails -
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