1st Time on a Bike in 17 years

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    • #125416

      So I’ve been intrigued with mountain biking for a few years now, but nowhere close to learn to ride. However, I had about $200 worth of birthday money saved up from family and decided to just get a basic entry level bike. The most daunting task, after much research, was trying to find which bike to purchase. I have found that many in the community are "bike snobs." Whenever a true beginner wants to start, they have a set amount they want to spend. For example, I had $200 to spend and various google searches of forums showed the same answer: "Save up $300 more and get a better bike."

      Not wanting to drop $500 on a bike that I may or may not use on a regular basis, I hit the local box stores. I went into *gasp* Sports Authority to see what they had to offer and found a K2 Zed Sport on clearance (ie. closeout) that received decent reviews on non-retail review sites. Retail was listed at $300, which is probably MSRP, but was on sale for $170 so I took a chance.

      I live exactly 1mi from a beginner track (3/4mi and rarely used except for the occasional dog walker) with some climbs, descents, sharp curves, a few roots and rocks along the way, and no drops. I hop on and start pedaling towards the trail and immediately think my front tire is flat…though its the front shocks going up and down that I’m not used to. I remember having a 10 speed growing up, but never really switched gears, and my new bike is 21 speed. So I’m trying to go up a hill in my neighborhood and trying to switch gears to find one I’m comfortable with. Needless to say I can’t figure it out and I probably made things much harder than they needed to be.

      I finally get to the trail, now realizing I probably need to take the bike and pay someone to look it over and tune it up right since my gears keep slipping. What the hell, I’m at the trail, let me test this thing out! I go around on the trail and hit my first obstacle, a pretty good sized rock, and realized pretty quickly I should’ve stood up off the seat. It only took one time to feel as if I was a prison girlfriend to learn my lesson, and all the other obstacles went fairly smoothly.

      I did realize, however, my ass is out of shape (cardio wise). Stick me in the gym and I’ll lift weights all day long, but make me move for longer than 10 minutes, I’m done lol. Oh well, after I laid down for 30 minutes and recovered, I realized I have some work ahead of me. If I stick with this for a year, I’ll invest in another bike…promise.

    • #125417

      Ride what you brought! Ride it till the wheels fall off. Just don’t hurt yourself trying to do advanced trails on a bike like this. You do not need an expensive bike to improve your cardio and your skills. It is amazing what you can do with a simple bike.

      If something breaks on this bike, then inexpensive part upgrades are OK. Just don’t fall into the trap of throwing a bunch of money on upgrades for this bike. A single higher end upgrade part can easily cost more than this whole bike new. If you decide later on to upgrade to a better bike, then no regrets. This bike would have served it’s purpose.

      Have fun riding it.

    • #125418

      A lot of us started out on bikes like that, and it is a good point, figure out if you are going to like the sport before you dump more money into it! I agree that mt biking fitness is WAY different than gym fitness! Hope you enjoy the ride 😄

    • #125419

      Thanks guys! I played paintball for 10 years and both are similar. You can play easily with a $200 paintball gun, but you’re not going to compete. You’ll get your basic skills down, especially since you had to work harder with the lower end equipment. I don’t plan on hitting any advanced trails anytime soon. Heck, I couldn’t complete my 3/4 mile course without stopping (two good inclines got me). Now that was probably more to do with my inexperience with shifting gears than my cardio, but I wanted a bike to learn on.

      I’ll be on the site intermediately to pick your guys’ brains. Thanks in advance!

    • #125420
      "TheFuzz1290" wrote

      I’ll be on the site intermediately to pick your guys’ brains. Thanks in advance!

      I’m sure we’ll all be happy to help as we can! Make sure to check out the Beginners section which includes an article on how to climb better has some great tips. And getting out there and riding is the best thing. Learning through your own experiences is always way more fun than sitting in front of a computer!

    • #125421

      As has been said before, ride what you got. I understand trying to get a bike on a budget. I also agree that the climbing section is a great place to start.

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