Best bang for your buck 29er

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    • #126933

      Hi all,

      I’m looking at buying a 29er for my dad in celebration of his retirement but I’m in kind of a pickle. He rides a Trek 4300 from the late 2000s and he enjoys it, but he rode my 2013 Cannondale SL Trail 29er and fell in love. I’m looking at spending $1000 on a bike for him, but I’m trying to figure out what bike gives me the most bang for my buck. What do you suggest for a bike in that price range!?

      Patrick

    • #126934

      If you stay near the "name brands" you’re going to get less bike for your money. Most people will say Airborne Seeker as an "off brand." I’ve become a fan of the Charge Cooker, another off brand. However, Giant is generally viewed as a solid value for the price.

    • #126935

      Like Fuzz said, stay away from name brand bikes, like Specialized or Trek, if possible. Giant, the other of the big three, does seem to have decent bang for your buck though. (I’m a huge Evil Red S fan, so that almost hurt to say. 😆 )

      Greg has been preaching the goodness of Airborne bikes for a while. I haven’t ridden one, but I would have to agree based on paper.

      Motobecane is one of the more well-known direct buy bike companies (not sure if that’s good or bad) and other ones are Canyon and Fezzari…but I’m not sure where they or you are located so check shipping prices before you order if you go that route.

      And after all that, it wouldn’t hurt to check the local bike shops to see if they have any older models on hand at a good price. My first mtb was a year-old model that was around 30% off. If they offer a decent discount, then a Trek or Specialized wouldn’t be too bad…and even better if was one of the less-expensive models!

    • #126936

      I’ve had great luck with Giant bikes. Giant has a lifetime warranty on their bikes non-expendable parts. The frame cracks in five years they ship you a new bike. Also Giant has dedicated bike shops and they will let you test drive their bikes or rent one for multiple days. You should see if you have a shop near you. The customer service at the shops really makes the other bike shops look sad. When you buy from the Giant stores you get free tuneups and troubleshooting. For instance I tore the casing on one of my tires but at the time I didn’t know what the problem was. All I knew was the tread wobbled really badly and the tire would burp every time I tried to go up a hill. I brought the wheel in and they said, "Oh you tore the casing", and they replaced the tire and mounted it right then. No waiting. I haven’t set foot in another bike shop since I found them.

    • #126937

      Give him a gift certificate so he can get the Cannondale. If he’s near my age he wants the full suspension.

    • #126938
      "abegold" wrote

      Give him a gift certificate so he can get the Cannondale. If he’s near my age he wants the full suspension.

      He is 53 and he told me he wants a Hardtail. I’ve talked with Specialized and the Trek dealers in my area and they basically pointed me towards a Specialized Rockhopper and a Treck XCalibur 7. What Giant and Cannondale bike would be comparable to those two above?

    • #126939
      "pcfiegen" wrote

      [quote="abegold":331um6wf]Give him a gift certificate so he can get the Cannondale. If he’s near my age he wants the full suspension.

      He is 53 and he told me he wants a Hardtail. I’ve talked with Specialized and the Trek dealers in my area and they basically pointed me towards a Specialized Rockhopper and a Treck XCalibur 7. What Giant and Cannondale bike would be comparable to those two above?[/quote:331um6wf]

      I’ll quote on Giant’s customer service. My first full suspension was a Giant and I lost a frame bolt. Giant gave me a new frame FREE when I expected to buy the set of bolts. I’d bought a medium and needed a large which they provided!
      Don’t know the models anymore.

    • #126940
      "pcfiegen" wrote

      What Giant and Cannondale bike would be comparable to those two above?

      A grand will get you a Cannondale Trail 4 or Giant Talon.

    • #126941

      [url:2ri5id6e]http://www.giantscottsdale.com/en-us/bikes/series/talon.29er/18770/[/url:2ri5id6e] Talon 29er. That’s without any discounts. Usually if you buy last years model they give you 10 or 20% off. For a little more you can get an XTC. Check out giants website for the base prices and then hit the giant shop for the actual price. In Scottsdale the store will add a discount of 1% for every degree over 110 F that it hits that day. On the right day you can get an extra ten percent off. You can also buy their demo bikes that they let go of at the end of the riding season for a 20% discount.

      "pcfiegen" wrote

      [quote="abegold":2ri5id6e]Give him a gift certificate so he can get the Cannondale. If he’s near my age he wants the full suspension.

      He is 53 and he told me he wants a Hardtail. I’ve talked with Specialized and the Trek dealers in my area and they basically pointed me towards a Specialized Rockhopper and a Treck XCalibur 7. What Giant and Cannondale bike would be comparable to those two above?[/quote:2ri5id6e]

    • #126942

      Bottom line- buy him a quality bike- even if that requires bumping up on what you spend. He is retiring and will use it often. I learned long ago you get what you pay for.

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