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Hello. I’m a 33 year old gorilla who has decided to try mountain biking, mostly xc I guess. I live in NE Kansas so trails and general riding. I used to be a BMX racer and had just forgotten how much fun riding a bike can be. So after fixing my kids FS(sort of) big box store bike and riding a buddies trek 4600(I think) want to get my own.
Bike will generally be used for fairly flat trails and bashing around town. I’ve got it narrowed down to 3 from my LBS. The only problem is after bmx riding I went on to be 6’1" and 290 pound gorilla of a adult. I’ve got it narrowed down to 3 bikes and want to know if you think they can handle this silverback without giving up the ghost.Trek xcaliber 6- best frame of the group that I can find. OK groupo for this price range.
Giant talon 27.5 3- felt really good on the ride. 27.5 tires seem real good for all around use.
Specialized RockHopper 29- I like the look but everything else seems a little overpriced about it. This is the one with the most aggressive feel to me and seems like it would be fun. But its the highest price at LBS and still has mech brakes and a junk fork.
My friend who rides told me to buy for the frame cause I’ll upgrade everything else if I stay with it. He’s a dedicated rider doing both road rides and traveling all over doing hard core all mountain and DH. What’s going to work for me? I have read a ton on this and road all 3 and can’t really tell a difference. Do I get the talon just cause it felt familiar or the xcaliber because its better to build on? Rock hopper cause it has better position for me?
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Can I ask why you feel the xcal is a superior frame, seeing as how they’re all built in Taiwan of the same materials? Just curious about this.
Building up a Talon or Rockhopper will give you an equally capable bike. With these three frames, there is no clear cut superior frame so I’d buy for comfort and fit. A perceived superior frame won’t do you any good if you can’t get a good fitting cockpit on it.
I loved my Talon. It was my first real mountain bike, rode great and would climb anything. I shouldn’t have gotten rid of it.
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Well probably advertising and lineup position lead me to believe the xcaliber had the better frame. A) its above the marlin models, and 2) internally routed cables. But this is the kind of info I need as a mountain bike idiot. But it does come with all SRAM X4 stuff. No I don’t think it better than the shimano stuff but if I upgrade I could go all SRAM without having to switch cassette and stuff right? Say X7?
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Internal routing is a nice convenience(until it’s time for cable housing replacement) but doesn’t really do much in the grand scheme of things. We’ve all been riding externally routed bikes for decades without issue. To be honest, cheap bikes with internal routing is sometimes a nightmare for replacement, while the more expensive bikes have removable panels that make replacement a breeze.
They’ve pretty much figured out the standards for drivetrains between brands and even from the factory, they often come with mixed components, like a Shimano shifter pod, SRAM front derailleur… things of that nature. You can upgrade them as money permits one at a time and don’t really need to stick with a particular groupset or brand. My Scalpel has a SRAM cassette, KMC chain, Shimano front and rear derailleurs, raceface chainrings on a Shimano crankset and SRAM shifter pods. It shifts like butter and I never have an issue with it.
You are going to find that at your price point, the bikes are pretty much all the same in regards to build, weight and components and your deciding factor will likely be fit and if you’re not wrenching on it yourself, a bike shop that you like.
"Gixxer1237" wroteWell probably advertising and lineup position lead me to believe the xcaliber had the better frame. A) its above the marlin models, and 2) internally routed cables. But this is the kind of info I need as a mountain bike idiot. But it does come with all SRAM X4 stuff. No I don’t think it better than the shimano stuff but if I upgrade I could go all SRAM without having to switch cassette and stuff right? Say X7?
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I have a talon 27.5 and love it. Rode a specialized camber elite 29er for two seasons and I prefer the handling of the 27.5 inch wheels over it. Perhaps I should change my screen name to tweener rider now……. 😆 All kidding aside, buy what feels right for you. Trust your senses. They all have good solid frames and they can all get components upgraded as needed.
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Well I’m going to a LBS this weekend to test ride a Specialized Rockhopper sport and a trek side by side. I wish they carried Giant to, but the LBS that carries all 3 is full of…… Well people who aren’t very nice of informative. I refuse to go back in there. But the good shop will also give me a discount on anything else I get when I buy a bike and has pretty fair prices. Giant may be out though because I want to buy new and a shop local to service what ever I get.
On a side note would a air sprung fork be a good future upgrade for a rider my size before I hit the trail? Kind of think being able to dial it in for my weight would be a big plus. -
An air fork over spring is a very nice upgrade and is probably the most popular upgrade to entry level bikes. If you know you’re going to upgrade it, purchase the model of Rockhopper that already has it(there are different "levels" of the same model with different grade components). It always costs less included in the bike than it does to buy it separately and have it installed.
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Well I ended up going to the crappy dealer. Found a guy there who was OK to deal with. Test road the giant talon 3, trek excaliber 6 and 9 I think, specialized rockhopper comp and pitch comp. Discovered I don’t like the feel of a 29er. So road the talon 3 and pitch again. Settled on a pitch comp for a pretty good discount and got all my gear at 25% off. So if you pass a 300# man on a spesh pitch huffing and puffing say high. I’ll try to wheeze out a response.
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Sounds awesome man! Enjoy that bike!
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