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hi im a new rider been a few times to the trails in memorial park in houston on a walmart bike, enjoyed it. so slowly buying my gear. got a difrent bike its a lil better. the brakes and the gears dont suck like the $99 monguse bike i got from wal mart 😳 . but still looking for a even better bike. the only thing is i dont know any brands to look for. and i need something affordable also. so any help would be greatly apretiated. 😛
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how much are you looking to spend?
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"humanpower" wrote
hi im a new rider been a few times to the trails in memorial park in houston on a walmart bike, enjoyed it. so slowly buying my gear. got a difrent bike its a lil better. the brakes and the gears dont suck like the $99 monguse bike i got from wal mart 😳 . but still looking for a even better bike. the only thing is i dont know any brands to look for. and i need something affordable also. so any help would be greatly apretiated. 😛
I’d recommend spending some time in your local bike shops. Tell them you don’t want to break the bank, but want something solid. Mongoose named off some good brands. Most shops carry at least 2 or 3 brands. Most shop personnel are more than willing to spend some time, help you out, and lest you test ride – at least in the parking lot. Find something that feels good while you ride; then you can look for reviews on line here, MTBR, or just Google. Or ask for feedback here when you find something you like.
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I’ve got a Gary Fisher Marlin (hardtail) and I absolutely love it. I’m not sure if the more-experienced riders on this forum would consider this entry-level or not. IMO, Fisher makes a really good bike, and it worked well for my budget. Hope this helps.
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Howdy, LOL, my Wally-Mart MTB is even lower on the food chain than your Mongoose 😳 , (Roadmaster Mnt. Sport SX hardtail), we just picked up a 09 Jamis Trail-X 1.0 for my wife and it’s "lightyears" ahead of" my Roadmaster!
Wife’s new Jamis MTB:
[url:4xo5cl1f]http://picasaweb.google.com/bjandjoondo/TheOndoSBicyclePhotos#5300195768631025474[/url:4xo5cl1f]I’m looking at either a Trail-X 2.0 or possibly a Trail-X 3.0, man I can’t wait to get to ride a decent MTB on our local singletack!! 😎
I know that everyone will want you to spend thousands of dollars but I think that at least Hardtail wise, any of the $4-500 bikes will do a great job for general Cross-Country (XC) style riding. I’ve been told that if you want a Full Squisher, (Full Suspension) MTB, the decent one’s "START" at $1,000 dollars and go UP! Now if you want to do the insane downhill or uber-jumps, those rigs cost "MAJOR" bucks 😮 No way I could EVER afford any of those rigs! 😢
I’ll let you know what I think of my new Jamis MTB, real soon!! 😼
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"droc" wrote
how much are you looking to spend?
well i hate to sound cheep but i see some of your bikes on here cost a "g" plus. thats way out of my price range. i really only want to spend like $150 or so but i can only pay like $300 max. i figured i could get a good hard tail bike and slowly upgrade.
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thanks you guys.
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I’d give craigslist a look & see if you can find a good used bike. You may be able to find one of the previously mentioned brands (iron horse, diamondback, jamis, etc.) at a good price. Good luck!
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The reason you see so many of the members on this site riding $1K+ bikes is that most of us believe in the motto "you get what you pay for". You are not going to get a new "mountain bike" for less than $300 new. You may get a bike that is ideal for bike paths but not for off-road riding. You will have shifting and brake problems in no time at all.
As was already mentioned, try craigslist or eBay for a deal on a decent used bike that will last longer and can be more easily upgraded.
Sorry if that’s not what you were hoping to hear.
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For that amount of $$ definitely look for used. This is a decent time of year to look for a used bike if you are south of the Mason-Dixon line. As things warm up people are getting out their old bikes and trying to decide if they want to upgrade or not.
The places mentioned above are good resources for used bikes, sometimes bike shops will have some used bikes. In your situation I would steer towards a local purchase you can test ride before you buy.
Here in central NC we have a local mountain bike forum with a classified section. Lots of really nice stuff goes on there for very low dollars. Local clubs may have a for sale section on their website too. Google for local cycling forums and clubs in your area. Lots of places will have an annual bike swap meet. Usually these are in the fall, shops will clear last years stuff, teams sell off old bikes and clothes… you name it. In San Diego I bought a used bike one year at the swap meet, rode it for 2 years and sold it at the swap meet for the same price – all I did was replace the tires once! OH depending on your area cruise thrift shops and consignment stores, be careful though – sometimes these places charge way too much for bikes.
You may want to get to know the Park Tool website [url:2vp5p2b9]http://www.parktool.com/repair/[/url:2vp5p2b9] . Lots of info on how to repair bikes on there, buying used means service from your local shop costs $$. Especially on mid priced bikes none of the mechanical tasks are rocket science, just dive in.
I have purchased lots of used bikes over the years, most have been good deals in the long run. Heck I have even rescued bikes out of dumpsters and out of the scrap metal bin at the recycle center. (got a too-big-for-me Gary Fisher once!)
Best of luck
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I have to agree that you will get your most bang for your buck if you buy a used bike off of craigs list or something of the sort. When I started riding about 4 yrs. ago I couldn’t affor more than $300 so I bought a Trek with no suspension at all. Big mistake on my part, as I got about 6 months into riding it the bike fell apart and I ended up having to suck it up and buy a $600 Marin Hawk Hill. It worked great for me for awhile. I was able to upgrade many of the components and I still ride it now. In more recent times I am starting to break some of the components that have not been replaced and am getting sick of putting money into it. Therefore I am going to blow my tax return and bonus on a much better bike.
Another idea is to check around for your bike stores for 2008 models and sometimes even 2007 models, these are excellent brand new bikes that occasionally can be purchased for a fraction of the cost that they were brand new.
Anyways, good luck!
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