new bike input

From what i have read, people suggest going to LBS and riding a bunch of different bikes to find out what fits/feels best to you for the type of riding you will be doing. Obviously you would not want to buy a down hill bike for cross county riding.

There are a lot of good brands out there. Trek is a solid brand along with gary fisher, specialized, jamis, scott, giant, cannondale, Santa Cruz, kona just to name a few.

Personally, i am a bargain hunter so i bought a good used bike so that i could buy much more bike for my money i looking to spend. This may be an option for you as well.

mtbr.com has a review section as well as this forum. This is a good way to do a little research on bikes that you are interested in.

Research is a VERY good thing, but nothing beats riding and talking to as many friends and LBS as possible. Be weary of on line review…Pay attention to the person who did the review, how long they "rode the bike" and if they have owned other bikes.

I get a kick out of people who go to a LBS ride a FS bike around the parking lot and give it a bad review saying it does not climb or handle well. How would they know? Or people who have never ridden a Mountain bike on a trail giving reviews is like asking a 12 year old for a review on how a BMW drives???

Welcome to the forum Fire931. What type of riding do you anticipate doing?

I see from your profile that you are from Lexington, VA. You are just across the hill from Douthat State park. Epic cross country trail riding in that area. Lots of trails in the national forest around the park too. Rocky and steep. Personally, I like a full suspension not too heavy bike for our area. Lots of folks ride hardtails, with 29er hardtails also becoming quite popular. A lot depends on your budget and FS/or hardtail preference.

I don’t know if Lexington has a shop or not, but in Roanoke there is Cardinal (Giant and Specialized), East Coasters (Trek and Gary Fisher) and Just the Right Gear (Kona and Santa Cruz). Try out all the bikes you can. Once you get a bike, the lake side trails at Carvins Cove are a good place to retrain your leg muscles. Again, welcome.

I highly recommend the Specialized Rockhopper as well. It was my first mountain bike and it willingly took all kinds of abuse.
I still ride it, 5 years and thousands of miles later, as a work commuter.

I have replaced the following in that time:
-tires, front fork, brake pads, grips, chain and cassette for wear
-pedals, to go clipless, the OEM ones are still in on my wife’s bike
-rear derailleur because I ended up with an ‘extra’ XT one when I built my full suspension bike. The original Deore LX is on a friend’s bike.
-rear wheel due to a nasty crash
-saddle, the OEM WTB one was cruel and unusual punishment

Everything else (cables, crankset, v-brakes, front der., shifters, brake levers, cockpit parts, hubs, etc) is original.
The hubs have never required adjustment and the crankset is still tight and smooth, but is just now getting to needing the grease repacked. The wheels have been trued once, and weren’t even that bad then.

Keep in mind that this bike usually retails for $500 or less, and I paid $150 for mine used. There’s some kind of Taiwanese magic going on with these bikes that they can be so durable for so little money.

Sort of like our recent RaceFace Evolve XC crankset conversation? 😉

I guess it comes down to who you like better, Levi Leipheimer or Lance Armstrong…

All joking aside, ride both, see which one fits and feels better, and keep an eye on the components to make sure there are no surprises one way or the other.

Reviews on MTBR

i have an 08 4500 and love the bike it has endured alot of abuse from me and still rides like a champ i know that the 2010 model year has upgraded the brakes to disc but has down graded the front shock. dealing with a lbs is something great in its self i am really hard on things and have been thru some parts snapped rear derailleurs bent cables and wheels changing pedals to clipless better tires the bike shop was fantastic i have spent alot of time and $ in there. they are always willing to help that or i just have found a kick ass dealer

Congrats Fire…. Ride it like you stole it!