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good mountain bikes (pg. 2)
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| Ian^ |
| quote: | Originally posted by tranzformer
after talking to some friends and reading what has been posted, I have made up my mind to go with a "upper end" hardtail. I think I will be able to spend about 700ish on this bike. That should be good enough for a quality hardtail right? With a good fram, good set of shocks, and some hydrolic disc brakes. What else should I look at when looking to pick a bike. I am about 5'11 and around 175ish. I am in good shape and have been biking on and off for some time but have never spent money on a great bike, so this will be a first. The trails I will be biking on will be mostly mountain. Mudd, rocks, streams. I live in the Midwest (Michigan/Illinois) and I plan on heading out west with a few buddies this summer. Possibly Glacier National Park or maybe Colo or the Appalachians. So that is sorta where I am coming from. |
upper end hardtail would be best for the money as a good rider doesn't need full suspension unless doing stupidly difficult & steep downhill riding, you should get mid-range shimano, a plush fork and as for what to buy, well, goto stores & test ride, get the bike that feels right for u in ride, not the one that looks coolest or is best pricewise |
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| tranzformer |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ian^
upper end hardtail would be best for the money as a good rider doesn't need full suspension unless doing stupidly difficult & steep downhill riding, you should get mid-range shimano, a plush fork and as for what to buy, well, goto stores & test ride, get the bike that feels right for u in ride, not the one that looks coolest or is best pricewise |
just curious what do you mean by mid-range shimano and plush fork? |
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| Ian^ |
| quote: | Originally posted by tranzformer
just curious what do you mean by mid-range shimano and plush fork? |
most groupsets are shimano, shifters, brakes (not so much discs) mechs, cranksets etc, each 'range' goes up in price and mid-range will get you some LX and a lot of Deore, they're good, the lower end stuff isn't great, race wise XT (1 above LX) and XTR (lighest and most expensive) would be an option, but LX/Deore etc is fine
a plush fork will handle each bump on individual merits, you dont want a fork that goes 130mm down and throws you about for doing just a small drop, but you do want one that responds well, and 'plush' would be a good term for such :) |
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| teegee |
you wont be getting hydraulic discs for $700-stick to mechanicals, Avids if you can get them.
if you want something that can take a moderate beating, check out the haro escape series (http://www.harobikes.com/mtb/escape-82.php)...otherwise, get out there and kick around on whatever looks good- you'll know what you want after riding around on several diff. bikes. |
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| Ian^ |
| quote: | Originally posted by teegee
you wont be getting hydraulic discs for $700-stick to mechanicals, Avids if you can get them.
if you want something that can take a moderate beating, check out the haro escape series (http://www.harobikes.com/mtb/escape-82.php |
*points to his picture of his haro escape 8.2 :p* |
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| PhloTron |
| quote: | Originally posted by A83
GT! |
+1 |
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| tranzformer |
I have narrowed down my choices to about 11 bikes. Any more help would be great.
Giant Rainer (~850)
Giant Iguana (~600)
Fisher Tassajara Disc (~800)
Trek 6500 (~780)
Trek 4500 (~460)
Jamis Durango SX (~620)
Jamis Durango Sport SX (~470)
Specialized Hardrock (~600)
Kona Blast (~ $699)
Rocky Mountain Fusion (~720)
Rocky Mountain Trailhead (~800) |
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| Ian^ |
trek 4500
* Frame: New Trek Alpha SL aluminium frame with replaceable gear hanger
* Suspension: Rock-Shox Judy TT suspension fork with 80mm travel
* Gears: 27 speed Shimano Alivio and Deore front and rear mech
* Shifters: Shimano Deore gear shifters
* Chainset: Shimano MC20 crankset with 42-32-22 teeth chainrings
* Brakes: Promax forged V-brakes
* Wheels: 32 spoked wheels with black WTB Dual Duty rims
* Tyres: Bontrager Jones ACX 2.2 tyres
* Handlebars: Bontrager Crowbar Sport handlebars
* Stem: Bontrager sport stem
* Saddle: Bontrager Select saddle
* Seatpost: Bontrager Sport seatpost
* Pedals/Extras: Alloy platform pedals
for this, I'd say that the biggest worry would be the fork, i think there's better forks than the RS Judy out there, the problem is like intel, the name pushes the price up a lot compared to other competitors.
trek 6500
# Frame: Trek Alpha SLR Aluminium
# Suspension: RockShox Pilot C
# Gears: 27 speed Shimano Deore LX rear and Deore front derailleurs with Shimano Deore shifters
# Brakes: Alloy liner pull with alloy levers
# Wheels: Shimano Deore rear hub alloy front stainless spokes WTB Dual Duty rims Bontrager ACX 26*2.2 tyres
# Bar & Stem: Bontrager Sport 25mm riser bars. Bontrager Sport stem
# Saddle & Post: Bontrager FS2000 saddle. Bontrager Sport post
# Pedals: Alloy platform pedals clipless adaptable with toe clips and straps
# Colour: Black/Polished Gold/Black
better drivetrain on this one, the LX rear mech is as smooth as they come for shifting, you can't even feel the changes, again the only thing i'd have against is the fork.
kona blast
* Frame: Kona 7005 butted aluminium frame
* Suspension: Marzocchi MZ-Comp 100mm travel fork
* Gears: 27 Speed. Shimano Deore front and rear derailleurs
* Shifters: Shimano Deore shifters
* Chainset: Truvativ 5D chainset
* Brakes: Shimano M465 mechanical disc brakes. Avid FR-5 disc brake levers
* Wheels: KK disc front and Shimano M475 disc rear hubs. Sun Black Eye rims
* Tyres: Tioga Terra Firma 26 * 1.95 tyres
* Handlebars: Kona aluminium riser bars.
* Stem: Kona Control stem
* Saddle: WTB Pure V Sport saddle
* Seatpost: Kona Thumb seatpin
* Pedals/Extras: Wellgo LU-A9 pedals with toeclips and straps
Fork looks better here, much more travel. Full Deore groupset gives basic but smooth enough components that have some lastability in them. Truvativ chainset i think is the one I have on my bike :)
Hardrock Pro Disc
* Frame: A1 Premium aluminium frame with 3D box gusseted downtube and toptube. Reinforced disc mounts and replaceable derailleur hanger
* Suspension: Marzocchi MZ Comp suspension fork with preload adjust and 100mm travel
* Gears: 27 speed Shimano Deore front and rear derailleurs
* Shifters: Shimano Deore SL gear shifters
* Chainset: Truvativ 5-D chainset with 44-32-22 teeth chainrings
* Brakes: Shimano 475 mechanical disc brakes
* Wheels: Sun DitchWitch rims with joyTech front and Shimano rear hubs
* Tyres: Specialized Enduro Sport 26x2.2 inch tyres
* Handlebars: Alloy riser bars
* Stem: Specialized Mobius stem
* Saddle: Specialized Body Geometry saddle
* Seatpost: Alloy seatpost
* Pedals/Extras: Alloy platform pedals with cro-mo spindle
Hard as nails bike, bombproof infact (not literally obviously ;)) This is one that a lot of people I know look at for lastability and a decent range of components
And as the site Igot all the info on doesn't have any of the other models.... here's a GT
GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc 2005 Bike
* Frame: 6061 Aluminium Triple Triangle frame with pressure formed downtube. Disc compatible with replaceable derailleur hanger
* Fork/Suspension: Rock Shox Judy C suspension fork with 100mm travel
* Gears: 27 speed Shimano LX front and rear derailleurs
* Shifters: Shimano Deore 9 speed gear shifters
* Chainset: Truvativ 5-D Powerspline chainset with 44-32-22 chainrings
* Brakes: Tektro Auriga Hydraulic Disc brakes
* Wheels: Alloy double wall ATB rims with CNC braking surfaces and Alloy hubs
* Tyres: Tioga Factory Extreme front and Factory XC rear 26x1.95 inch tyres
* Handlebars: GT Mountain Riser handlebars
* Stem: GT tig welded threadless stem
* Saddle: GT Custom MTN saddle with anatomic pressure relief
* Seatpost: Alloy micro adjust seatpost
* Pedals/Extras: Shimano PDM-502 clipless pedals
I nearly got this one myself, the LX shifting is obviously superb, can't comment on the brakes, and the fork is decent enough, not bad for the money.
The only other thing i can suggest is to look for the 2004 models (or 2003 still) as you can get a huge discount on many of them & get a lot more bike (in the brake/groupset/fork) market for your money :)
hope this helps a bit anyway |
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| tranzformer |
| thanx for the help Ian^ |
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| Project 7 |
Universal Cycles
"Top quality at the lowest price" |
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| teegee |
out of those ~10 you mentioned above, the giant rainer is absolutly bomb-even though it is the most expensive, the parts spec on that is worthy of at least $250 added to the price. i'd recommend that in a heartbeat.
maybe if the price is a bit too high, you can swing a deal on an '04.
one more thing- get clipless pedals for the bike if it doesnt come with them. it makes a world of difference on the trail. |
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