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oudinardin
Aug 1, 2003, 7:41 AM
Post #26 of 36
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Registered: Dec 8, 2002
Posts: 536
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STRONG racing frames. They build customs. You get what you pay for.
Raced for awhile with a Raleigh M 800 FS. Broke the frame, bought another and it was stolen. Then bought another, stolen, then contributed to my rack with the insurance money. Thanks Yakima. Ride a STRONG now but you would never know. It looks like shi!, rides like a dream.
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stinky_lizard
Aug 1, 2003, 2:14 PM
Post #29 of 36
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Registered: Jul 26, 2002
Posts: 67
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KONA!!
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seeking8a
Aug 1, 2003, 3:33 PM
Post #30 of 36
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Registered: Sep 5, 2002
Posts: 71
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I have been climbing for 10 years and just recently got into mountain biking big time. I would definitely recommend a FS over a hard-tail for the fun factor! Why climb in a pair of 1950's mountaineering boots when technical rubber is available? Might as well experience what mountain biking is really about. I have heard many friends of mine with hard tails say that certain trails suck because they were too bumpy (like Porcupine Rim in Moab) but on a FS they are a lot of fun! I love my Kona Bear (4" travel in the front, 4" travel in the rear).
Trent
www.trentbaker.com
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jakedatc
Aug 2, 2003, 4:30 AM
Post #31 of 36
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Registered: Mar 12, 2003
Posts: 11054
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hey
I gotta agree with ski. If the guy is just starting out with mtn biking he should learn on a hardtail.. work on his technique.. and see if he'll even stick with it.. no sense buying a crazy bike if it's just going to look nice hanging in the garage. plus i bet it would be hard to downgrade from FS to hardtail at some point (i dunno cuz i've been on my trek 930 from 1996 with Indy C shox lol anyone know the mm of travel on those bad boys not too much compared to the newer 80mm's)
if you gunna go FS way Ebay has some trek Y frames and Fuel's for under 1000 right now
ps ski.. i hate you lol i wanna live in CO wicked bad for the skiing, riding and climbing ... what they got for biking and climbing around crested butte? that place is fun :)
Jake
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meataxe
Aug 2, 2003, 4:34 PM
Post #32 of 36
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Registered: Oct 23, 2002
Posts: 1162
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I think I officially qualify as a mountain biking old coot. My first race was in 1987 :) My interest is in cross-country moreso than downhill.
I have never actually raced on a bike with any suspension at all (front or back) -- back when rock shox started to appear we treated the "motorheads" that rode them with a bit of suspicion.
A lot of people today probably don't realize that with proper technique you can go extremely fast downhill with no suspension. However, you are better off by far with suspension--you can charge through a messy downhill that would have to be finessed in the past.
Today, I ride a Brodie hardtail with front suspension.
http://www.brodiebikes.com/
You may not have Brodies where you are, but there are plenty of other good choices out there. For mass-produced bikes you could look at Giant, Trek and so on. It all depends on what you want to spend.
I've ridden with guys who have full suspension and most of the time there is not a lot of difference. Where I've noticed a real advantage for full bouncy bikes is log crossings--you can just sort of plough into them, while I have to slow down more (too big for me to hop).
After a few log crossings, I start to fall behind. :(
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meataxe
Aug 2, 2003, 4:41 PM
Post #33 of 36
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Registered: Oct 23, 2002
Posts: 1162
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In reply to: ...I would definitely recommend a FS over a hard-tail for the fun factor! Why climb in a pair of 1950's mountaineering boots when technical rubber is available? Might as well experience what mountain biking is really about...
As an old-timer I must respectfully disagree! If you want to know what mountainbiking is really about, haul an old Schwinn Excelsior with balloon tires up a fire road, then blast down. That's how the sport got started. (And that's even before my time.) 8)
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joeschmoe
Aug 5, 2003, 6:16 AM
Post #34 of 36
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Registered: Aug 4, 2003
Posts: 479
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i gotta agree w/ all the other old schoolers. grab a hardtail, if you're just starting there's no sense in hauling the extra weight around, wait what am i sayin I've ridden for 10yrs and i still wont haul the weight around :P. If you're looking for deals too, its just like cars get last year's model or see if a local shop has a swap meet or bikes on consignment. If you want a bomber brand, grab a kona. all their bikes i've ever ridden are pretty sweat and usually good components at a decent price.
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mike
Aug 5, 2003, 11:04 AM
Post #35 of 36
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Registered: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 1461
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In reply to: I think I officially qualify as a mountain biking old coot. My first race was in 1987 :) (
Think that was the year of my first race too. On a Ross Mt. Whitney. It was the state championship and these dudes thought it was supposed to be like BMX or motocross....big jumps with mud holes :)
Between a Litespeed with front suspension and an Ellsworth Truth with full, I ride the litespeed the most.
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jitterjepp
Aug 6, 2003, 5:25 AM
Post #36 of 36
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Registered: Aug 6, 2003
Posts: 25
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I don't know a whole hell of a lot about gear when it comes to bikes. But I ride more than anyone I know. Probably along the lines of 300 - 400 miles a week while training. About one quarter of that is single track and about one eigth is hill training. The rest is just time/distance riding. I compete in a 24 hour single track mountain bike race every year. All in all about 3000 miles a year on my bike is a minimal season for me between training and riding for fun.
I've been riding a hard tail since forever. I don't know about full suspension bikes. Most of the ones I've been on seemed klunky. Specialized has that new brain tech. rear shock on the high end bikes now and I've heard some pretty good things about them. I might try one out. I know most of the riders in the race I do don't have full suspension bikes. You are riding for a long time and it is a completely brutial and exausting trail. It's at a downhill ski place and you have to ride up and down the hills a few times in an eight mile loop. About a third is in the ski lines and the rest is in the trees between the lines. I think the klunky bike thing and extra weight keep them off the trail.
Personally for a person just starting out I would go with a hard tail and I wouldn't dump an arm and a leg into it right off. If you spend $800 on a new hard tail and $800 on a new full suspension guess which one is going to have the better components. I've been to Moab, Colorado, Wisconsin, Wyoming.....on my hard tail and I've never had any problems. Hans Rey doesn't even ride Full Suspension all the time. And then theres the hottest mostest baddest mountain bike chick of all time- world championship mountain bike race winner - Alison Dunlap, riding a hard tail SantaCruz.
So I guess that back spring doesn't matter at all?
Someone hear suggested a Specialized Hard Rock comp. I would go with one of the Specialized bikes but I would step it up to a RockHopper Comp.
That's a good bike. There are a lot of good bikes out there. More than I can remember. There has to be about twenty companies out there making bikes that are top notch. Lightspeed, SantaCruz, Specialized, TreK, Kona, Titus, GT, Giant, Devinci, Rocky Mountain, Motobecane, Jamis,da da da da da........
It's a matter of choice or fit.
I would start out on a hard tail, work on technique and no matter what anyone says go to the store and ride the bikes around the lot, jump some curbs see if you like the feel of the bike before you buy it. If you know someone you can bum a bike from, take it out on some single track, ride it around a bit so you have something to compare to when you do go to the bike shop. You wouldn't just go buy a pair of rockclimbing shoes or ice boots based on what someone said would you? Go try them on first.
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