mountain bikes

[jazzy jae]

hey guys...i'm looking for a beginner/intermed mountain bike, so i can get off my lazy ass and work out. i'm kinda on a budget so i'm looking for something aroun 350-400 bucks. i've been leaning towards gary fisher and trek. i have a trek ( 6 years old) but i'm really liking the fishers. anyone have any suggestions of a nice, solid MTB that i should look at?

thanks

 

[hubbabubba]

A few other brands:
Cannondale
Specialized
GT


I have a 10 year old Trek Y22 (carbon fiber frame, dual suspension) that I ride hard on the trails. I've crashed it many times, including one that required a CAT scan, and the frame never fails.
For Trek (and most major bike brands), the lower end frames (<$500) are usually made in Taiwan while the more expensive ones are made in the U.S.
Give the bike a test drive & make sure the salesperson fits you to the proper frame size.

 

[Iman74]

I did the samething last year, and was too leaning towards Gary Fisher till I saw this really nice mountain bike by Specialized that is in your price range.

HardRock

I got the same model, color, and design. Real sweet bike: and what's best about it that it is designed for both road, and off-road riding. For instance if you were a NY City resident, you can get through the city with it, and then find a park that takes you to a trail, and take it from there on a dirt road. Kick ass bike. I went from something I got at Sports Authority to this. It was like night and day.

Good Luck

P.S.
Do a lot of research, and make your final decision after going to at least one bike shop that specializes in bikes.

 

[the_josh]

marin all the way!!! i bought my east peak a few months back and i absolutely love it!!!

 

[spyderdoc]

Go to your local bike dealer and see what items they have on clearance. All the new models come out now, so there are great closeouts on last year models. You may be able to get a $1000 bike for $500. More bike with better components. Don't get stuck on a brand name. Find a nice light (aluminum fram, NOT chrom-moly) bike with descent components, at the very least, Shimano Deore components or better(LX, XT, XTR). Perhaps a front shock would be ideal, but on low end bikes a rear shock would be too heavy...Test ride the bike to see if the geometry is right for you...
Negotiate with the dealer (Include tax, or water cages/bottles...).

I just helped a frien buy a bike and he got a Gary Fisher Sugar, which listed at $2200, for $1100! It had great components (xt/xtr, fox fork), very light. He loves it.
Another thing to consider is to buy a used bike that is in great shape. A lot of people spend big bucks for a bike and end up selling them because they never use them...Or they never ride them on the trails and end up selling them real cheap!
If you live in LA or the Bay area, craigslist.com is a great place to look. Good luck!
Mark

 

[ToolmanJohn]

hey guys...i'm looking for a beginner/intermed mountain bike, so i can get off my lazy ass and work out. i'm kinda on a budget so i'm looking for something aroun 350-400 bucks. i've been leaning towards gary fisher and trek. i have a trek ( 6 years old) but i'm really liking the fishers. anyone have any suggestions of a nice, solid MTB that i should look at?

thanks

Your're going to be on a hardtail (no rear suspension) for that price. DO NOT buy a bike from a dept store (wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sports Authority). ONLY buy from a real local bike shop, one that has been in business for a while. The BIGGEST difference between a dept store bike and a real bike shop MTB will be the wheelset and fork. The wheels will hold up better, and the fork should have a rebound adjustment for $400.

With that said, your price point will get you lower end drivetrain component's such as Shimano Deore, maybe Shimano LX, or SRAM shifters (icky), it's a rider preference . Your suspension fork will be a heavy coil/oil unit, or MCU (plastic) spring suspension. Not the best, but unless you want better, that's what $350-400 will get you. (Although a Marzocchi Coil/Oil fork is well worth the money, they make great forks.)

Don't forget, HELMET, GLOVES, Spare Tube, CO2 inflator (or mini-pump), and mini-tool (Topeak Alien is great). Also, bike rack. The accessories can kill your wallet.

If you buy a real cheap bike that breaks a lot, wheels go out of true, and it weighs over 30lbs. A hardtail should weigh in at 25-28lbs for a cheap one. You can lighten it by getting lighter bars, seatpost, seat, and wheelset. Wheelset weight differences are huge, and tire selection, some are much heavier than others.

Here's mine. I just finished building it up 2 weeks ago. I had a 6 week wait for rear suspension parts from GIANT for my beloved 2001 NRS1 bike. So in fustration I bought a used (2 weeks LOL) frame from the bike store that the owners wife had ridden. It was too larke for her and he ordered a small frame for here, this one was hanging in the shop. I swapped all my GIANT parts to it and I like it a LOT. 2004 Specialised Stumpjumper FSR XC. A $1400 FRAME ONLY, but I got it for $1000 with the seatpost , front derailluer, and headset (all different sized parts than my old bike).

True price of this bike is somewhere north of $2700 with the high end parts I like (XTR,Chris King/Mavic Disc tubeless wheelset, RaceFace cranks,tubeless tires, ATAC pedals, on and on....)

Once you get the MTB bug it's hard to stop. I am considering buying used components to rebuild the GIANT NRS to sell.

 

[jazzy jae]

^that is an awesome bike.

I'll def. be doing more research and doing some test riding along the way. So far I've tried the Hardtail and Wahoo. The Fisher Wahoo has the advantage. But I'm gonna wait and hopfeully the sales and clearances will show up soon. Thanks again.