Attn: Mtn Bikers

250f4life

250f4life

#1
#1
Looking at getting in to Mtn biking at the end of the month. The past few years is this first time since I was 6 I haven't had a dirt bike. I dearly miss the track and doing hare scrabbles so I think this will be a cheaper way to get my fix. Well cheaper relatively speaking a new Ktm 450 is 9+k.
I'm starting my research and wanna know pros/cons, brands, size? I'm from the North Augusta area and it a pretty big scene around my parents house out in Edgefield and here in Gwd also so I don't think having someone to ride with will be a prob.
 
97TJGUZZY

97TJGUZZY

SUPPORTER
#2
#2
if you are in north Augusta you are really close to fats. Is that the type of riding you will be doing? whats your budget? Do you want to buy used or new?
 
250f4life

250f4life

#3
#3
I'm looking to get new. From what I've heard fats is high speed, burms, small jumps. I'm not looking for a bike that's downhill specific or a bike that handles big jumps. Mainly an overall platform that will handle a broad spectrum of terrain. Full suspension with lockouts for sure. I'm not wanting to go full on introductory level just to upgrade the next year. I'm wanting to get the right bike the first time.
 
97TJGUZZY

97TJGUZZY

SUPPORTER
#7
#7
250f4life said:
Oh really? Maybe I need to look used then.
Click to expand...
You can get a lot more for your money in the used market for sure.

How tall are you? are you looking to do a 26" or a 29er? Do you have any brand in mind? Many of the smaller companies will get you more for your money since you arent paying for the name.

A few to look into:

Transition bikes (covert or bandit)

Trek ( Fuel)

Specialized (stump jumper)

Norco (killer b)

Santa Cruz (Blur)

Giant (reign or trance)

Check the Ridemonkey.com classifieds, mtbr.com classifieds, and even craigslist for good deals.
 
B

bgredjeep

#8
#8
Stop by Andy Jordans. They will help you with all the fit/type of bike questions for the area. They sell Specialized and Giant mainly but they are good people. They've also had some nice finance offers recently.

This is the closest FS I see on their site to your budget
http://andyjordans.com/product/13specialized-camber-29-175171-1.htm

You can also check out Chain Reaction for Haro, Cannondale, and Santa Cruz, or Outspokin for Trek. Plenty of good options locally depending on what you like. Personally I ride a singlespeed 29er or my old Trek 7000 singlespeed conversion at FATS (been off the bike for a while unfortunately) and always had a blast. You don't need FS to go fast. I tried riding rigid but my elbows couldn't take that any more so I added a suspension fork and called it good.
 
Steve97tj

Steve97tj

SUPPORTER
#11
#11
Don't go to bikes and boards dean whatever you do. That guy is a bastard.

Curl tail/midway in the big town of abbeville is fun. They have mountain bike trails of about 30 miles and what I used to do is ride part of the mtb trails then jump off into 4wheeler trails for some sections for the jumps and higher speed stuff. There's always a group of guys that ride out there twice a week. Large group you could probably hook up with.

I bought my jamis hard tail in '07 for like $600ish I believe but it was a '05 model from jensonusa. It had alright components on it for the money and seemed to be a better buy then other bikes in its price range. It is a large size frame which is to big for my height but I don't know enough difference to know a difference. I think Casey and brooks have both bought stuff from pinkbike which is a forum deal and looking on there, you can find a sick bike for a deal.

I want the PBR edition transition bottlerocket, they sexy
 
L

LR Max

#12
#12
Two recommendations:

Full suspension. They bring so much win these days and with shock lockouts, you can make it a full rigid bike real quick for when you aren't on the trail.

Second, its all about the bike shop. I interviewed 6 bike shops before I picked my bike shop. I may have paid up front, but being able to drop it off during lunch and say, "Its fawked. Fix it" then they fix it and never charge me, that is worth it to me. Of course this applies to brand new.

I always like the 29ers but 26 is just fine.

My friend bought a brand new specialized. He had built bikes in the past but he loves that stupid thing. Already wore out the tires and drivetrain on it. It is a very nice bike.
 
250f4life

250f4life

#13
#13
I'm reading up in the good/bad between 26ers and 29ers. 26, more nimble, more manuverable. 29's hand alittle slower in the tight stuff but handles big roots and getting over obstacles smoother.
 
250f4life

250f4life

#14
#14
I'm round 5'9-10 175-180. Ill drop weight quick though. I've always had a high metabolism so I really have to watch how lean I get. Ill shed it fast no matter what I eat.
 
97TJGUZZY

97TJGUZZY

SUPPORTER
#19
#19
250f4life said:
Lookin like a hardtail 29er.
Click to expand...
for some reason I thought you had said you were looking for a full suspension bike in the first post, if you are looking for a hard tail there are plenty of options. Be sure to ride a 29er before you get one though, its a different feeling for sure.
 
250f4life

250f4life

#20
#20
Initially I was thinking full suspension but I just left a bike shop in atl and learned alot. Fsr bikes are more $$, weigh more and more maintenance. Although Fsr seems to be a must on a 26er cause of the smaller wheel. On the 29er the wheel does takes alot of the hit. The shop owner was a straight up guy after I made it clear I wasn't buying a bike today. He said they actually had a few hour discussion last week about 26fsr vs 29er hardtail and the majority agreed on a 29ht.
To me the 29er is more bang for the buck cause I can go with some higher end components, and the bigger wheel will is more forgiving so maybe it will take up some of the slack of it being a rigid.
 
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