I am getting a new bike really soon as I am tired of not having one and my old one is kaput. Not worth fixing I don’t think. though I do like the frame. I would have liked to keep the frame of my old KHS Montana, but I don’t know that there is any point as I would have to replace every component. Just better to start over I think.
So now I’m in the market for a better one. I’m looking at a Specialized Rockhopper and a Fisher Marlin (though I’m not crazy about the balance on it), though I’m not absolutely sold on either or any.
What should I look at? I’d like to stay in the range of $400-600 if possible.
My wife and I both have Stumpjumper’s . We love them. We have last years model disc. They are race ready out of the box! Versitile, rugged, and ultra-light weight. I would never go back to the Enduro I had a few years ago. You want to look for good fit, first and foremost. If you are not comfortable riding it, don’t buy it. Mine retailed at $1400 but I saw one on e-bay the other day for 500. :smack:
I should have bought through e-bay. My wife did and ended up spending $700 less than I did for almost the same bike. Her’s is a stumpjumper as well but has a modified rear end to support down-hill racing and the bumps.
I like the easy shift, maximum shock absorbtion, and overall easiness.
Check out the link above it has some good deals if you look.
I am actually looking at a bike on ebay that really has my attention. It’s a Schwinn Homegrown s10. Carbon fiber frame and such. the price is sure to go up though. Problem is that I can’t check it over and I don’t know if there are cracks and such and I also don’t have a warrenty. Those are my major concerns.
I don’t have a lot of experience riding many different bikes, but all my needs are met with my 2002 Specialized Hardrock (Bought it for $250, retails at $420) It’s a hard tail that can handle me (192 lbs.) jumping off 5 ft. drops onto flat surface, which is pretty amazing. The whole design and setup is flawless. There are many other Specialized models and EVERYONE has good things to say about them.
I can’t really comment on any other bikes, I have only ridden cheap WalMart Mongooses before this bike. Those Mongooses were so heavy and the parts were built so well and bolted on so tight that that bike was practically indestructable and performed very well given the $150 price tag. Needed virtually no maintenance. But then again, I left the bike in the same gear so as to not have any shifting problems which would undoubtedly happen with that cheap of a bike.
Goes to show you that the majority of recreational riders SHOULD NOT spend a lot of money on a mountain bike.
Trek 4500 and 4900 mountain bikes aren’t bad, and aren’t too expensive- I bough a 4500 about 3 years ago for just over 400.
Bicycles Plus(3 locations), Richardson Bike Mart and Plano Cycling and Fitness are all pretty good places to check- good staff and they’ll let you try out the bikes in teh parking lot.
also look at giant iguana and gary fisher tassajara(sp?) in that price range.
out of curiousity, where do you go mountain biking in dallas? pretty flat, no?
We just looked at bikes at all the local shops. Man, I don’t think they had much that was any good for $600 or less. These were California prices though. I don’t think I would get a bike on EBay for the reasons you state. I like to see what I’m getting. We also like to support the local shops. I like Specialized, Diamond Back, Giant, Marin and of course Santa Cruz. It might also be a good idea to check the local classifieds, lots of people buy bikes and don’t use them very often.
it is pretty flat here. There are a few good parks around here within driving distance. I live across the street from Richardson Bike Mart actually…I was over there today riding a Rockhopper and the Rockhopper comp model. I like both of them and the prices aren’t really bad at all.
Fuel, I have read really mixed reviews about the Hardrock. Seems that people either really like it or they hate it.
What did they say was wrong with it? In my experience, some people are real sticklers about bikes for no logical reason. They ride and then say it doesn’t “feel” good. But what does that mean? Is the design bad, or do you just not like a different feeling from the other bikes you have ridden? It’s certainly not a design problem with the Hardrock, so I ask, what do these people specifically not like about it? Maybe I am overlooking a flaw, but I doubt it… perfect bike as far as I am concerned.
(But then again, I realize that unless you pay up the arse for parts, you will not be able to be shift-happy. I leave the bike in one rear gear and only switch the front from time to time. This = no worries about deraileurs. You gotta pay to shift.)
True that on the shifting. Most of the peoepl who reviewed it said that it was heavy and not very “nimble.” Well, that’s what you get from a steel frame. It also won’t bend in half when you jump off of a house. Take it or leave it I say.
Looks like a good bike for the money.
My Hardrock (2002) is an enhanced aluminum frame, so we are talking about different bikes here. Mine is a ProComp, that is a little better model. I should have mentioned that.
Specialized makes some of the best value bikes around. The Rockhoppers are quite nice for the price- it is more of a mid-line bike. The Hard Rock is more of an entry-level bike. The cassette, rings and other parts will work a little rougher and not last as long. Still it is a solid choice.
-Department store bikes are horrible- most feature terrible assembly quality, shoddy parts and poor performance.
-Ebay for bikes can be a real mixed bag. There is way too much fraud and misreprentation in that area, and for a while it was a favorite for scammers. Also, shipping a bike is relatively expensive. You need to be very cautious. Also, the bike may end up fitting you horribly.
Avoid the Schwinn- that is an older model (5 years or so) and wasn’t that great a model to begin with. They were on closeout forever after the Schwinn bankruptcy.
Fuel you may want to avoid flatlanding that poor Hard Rock too much- you can end up flat spotting the wheels (or worse). Assuming you are not mistaken about the height (5 foot drops are loading dock height), that is a hard hit for such a large rider. Glad to see you enjoying your bike though.
This might be your next bike if you are hitting flat 5 footers and not shifting much:
Yeah, that comp is my bike! Trust me, I don’t make those 5 footers a habit. But I estimate about 8 or so successful 5 footer jumps with no bike or body casualities, thankfully (one flat tire). I am astounded I can do that while only speding $250 on a hardtail…
Wow. I absolutely love that bike with only 1 gear and only one back disc brake! That’s what my brother and I are always talking about doing whenever our deraileurs go bad on our current bikes. We have planned on getting rid of the derailuers and getting a shorter chain… and by golly there is a bike out there liek that! Pretty cool. That gear looks nice and long, just like I like it too. (I am a stomper) And that small front gear makes for a better clearance over logs. Dang, now I want that one! snake legs, that looks like a good choice there. (Maintenance costs on cheaper bikes will make them more expensive than that P.1., however, it’s too bad that back brake isn’t hydraulic.)
