Need help with mountain bike purchase

In My Humble Opinion
1

My wife really wants a mountain bike for Xmas this year- unfortunately, I know NOTHING about them, so I’m hoping that some of you Dopers will have some suggestions for me.

First off, my wife wants it for exercising when the spring comes. She is not, and probably won’t be for the near future, a hardcore bicycling enthusiast. Keeping this in mind, here are the requirements:

  1. Comfort - probably the most important consideration for her. We rented some bikes up in Maine this summer, and she really enjoyed the oversized seat and full suspension of the rental.

  2. Price - This one is my major concern. Like I said, this is something she is expressing an interest in, but I’m not 100% sure that the bike’s not gonna just get used once in awhile and forgotten about. My problem is, I don’t know what’s a reasonable LOW-END price for a mountain bike. I’d prefer to spend less than $300 (again, if possible). I understand that this may rule out the whole full-suspension thing, but if there are reasonably comfortable bikes out there in this price range, then that will be fine. IF she really gets into this, I see no problem buying a nicer bike for her in a year or two.

  3. Ease of use - I’ve ridden some bikes that were tortuous on the body. Then again, I’ve had some nice smooth rides as well.

That’s about it. My wife is about 5’3", if that means anything. She will mainly ride it on the road and very easy bike trails - there is no need for any serious hardcore off-trail capability.

Thanks SO much in advance for any help you might be able to offer.

-j

2

I’m a mid-core mountain biker, as opposed to hard-core. Did a 20 mile bike race last summer, that was the height of my mountain biking hardcoreness.

Here’s my two cents:

1 - comfortwise: Take any seat that comes with the bike, and throw it away. Go buy a cushy women’s seat, with the cut out in the middle. It’ll run you about $30 for a decent one. Trust me on this - the seats that come with a bike are #1, not that great, and #2, designed for men. If your wife wants comfort, BUY A CUSHY WOMAN’S SEAT. Also, buy her a pair of padded bike shorts. It’ll help a lot.

2 - Price. I don’t know what you can get for $300, but I can tell you a couple things about buying a bike. For what you describe, she doesn’t need full suspension. The only riders who need full suspension are the ones who will be doing hardcore technical rides. I don’t have a full suspension bike, and neither does Mr. Athena, who does his fair share of technical type stuff. Mrs. Smoke doesn’t need one. Heck, she doesn’t even need front suspension, but if you can afford it, get it.

If it’s a choice between a good bike without any suspension, and a lower end bike with suspension, get the good bike with no suspension. I’m pretty sure you can get a good starter bike for $400-$500, and maybe even cheaper. Shop around.

Buy your bike from a bike shop, not a mass merchandiser or someplace like Target. A good shop will explain a ton of stuff to you. Go visit a couple bike shops, and get a feel for the people working there. Look at the used bikes - often they’ll have refurbs that will do you just fine. If you buy a good, solid name brand bike, if your wife doesn’t use it, you can sell it. If you buy the Huffy on sale down at Walmart, good luck selling it, much less riding it.

One way to tell a good bike shop - a reputable shop will include something like a “30 day tune up” free with the cost of the bike. At least they do out here, in Colorado. Some even offer free tune ups for the life of the bike. At the very least, you want someone to go over the bike after 30 days of semi-regular riding. Bikes settle, things get loose, things need to be oiled. A good bike shop realizes this, and tries to encourage their customers to do it by throwing it in free.

3 - Ease of use. If you buy a bike from a reputable bike shop, the bike should be a good one. If you buy that Huffy, forget it. The other major issue that has a lot to do with ease of use/comfort is the fit of the bike. It’s gonna be hard to fit the bike to your wife unless she’s there. The best way to buy a bike is to go in and ride one for a while. Fit is extremely important - when you straddle the bike, the top bar should be about an inch or so from your groin. When you’re riding and the pedal is all the way down, your leg should be slightly bent. If you really, really want this to be a surprise for your wife, make sure that you can trade the bike in if it doesn’t fit well. Better yet, find a good bike shop, and surprise her a few days before Christmas by bringing her in and getting her fit for a bike.

Brands to check out: Trek, Specialized, Giant

Any other questions?

3

Here’s a good link to fitting a bicycle.

4

Thanks so much Athena. Your advice and the link you provided will help alot. I really appreciate it. :slight_smile:

-j

5

I’d definitely echo everything Athena had to say. A new good padded seat is a must; most of the bike shops around here include the cheapest, least comfortable/ergonomic seats on the bikes they sell, forcing you to buy a new seat in order to keep your butt from getting pounded to hamburger. The split seats with gel padding will save her bottom, no question.

The cost for a decent bike will depend on your location. My riding sounds much like your wife’s – mainly street riding, some easy trails and off-roading. I picked up a GT Timberline for about $400, plus safety equipment, tubes, pump, et cetera – total was around $500. And my bike’s been through the wringer and it’s held up fantastically.

I’d say right now would probably be a good time to buy; bike shops are pretty slow right now and I’m betting they’d have some good sales. Also, much like buying a car, if you buy last year’s model, you can definitely save some bank.

Also, in terms of the type of pedal to get on the bike – for the light-use riding your wife’ll be doing with it, I’d recommend regular pedals, not the clip types. I almost got clip pedals when I bought my bike (hey, sounded like a cool idea), but if I would have had them, I would have killed myself a thousand times over. :slight_smile:

6

There’s three types of pedals:

“Clip” pedals are the ones with the little plastic cages that go around your feet. There’s usually a strap you pull that cinches them around your feet.

“Clipless” pedals are the ones where you have to wear special shoes that hook right on to special pedals. They’re not nearly as hard to get used to as people think. I used to be afraid of them, but what it comes down to is that if your foot is stuck, the natural reaction is to jerk it around. That jerking motion is what gets your foot out of the clip. It’s much more intuitive and easy than you think.

I think what you’re calling “regular” pedals are neither clips or clipless - just plain ol’ flat pedals. After you get used to having your feet attached to the pedals, it feels really, really weird NOT to have them attached. You maximize your pedal stroke when you can pull UP as well as push DOWN on the pedals.

That said, I wouldn’t worry too much about pedals for your wife’s bike. They can easily be changed later to whatever system she wants.

7

There’s already been a lot of good info posted here, so I’ll try not to simply echo. . .

Most bikes are designed for people who are 5’6" or so and up, unfortunately. If you want to make this a surprise, I’d recommend that you surprise her with the trip to the store. I think she’ll really need to be there to try it out to get a good fit in the long run. This is especially important for a recreational rider who has put an emphasis on comfort. First impressions are actually pretty darn good when it comes to bike fit. She will likely know very quickly whether a bike is going to fit her or not. There are a few minor adjustments that can be made though. Talk to the bike shop employees if you aren’t sure what can be adjusted for the perfect fit.

Which brings us to the next point. It’s already been said, but it can’t be stressed enough: Go to an actual bike shop! There are many, many advantages to a bike shop over a department store. I will be happy to go into them in detail if anyone cares. But one bog advantage that is very germaine to this discussion is accesories. Your wife will need that new saddle, a helmet, some shorts, a waterbottle, and maybe some gloves. You might be able to get a break on the price of those things if you buy them at the same time as your bike. But ask nicely. Bikes run on very thin margins, so shops don’t always have a lot of room to bargain on the bike itself. But lots of them will give you a deal on the accessories.

Honestly, at your price point, there are going to be compromises on the bike. So you should probably rule out suspension for now. The suspension on a bike in the $300 area is usually fairly poor, and it will add significant weight. Concentrate your money on a good frame. That way, you can upgrade the bike later. You can add a front suspension fork later, but if the frame is crummy to start with, it wouldn’t be worth it. In other words, buy basic quality rather than a lot of features.

Athena’s point about pedals is dead on. I’d recommend you avoid toe-clips (the plastic cage with strap) like the plague. They are hard to get used to, and they teach you bad habits. Go with plain old platform pedals. If/when she gets serious, get some decent clipless pedals and shoes. They make a huge difference, and they actually tend to make people feel very secure and confident when they’ve mastered them.

Have you considered a hybrid bike? These are kind of a cross between a mtn. biek and road bike. They can handle easy trails and they ride well on pavement too. They can be a great way to get into the sport if you aren’t sure of your final direction. My mother bought one several years ago and it served her very well. Eventually, she determined that she wanted to get ‘hard-core’ on the trails, and we built her a full-on mountain bike. But the hybrid let her ride almost everywhere and build up her fitness while exploring her own interests. Hybrids can be a little bit cheaper as well. Might be worth checking out. Good luck!

8

This was what I was thinking when I read the OP. When you go to the bike shop explain what type of riding you have in mind and they’ll be able to tell you whether you need a mtn. bike or hybrid which is kind of like a cyclo-cross bike. Whether you get a mtn. bike or cross bike, I’d suggest you get thinner tires than the typical tire that comes with a mtn. bike. This will cut down on the resistance and she wont have to work as hard.
IIRC, you can buy seat posts that have shocks built into them which will cut down on the pain in the butt. (rimshot :D)

I think the best advice though is just to make sure the bike fits well so be sure to go to a bike shop with her. Comfort on the bike is what will keep her riding. And I’d also like to add Gary Fischer to the list of brands but they might be a bit more pricey.

But then again, I’m a roadie so what do I know? :stuck_out_tongue:

9

Just wanted to stop in and thank Zanshin, Enigma42, and cykrider for the excellent advice since I was last here. It’s really great to get such good answers to a question with such an (likely) expensive solution :wink:

Thanks

-j

10

You may want to try Kona as well. I’m 5’2" and when I was looking for a mountain bike the geometry of the Kona was the most comfortable for me. It doesn’t have any suspension features but it doesn’t seem to matter for the riding I do. Definitely invest in the seat with the split down the middle. It’ll make a huge difference in comfort. I bought a second bike, a Kona hybrid, and the bike shop put the good seat on it. When I tried my mountain bike again I couldn’t believe the difference in the seat and and immediately got a split seat for that bike as well. Does it have to be a new bike? My hybrid was used but great value.

etc

11

Hard-core biker checking in…

There has been some really great advice mentioned so far so I’m going to try to not rehash any.

Check out a few well established bike joints and just make sure to talk with an older employee or a manager. A 16yr old kid won’t have the same background, experience, and knowledge to relate with your needs, IMHO. My guess is that they’ll point you towards a cruiser or a recreation mt bike.

The local bike shop (LBS) will set your wife up with whatever seat she likes best, so don’t worry about forking out extra money for that. Different manufacturers at a price point use different saddles with differing designs so it’s no problem switching them around.

The LBS will also make sure the bike is properly fitted and adjusted for her. They would adjust things such as handlebar height and seat positiong (fore & aft as well as up and down.) Proper saddle positioning is important! Knee pain is no fun!

They also offer something like a 30 day tuneup to make sure the bike is functioning ok as well as to readjust the cables for stretching a little bit from initial wear.

If you check out http://www.MTBR.com they have consumer reviews written by cyclists on almost every single bike available in the marketplace that they have checked out and own.

When you go to the LBS, write down the name of a few models you’re interested in and I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you go and check that website out as it gives impartial information about the bike and also some things to watch out for. Not only does it give bike reviews but it also lists reviews for gear, components, and you can even search for some trails where you live.

Have you thought about a recumbent bike? Those are the bikes where you’re sitting down and pedaling. I’ve never ridden one but they’re suppposedly very straightforward to operate and very comfortable to go riding as you’re sitting on a wide seat, not on a saddle. Price… I have on idea.

Oh, and don’t forget a helmet! The first time you crash and put a golf ball size hole in the top of the helmet during a race (like I did, and helmets are mandatory btw) you never realize how important they are. I shudder to think what might have happenned if I wasn’t wearing my lid and I was just out for a rec ride.

Good luck on your search! Oh, shameless plug here, but Gary Fisher puts out some great stock bikes.