mountain bike advice, brands, parts, suspension etc?

[holden j caufield]

Hi used to be a crazy into mountain biking about 8-9 years ago but I stopped completely and have no idea what is the standard today. In the past I've read about the Target bikes for like $15 or so on clearance. Does target still have these occassionally? I've looked in the classifieds etc.. What should I look for ? Brands how are Motiv Rockridges as two people have these for sale,Mongoose MGX 21,GT BANSHEE, Proformance M503, trek,specialized,?NISHIKI Cascade,diamondback,cannondale etc. Aluminium frames? Front and/or rear shocks etc. thanks

 

[Rallispec]

i've been out of it for the bast 3-4 years.. no idea what the latest and greatest is.

fausto1 around? he's damn knowelegdeable about bikes.


ps... i'm a trek fan myself.

 

[SWirth86]

From everything I've heard, bikes at Target are junk....don't buy them.

You won't need full suspension unless you do serious downhill, so front shocks would be good. Hydraulic disc brakes are expensive, but nice to have. Not essential though...regular ones are fine.
Trek, Canondale, Giant are some good manufacturers that come to mind.

 

[Colt45]

all that cheapass shocks will do is weigh down the bike.

expensive components = really light

cheap stuff = 1 metric ton.

(not always.. but generally..)

 

[Colt45]

as far as brands.. i like rocky mountain and kona.

but i dont mountain bike anymore. I BMX. and I dont even do that anymore.

 

[trek]

As for parts stick with shimano or sram, both have worked great for me... I like rocky mountain, kona, specialized and trek... definitely stay away from department store bikes, they are nothing but trouble... Rock Shox and Marzocchi make great front forks... don't know much about rear suspension, but i hear fox is pretty decent... it really all depends on what type of riding you are going to be doing though.

-Trek

 

[Goosemaster]

Giant Iguna...best value for $500


Obviously, the deeper you wander into your wallet, the better the bike

 

[yakko]

Well stay away from that suspension crap. You don't need the extra weight. TET Cycles has some good frames in steel or aluminium. Easton stem, bars and seatpost. Mavic wheels. Avid cable actuated disc brakes and levers. Shimano drivetrain. Race Face crankset. Ritchey pedals. Sella Italia Flite Titanium seat. Sachs chain. Chris King headset. Grips, tubes and tires your choice.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: yakko
Well stay away from that suspension crap. You don't need the extra weight. TET Cycles has some good frames in steel or aluminium. Easton stem, bars and seatpost. Mavic wheels. Avid cable actuated disc brakes and levers. Shimano drivetrain. Race Face crankset. Ritchey pedals. Sella Italia Flite Titanium seat. Sachs chain. Chris King headset. Grips, tubes and tires your choice.

Hee hee - Teesdales are nice bikes, but it is comical to me that Holden is asking about $15 bikes from Target and you propose a specific custom build costing at least $2K.

 

[yakko]

Well he did not metion a price range.

 

[StattlichPassat]

My next bike will likely be a TREK (next summer- Fuel 90 hopefully). I currently own a Cannondale and GT- would recommend those highly as well. Specialized and Giant are also good ones! I'm talking about the retail-ish market here... won't even get into the likes of such greatness like Lightspeed and Klein. :Q

 

[Emrys]

Suspension: I've always liked Rock Shox, and some of the Manitou ones arn't that bad
Bikes: I've like all sorts of them - Cannondale makes realy good bikes, treks good, same with GT, I don't know what you are looking to spend,
but you can get a good trek or GT for 5/600 new, cannondales are a little more, but I have always found them to be very well made.

 

[holden j caufield]

ok the last time I rode there were no quick shift/knob things. What's the opinions on those? And how much weight is added with the rear suspension? I think front suspension is kind of a nice feature but what are your opinions? Needed? And how much maintenance must be done on shocks per year? thanks

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: holden j caufield
ok the last time I rode there were no quick shift/knob things. What's the opinions on those? And how much weight is added with the rear suspension? I think front suspension is kind of a nice feature but what are your opinions? Needed? And how much maintenance must be done on shocks per year? thanks

Front suspension is VERY helpful for any kind of real off-road riding. All of the major fork makers (Rock Shox, Manitou, Marzocchi, Fox) make quality products, though I personally prefer Marzocchi. The forks will not require frequent rebuilds unless you are riding a lot. Nowadays, the prevalent shifting systems are Shimano's Rapid Fire Plus and SRAM's Grip Shift. For my part I use Rapid Fire Plus, which is mechanically more complex and slightly heavier, but still extremely reliable and, IMO, more precise than Grip Shift. The newest Shimano XTR group (their top of the line components) uses a new system in which the brake lever pivots to actuate shifting - this system has not yet seen the market, and I doubt this shifting mechanism will trickle down to the cheaper groups for at least a year.

Your questions have been VERY general - if you identify at least an approximate price range we can be more helpful. IMO, $1,000 is a realistic starting point for a nicely-equipped mountain bike, but if you have a lot less to spend, you should probably look at a used bike.

 

[holden j caufield]

thanks for all the info. Well I think I'm going to go for a used bike at first since I'm not sure I'll be disciplined enough to go at least once or twice a week. Maybe the first month but after that I'd hate to spend $1k and have it sitting in the garage after a month. I'm looking at a used Nishiki Cascade for ~$100 or a used cannondale for ~$200.

 

[DeadHead]

Trek or Klien are good I think.

 

[kherman]

Hrmm, your price point is $200??? Maybe a used (1-2 year ol) Trek would be good.

I personally have a Schwinn 4 Banger!! Sick bike. Not made any more(I think). 4" travel front and rear. Hydrolic Disks. In retrospect, I kinda wish I got a hard-tail, but I'm happy with my big hit bike.

Well, if you want best bang for your bike, usually you have to look in the $1500 price area. It's the most competitive price point.

Try out www.mtbr.com if you want to read info on diffrerent bikes.

Any way you look at it, in Mountain Bikes, you get what you pay for. For $200, you are going to get a VERY heavy bike with VERY junky front shocks.

I'd go as far as to go with a Rigid Bike and get something lighter. You couold have a bike shop swap out hte front fork with a rigid. Most shops will do that for you. Go with a $400 Trek and ask the shop to swap the fdront fork for a rigid Fork. You'll probvably spend $325 or so. Trek's base might be up to $450 now, I'm not surel but I think it's thje way to go.

 

[vegetation]

Yea, no kidding, a decent front suspension in itself will cost you $200.

Any way you look at it, in Mountain Bikes, you get what you pay for. For $200, you are going to get a VERY heavy bike with VERY junky front shocks.

 

[Brutuskend]

I personally think this is a great bike for the buck. It's slightly over $200 though ($269.95)

We sell the HELL out of them though at that price!!
KEEP AWAY from Dept. Store bikes!!

In the long run, you will spend MUCH more keeping it working than you saved by buying it in the first place!

 

[holden j caufield]

are aluminum frames the standard now and what is considered medium light nowadays because I don't really want to spend a lot?

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

i think chrome moly steel will be standard... i prefer steel over aluminum anyway. try before you buy, at your price rance its really all about fit! you get a bike that is comfortable and not too heavy then you are doing good.

 

[holden j caufield]

is a 6 year old cannondale for ~150 a decent bike to get back into it?

 

[yakko]

Originally posted by: holden j caufield
is a 6 year old cannondale for ~150 a decent bike to get back into it?

Depends on the Cannondale. Personally I don't like any of them.