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Mountain Bikes

F

frankierx

Senior member
I need to get a mountain bike and was looking at some at Wal-mart. Now I would like to get a value bike, and Wal-mart sells a Schwinn bike at 100 usd. Is this a good buy? I don't plan on jumping off a cliff with this bike, in fact I am a newbie when it comes to mountain bikes. I plan on going camping and riding the bike off-road. Thank you.
 
they are junk, even for light stuff

if you are going to get into it, you better buck up the cash, otherwise, your bikes will snap. i recommend trek, kona, gary fisher, and of course GT...all good stuff. it is alot of fun and for God Sakes wear protective gear...a helmet has saved my life many times or at least brain injury..and dont forget gloves....cuz when you go down your going to catch yourself...and nothing like gouging down to muscle fascia....

enjoy your new extreme sport...its a rush
 
Originally posted by: Chunkee
they are junk, even for light stuff

if you are going to get into it, you better buck up the cash, otherwise, your bikes will snap. i recommend trek, kona, gary fisher, and of course GT...all good stuff. it is alot of fun and for God Sakes wear protective gear...a helmet has saved my life many times or at least brain injury..and dont forget gloves....cuz when you go down your going to catch yourself...and nothing like gouging down to muscle fascia....

enjoy your new extreme sport...its a rush
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I have had a GT Avalance for 14 years now, and I beat the hell out of it, and it is still working great. I would recommend following Chunkee advice and save up to buy a good bike or even a used one.

Mountain Bike - your local Mom & Pop bike shop is probabaly the best place for you to buy one.

If you are not looking to do any hard off-road action then a Hybred would be the type of bike for you and not a mountain bike.

Here are some good ideas for a bike I am partial to the GT Avalance 3.0 for a beginer.
 
If all you have to spare is $100 its better than nothing, but if you can get $2-400 you can get a huge step up in quality and service if you go to a decent LBS.
 
Get a free subscription to bicycling. I got it from here also mountain biking comes with it.

Or go to your library see if they have the last years installments. They always have info on prices even for budgets.

Never buy a bike from a toy store or department store.
 
Just a topic for me.

DO NOT GET A BIKE FROM WALMART!!!!!!!

Go down to your local bike shop and have a look at the lower end Trek, Specialized, Fuji and so on.
Specialized has a good model called Hardrock. They can be had for ~$300 if you shop around.
Trek 4200 is another good start. Get a bike with a 8 speed system. Stay away from 7 speed an lower.
Make sure you get at least Shimano Alivio components, preferrably Shimano Deore but it seems like the same model of a bike changes from year to year and in general the manufactureers tend to 'down grade' when a new model year comes out.
For example I got my Specializeed Hardrock in '01. It came with mostly Deore components. The next year they kept the price the same but went down to Alivio.

This is the ladder of Shimano components, top to bottom. I might have missed the really lowest end.

Acera
Alivio
Deore
Deore LX
Deore XT
XTR

Look at last years bikes on clearance. Check out mtbr.com and read some reviews. It help a lot.
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
DONT GET ONE FROM WALMART
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specialty bike stores also offer customer service, repairs. the place i bought mine from even buys back your bike if you ever upgrade
 
Check ebay. I was going to sell my full suspension Proflex 856, but they are/were going for less than $400. Crazy how they devalue so fast. From $1100 to $400 in 4 years. Watch out for shipping though
 
get a used specialized or something... suspension not needed. upgrade the wheelset and you got yourself a bike for your purposes
 
Are you realling going to do "mountain biking" or just cruise around the streets and once awhile hit the flat trails a few times a year?

Cause if you're just a very casual rider whose bike ends up in the garage, just goto sporting good store and get K-1, GT or mongoose bike for under 200.

If you want to get serious, there are several entry level mountain bikes from Specialized, Trek, etc for under $300.



Walmart bikes are cool to ride around the park.
 
Just to chip in, do NOT buy a Wal-Mart bike. Pure crap.

I recently bought a new Specialized Hardrock Comp. Ultra-strong frame, disc brakes, MZ Comp 100mm front shock, Shimano Alivio components (not the best I know, but better than anything on any Wal-Mart bike). All for $400 out the door. IMO, a great deal for good, strong, reliable multi-purpose bike that should last several years of hard use.
$100 for a Wal-Mart bike might seem like a good deal up-front, but when you have to spend another $100 next year to replace it because the whole bike is complete crap, you'll realize that a low price is not always a good value.

edit: reviews
 
Save $200 - $300 and get a used Gary Fischer or Trek. You don't really need a suspension for what you are doing, but front suspension wouldn't hurt.
 
definately dont buy that. the cheapest you would want to go is mid 200s for a bike that you might occasionally take on the trail, and thats the absolute minimum. check out the trek 820, giant rincon, diamondback response, gary fisher tarpon, or specialized hardrocks if you can find some closeout sales on them etc. those use all about the same entry level components that will probably give out, but at least itll last a while and the frames are worth keeping as backup.
 
what sporting good store? I'm prolly going to be the casual rider who hits the flat trails a few times a year. Although, I don't know how this might hold up because my buddy and his buddy are avid mountain bikers. I am in NJ
 
I was told by someone in this thread to stay away from a 7 speed or lower. The GT Avalanche 3.0 is a 7 speed. Any input on this?
 
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Then don't get it. You shouldn't be buying 7 speed in this day and age.
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Nothing wrong with 7 speed, except parts are harder to find and hubs not compatible with 8/9 speed so don't plan on upgrading anything. It would only be foolish to spend a lot of money ( > $300 ) for anything less than 8 speed.
 
when you talk about 7,8, or 9 speeds are you referring to the "Freewheel Sunrace 7spd. Cassette 11-34t "of the Mongoose Wing Comp or the "Shimano 21-Spd Drivetrain" of the Mongoose Rockadille sx?
 
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