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Recommend me a mountain bike!

JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
I would like to get back into mountain biking. I used to do it many years ago (late 90s) but got back into road for many years and sold off my old hard tail Trek quite a while ago.

Anyway, a bunch of guys here at work ride almost daily and I'd like to join them plus ride with a friend of mine who just bought a house in Newport Beach. We will be riding local trails mostly, nothing too technical, but it can get quite rocky and rutty with a fair bit of elevation change and rough terrain.

I'm a total n00b on the latest mtb tech and I haven't visited any bike shops yet, probably go check out a few this weekend. Would like to have full suspension, leaning toward a 29er and would like it not to be too heavy.

I am 5'11" (not a manlet) so a medium size frame is probably what I'm going for. Looking to keep the spending down below $2k if possible but wouldn't completely rule out a nice closeout deal on a nice bike that is somewhat higher than that.

Update: Bike acquired. It is a 2013 Giant Talon 29er 0, size large. I thought the large might be too large but riding it around it felt perfectly comfortable and I can lift the front wheel while standing over it a couple inches. I went with a hardtail as I am just getting into the sport again after many years of not riding mtb so I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a bike at this point.

I already changed the saddle, put some clipless pedals on it and removed all the reflectors.

 
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Cannondale of course. http://www.cannondale.com/2013/bikes/mountain

qualif.jpg
 
The Airborne HobGoblin is a pretty sweet bike for the money. Hard to beat the online only guys if you know what you are doing.

jensonusa.com has a bunch of last year model bikes for good deals. Even better deals atm with some discount codes but they expire in a few hours.
http://www.jensonusa.com/Cross-Country-Mountain-Bikes/Jamis-Dragon-29-Sport-Mountain-Bike-2012
If you don't want to blow your whole budget and like a hardtail I like that bike.

I'm 5'10" and ride a medium but can get away with a large on a lot of bikes, my 26er back up bike is a large. You may want a large. If you go with a Airborne give them a call first and talk to them about sizing. From everything I read about them on the mtbr.com forums they are a very good company to work with.

oh and you should also look at bikesdirect.com too.
 
If you are in Orange Co, check out The Path Bike shop in Tustin. They just put on sale the 2013 models and they have a lot of demo bikes on sale too. They have probably every bike out there except for Ibis
 
If you know the frame size and geometry that you want, and the gruppo too, then bikesdirect.com can save you a bundle

But if you don't, probably best to check out your LBS so you get a bike that definitely fits you
 
Nice bike. Large seems a little much for 5'11". I sized myself for my road bike. After enough riding you tend to know how you want it to fit. Those bike shops don't care generally and will put you on whatever they can get you to buy. You can run into some honest shops that won't put you on just anything. It sounds like they just threw you on that bike because that's what they had.
 
No. A lot of brands have size large perfect for 5'11" people.

Hell, I'm 5'9" and for a few brands the large is right for me. Surprised me when I tested a medium and it was too small.
 
Hmm, depending on how my finances develop over the next 6 months I might look at an off-road bike as well. But I'm not sure about the 29ers, they look so big and unwieldy, while only adding weight (and cost) over a smaller wheeled bike. I suppose the advantage is when trying to do cyclo-cross style riding with it, and stability and power delivery become more important?
 
Dirigible said:
No. A lot of brands have size large perfect for 5'11" people.

Hell, I'm 5'9" and for a few brands the large is right for me. Surprised me when I tested a medium and it was too small.
Click to expand...

Besides the fact I'm 5'10" and actually sat on some giant bikes within the last month and found the large size way too big I'd agree. 😕
Thanks for the opinions you have but I was trying to put out some factual info for him.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
Nice bike. Large seems a little much for 5'11". I sized myself for my road bike. After enough riding you tend to know how you want it to fit. Those bike shops don't care generally and will put you on whatever they can get you to buy. You can run into some honest shops that won't put you on just anything. It sounds like they just threw you on that bike because that's what they had.
Click to expand...

I tried a number of bikes, including a full suspension Giant (at another store) and found the large fit me well. XL was definitely too big and I didn't feel comfortable on that but this one felt great. I rode a few Treks too and the large was perfect it seemed. Handlebar reach was comfortable, bike handled great, didn't feel too big at all and I rode it around for about 15 minutes, shifted through all the gears, took it up a few inclines and down a few hills.

No off-road yet but I'm going to remedy that tomorrow.

I like the way the 29er pedals and this one has plenty of gears so if I shift to the lower gears I should be able to climb with this thing like a mountain goat.
 
No, Jules. I know you think it fits and that you're an experienced cyclist, but I'm sorry to say the facts are that your bike is too big for you and it's because if evil bike shops. Get with the program!
 
Sounds good. The large felt enormous to me but then again what you prefer could be totally different. You'll never know for certain till you get some mileage on the bike. Are you going clipless? Looks to have some quality stuff on the bike.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
Sounds good. The large felt enormous to me but then again what you prefer could be totally different. You'll never know for certain till you get some mileage on the bike. Are you going clipless? Looks to have some quality stuff on the bike.
Click to expand...

Yes, I already installed some clipless pedals I had from a previous MTB (a late 90s Trek I sold years ago when I started getting back into road bikes). I still have my Specialized mtb shoes too with SPD cleats so I'm all ready to hit the trails. I'll just use my roadie helmet and gloves, wear a pair of bib shorts under a pair of loose workout shorts and a t-shirt for now.

I like how quiet this bike is, it is almost silent when free wheeling.
 
I thought somehow you copied my thread and renamed it LOL

Enjoy the bike it will give you some fun. People online state that the wheels, tires and fork are the first things to upgrade. I am OK with them so far. I do miss the comfort of a rear suspension but its not a game breaker.

It is a large sided bike where stand over is risky if not careful lol
 
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