want to get back into MntB.

[devon.818]

back when i lived in cali i would mountain bike 25+ miles a few times a week, loved the technical stuff and single track.

put on a lot of weight since then, but miss it, want to get back into. where should i start?

previous bikes were

-hard rock comp, 07, upgraded the front for to a bomber
-novara ponderosa- BMX peddles, hand grips, lighter wheels and fatter tires.

the later was what i used the most...



any i bought both those new, this time i want something used, for around 200-300. thinking hardtail.

do i really NEED disc brakes, had them, loved them, but will normal brakes work fine over here on the east coast, lots of mud n wet...

any suggestions?
advice for getting back into, being as outa shape as i am now?

[freeride53]

Look for a frame from nashbar or jensen/other mail-order companies.
To get a really solid bike, I'd keep out $400 for craigslist.
-Iron Horse made okay frames (I have two), but they went under a few years ago, and no longer have warranty.
-6" Mechanical disc brakes should do the job for you, hydros or 8" are unnecessary.
-Hardrocks are very solid, so are the rival Treks, and Giants.

I actually had a Iron Horse frame that started out life as a XC/All Mountain bike, then became a single-speed dirt jumper/trail beater, now I use it for all types of all-mountain riding. It's got mech 8 inchers, sun rim/shimano wheelset, forte s.s. kit, and a decent rock shox fork with like 120mm of travel.

I did most beating on a Iron Horse Downhill F.S tank, but I need to buy something a little more light duty soon....

BTW, it's worth cashing out a little more for something versatile, because you WILL inevitably become a better rider with progress.

Good luck!

[noE30]

Anyone ever buy a used bike off pink bike? I really want to pick up a dirt jumper just to tool around on really, and I've thought about buying used. Looks like there's some decent bikes on there that aren't too bad price wise either.

[Vivek]

Normal brakes will fade out on long downhills, but are perfectly fine and can stop just as well as many discs for short distances. I have a Cannondale Super v400 that's pretty upgraded but I got it for i think $400 a few years ago, someone put around $2500 into it. No disc brakes, but they're pretty damn good for what they are. Hydraulic discs are definitely nice to have and can be really grippy. There are some good deals on CL, just look out for em.

[cale]

[QUOTE=noE30;2996252]Anyone ever buy a used bike off pink bike? /QUOTE]

Yes. It's buyer beware, a lot of children and stolen bikes to be found on there.

It's hard to say what is sufficient for you, what kind of riding do you plan to do? As for brakes, nearly ever respectable bike comes with 6" hydraulic discs at a minimum these days...hell, commuter's have even got hydraulic.

[BlackbirdM3]

Disks are TOTALLY over rated. Unless the bike weighs 50+ lbs, they are totally unneeded. Yes, I do realize everything comes with them now, but I'm going to call it marketing. A bad case of "You need disks because we say you do, and that is all we are going to offer" The Avid Arch Rival/Arch Supreme have an insane amount of stopping power. The Shimano XTR V-brakes are also plenty powerful. Before anyone makes the claim that rim brakes drag on the rim all the time, that is only true if the wheel is out of true. I've never ridden a set of disks that didn't rub all the time. Also, a disk rotor is just asking to be bent or smacked on a rock. Sure you run the risk with a rim brake, but if you taco a wheel to the point where the rim brakes can't be used, your wheel with a disk is going to be just as screwed up if not more so (the hub flange is narrower, much like a rear hub to allow the rotor to mount.) This creates a less strong wheel laterally as well. On the rear, you have an even more serious issue since the hub flange spacing is pretty narrow to clear both the cassette, and the disk mount. A side load (such as as corner or the tire falling into a rut) will cause all sorts of lateral flex. This is the direction that spoked wheels have the least amount of strength. Not to mention the fact that wheels these days use fewer spokes and higher tension. To me, that sounds like a hell of a way to sell parts, but a poor product in the long run. (I've built plenty of wheels in my day, and they last.) 32 spokes are your friends, and a nice wide hub flange spacing will provide you a good strong set of wheels that should last a long time.

Depending on how big you are, I'd say go looking for something in Aluminum, Titanium or Reynolds 853 steel. Carbon is the wrong material for a mountain frame. ( I don't trust the stuff, I've had seat posts break, forks fail, and watched carbon rims come apart under breaking.) You can't see damage to a carbon frame, when it lets go, it lets go and there is no way to tell its about to. If you are a taller/heavier rider I'd say go looking for a Specialized M2. Its an Aluminum metal Matrix composite frame. They are a good frame, and pretty much indestructible. The best news is that you can find them for about $500 ready to ride. If you have $1200 or so, you can find something in titanium from Dean, Kona, Merlin, or Lightspeed. This would be the route I'd go. Look for something with Shimano XT or XTR. No it won't be new, but it will be bulletproof and a solid performer. Two other titanium bikes you might keep your eyes open for are Diamondback, and Raleigh (John Tomac editions) VooDoo also makes some nice stuff.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post, but hey, I like lightweight stuff that always works. I've also broken enough parts in the past nearly 20 years to know a good product when I see one (yes I was in the industry for the better part of a decade) and what I see on the market these days is well marketed crap for the most part. Heck, I still ride 8 spd, with a thumbshifter for the front derailleur. Guess what, it still works like it did the day I installed the stuff 13 years ago, and yes I was pretty good.

Will

[Vivek]

Disks are TOTALLY over rated. Unless the bike weighs 50+ lbs, they are totally unneeded. Yes, I do realize everything comes with them now, but I'm going to call it marketing. A bad case of "You need disks because we say you do, and that is all we are going to offer" The Avid Arch Rival/Arch Supreme have an insane amount of stopping power. The Shimano XTR V-brakes are also plenty powerful. Before anyone makes the claim that rim brakes drag on the rim all the time, that is only true if the wheel is out of true. I've never ridden a set of disks that didn't rub all the time. Also, a disk rotor is just asking to be bent or smacked on a rock. Sure you run the risk with a rim brake, but if you taco a wheel to the point where the rim brakes can't be used, your wheel with a disk is going to be just as screwed up if not more so (the hub flange is narrower, much like a rear hub to allow the rotor to mount.) This creates a less strong wheel laterally as well. On the rear, you have an even more serious issue since the hub flange spacing is pretty narrow to clear both the cassette, and the disk mount. A side load (such as as corner or the tire falling into a rut) will cause all sorts of lateral flex. This is the direction that spoked wheels have the least amount of strength. Not to mention the fact that wheels these days use fewer spokes and higher tension. To me, that sounds like a hell of a way to sell parts, but a poor product in the long run. (I've built plenty of wheels in my day, and they last.) 32 spokes are your friends, and a nice wide hub flange spacing will provide you a good strong set of wheels that should last a long time.

Depending on how big you are, I'd say go looking for something in Aluminum, Titanium or Reynolds 853 steel. Carbon is the wrong material for a mountain frame. ( I don't trust the stuff, I've had seat posts break, forks fail, and watched carbon rims come apart under breaking.) You can't see damage to a carbon frame, when it lets go, it lets go and there is no way to tell its about to. If you are a taller/heavier rider I'd say go looking for a Specialized M2. Its an Aluminum metal Matrix composite frame. They are a good frame, and pretty much indestructible. The best news is that you can find them for about $500 ready to ride. If you have $1200 or so, you can find something in titanium from Dean, Kona, Merlin, or Lightspeed. This would be the route I'd go. Look for something with Shimano XT or XTR. No it won't be new, but it will be bulletproof and a solid performer. Two other titanium bikes you might keep your eyes open for are Diamondback, and Raleigh (John Tomac editions) VooDoo also makes some nice stuff.

I'm sure I'll get flamed for this post, but hey, I like lightweight stuff that always works. I've also broken enough parts in the past nearly 20 years to know a good product when I see one (yes I was in the industry for the better part of a decade) and what I see on the market these days is well marketed crap for the most part. Heck, I still ride 8 spd, with a thumbshifter for the front derailleur. Guess what, it still works like it did the day I installed the stuff 13 years ago, and yes I was pretty good.

Will

Ehh...I think that's pushing it. Most people say that rim brakes will melt away when they get too hot, but i've never experienced/tested this. Also, some hydraulic disks are scary fucking grippy (this is a good thing). I rode my friend's Specialized (forgot all the details) and almost flipped over going like 5mph when i tapped his front brake.

[TOAST]

its out of your price range but you should absolutely buy a full suspension 29er.

on a FS29er you just sit back and pedal along.. whilst leaving the others (including those real dirt motherfuckers they claim to be) bouncing and jarring along WAY behind you, no contest

some maneuverability is lost with the formfactor but the casual power and steamrollability along the trail is amazing.

let the machine do the hard work so you can have fun on the trail

[Nick_S]

Craigslist or ask around. Bought mine off my boss. It's a barely ridden 97 Schwinn Homegrown LXT. Picked up it up $300. Repainted it, put a King headset and Sram X-9 I had laying around and it's all the mtn bike I'll ever need. Disc brakes work well, but a nice set of v-brakes will do the job just fine...unless you're riding in crappy weather.

[BlackbirdM3]

29ers have been tried and discarded for good reason. The wheels are stupidly weak due to the diameter and the narrow hub flange spacing,(Think road wheel) they don't turn and they dont accelerate. Not to mention they are just heavy. Sure you can roll over stuff, but you end up walking the tight technical stuff because the thing won't turn. They are again a product of marketing hype.

26 inch wheels are where its at. In the early days, they tried 24" wheels, 26" wheels, 700c, and 29", they came back to the 26" for a reason. Its the best compromise of everything. Its also a stronger wheel. I've ridden a 29er and couldn't wait to trade back to my own frame.

Will

[BlackbirdM3]

Craigslist or ask around. Bought mine off my boss. It's a barely ridden 97 Schwinn Homegrown LXT. Picked up it up $300. Repainted it, put a King headset and Sram X-9 I had laying around and it's all the mtn bike I'll ever need. Disc brakes work well, but a nice set of v-brakes will do the job just fine...unless you're riding in crappy weather.

Bingo, fantastic frame, and at $300 a fantastic buy. I've heard that the Homegrown frames were built by Yeti. I'm not positive, but I remember something about Yeti having a part in the building of the frames.

Will

[CarsSuck]

I agree with what Blackbird is saying, keep it simple. I occasionally run single track with my commuter bike. Even on a totally rigid bike, with 700c wheels a street tires, it's far from impossbile to tackle reasonable trails. You just go a little slower and concentrate on technique and precision.

Melting V-brakes is all lies. If i can stop, drama free, from 30mph going down a steep hill with a case of beer on my back, you'll be just fine.

You most important choice is obviously tires, so find out where you'll be riding and what those trails are like before you throw down for those. Trails around here get muddy, but the clubs frown upon you having any fun with it.

[quikveedb2]

2 legit companies, 2 legit entry level bikes;

Specialized Hardrock Disk
http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...jsp?spid=52709

Trek 3500 Disk;
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...es/3500_disc/#

There's a reason disk brake technology is used on cars, motorcycles, atvs, etc. when considering the price & performance difference between non-disk & disk equipped bikes, the choice is easy. Used bikes can become a nightmare in worn out parts & neglected maintenance in a heartbeat, if you go that route be sure to have it checked by a knowledgeable MECHANIC, not your friend who rides a bike. I also have a Homegrown, they were made by Yeti, nearly the same frame as the old ARC that Yeti sold, it's a fun little hardtail, stiff as can be! I also ride a GF Roscoe, a Peugeot PX10, and a Stolen Score. Bike are fun.

[dnick]

devon, as a bike shop employee I would recommend one of the top tier manufactures.. IE Giant , trek, or specialized.. I can go all day telling you about everyone of the manufactures. I would advise staying away from mail order companies, online stores etc.. they wont give you the quality help when you need it! you cant ask you mailman to size you up to a bike can you? nope! Plus its always good to support local businesses !
So holler at me if you have any questions.

[devon.818]

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/bik/2805178387.html

access raptor 3.0

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/bik/2803709018.html

gt avalanche

was gonna check both these out. any opinions?

did see a jamis full suspension bike for under 400, but kinda want to stick to a hardtail, seeing as i will ride it to work, on trails, and most of all just fun.

edit
saw this, seems legit and affordable, upgrade if i get serious

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/bik/2842206732.html