Mountain Bikes....

What are some good quality Mountain bikes for around $300-$500

 

you looking for used or new?

giant and trek are good brands.

 

You can get a Trek 3 or 4 series hardtail mountain bike for within that range. I have the Trek 4300 and i paid just over 500 with tax.

 

Specialized mountain bikes are also good

 

New. I was looking at Iron Horse, Jamis, JB, etc.


Full suspension Mountain Bike.

 

Gary Fisher Wahoo Disc. Best bike I have ever owned and I have had it now for 3 years. I have also owned an Iron Horse, Trek, and Specialized and none of those lasted me longer than 6 months. Given I run bikes really hard I accept that and my Gary Fisher is the best bike I have ever owned. Only $597 out the door and they are easily maintainable at home by yourself.

 

Mountain bikes have become very high tech and the prices have become just as high in the last decade. $300 to $500 will get you the most entry level mountain bike. At that price I would recomend a hardtail bike(just front suspension) or a complete rigid bike(no suspesion). Although I've never owned one, I know Giant usually offers well speced bikes for the price. A better option for you may be to check ebay for a used bike. that way you can get a higher end bike with better components at a price closer to what your wanting to spend. I recently sold a $5000 bike on there for $1500. Try to find a bike that has a good quality frame and then you can alway upgrade the parts on it later. At $500, stay away from full suspension bikes. The quality of the suspension wont be worth the extra weight it adds and it will be more of a chore to ride than it is fun. Even a hardtail at that price will have a lower end fork. Check your local bike shops and see what works for you, test ride lots of different brands/styles and then look at used ones. It's important to get a properly fitting bike or it will become uncomfortable to ride and figure out the style/type of riding you will be doing and get a bike according to that. dont be tempted to get what looks cool. The most important factor is that you enjoy riding it. All the big brands put out decent bikes, Specialized, Trek, Giant, GT, etc... the list goes on. Good luck

 

^^^^ Thanks man I look into those bikes. Its not one of those bikes that all you ay for is the name. right?

 

I always forget about Craigslist

 

a new good full suspension bike is going to run you quite a bit more than 3-500 dollars. You could probably find a like-new one on craigslist though.

 

So should I not even look at Dirt Jumping Trek bike?

Oh and I want the bike to last me through college..... Im a Sophomore in High School

 

This is what I was looking at my local bike shop...... it was for $700 I believe

 

Whoops that was bigger than I wanted it to be

 

If your interested in dirt jumping, you probably can find a good one at that price, but I still think used is the way to go at that price range. Mountain bikes have become so purpose built so it's hard to find a do it all bike. A dirt jump bike wont be any fun climbing on, a cross country bike is'nt any good for dirt jumping, a downhill bike is practical for road riding, blah, blah, blah you get the idea.

 

700 isn't too bad if you have the money for it! I hope to upgrade to a full suspension bike soon. I push my hardtail pretty hard on the trails about every other week and it's help up great. If that's what you want though I say go for it!

 

That trek looks to be pretty nice and its built for a more agressive riding so it should hold up well.

 

I think I will.... I will look in the used area. I will be using it for trails, road, and anything else I decide to do

 

Yeah it was on sale. So are you saying I should create my own bike instead of buy a complete?

 

I knew that sounded too good to be true. I was just about to sprint down to my local bike shop, cash in hand.

 

haha yeah I wish its a spectacular bike