All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Is the trek marlin 6 a good starter? Thinking about something for light trail/dirt and mostly flat surface

 

It doesn't look terrible at a glance. I think it'd be a good starter bike for dirt sidewalks with a few bumps.

 

I think we should start a sticky in this thread for hauling bikes and selecting the "proper" mountain bikes. They seem to be reoccurring themes that we address every couple of days. I suggest we put something together as a group for selecting a bike. We can refer newbies to the sticky so they can then down-select a few models before they ask suggestions for the group. Please let me know your thoughts?

 

"Can I fit 33s on my trail bike without trimming"

Not a terrible idea. I'd say add something to the first post, but @ccallen is a ghost these days, and nobody would prob read the first post before cutting to the latest page anyway.

 

It wouldn't be a bad idea to have something designated to hauling bikes and something for helping people select a bike. I've been looking through this thread and others for different ideas for hauling my bike. I'm also contemplating an upgrade, so both would be helpful to me, for what it's worth.

 

I think it could be useful to have good pics of different bike haul options on a Tacoma stickied somewhere. I could never seem to find detailed pics of options I was looking at, just the normal 15 foot pics we all take. I could provide the Yakima tailgate pad pics if needed.

 

I'm sure with the help of a Mod, we can get the first post modified and get this thread out of the turd gen section

 

Sweet! I just ordered my first pair based on recs here. Still waiting for them.

I'm jealous of the bottle room in that frame. I'm not sure what size my bottle is but looks smaller than that and BARELY squeezes in on my size M Scout. Was hard to find a spot to strap a tube too between the shock travel area and bottle area being taken.

 

@jberry813 can you do us a solid?

 

I can fit an enormous 26oz polar bottle in mine. It's pretty nice

 

Nooooo. Can’t we have one nice thing?

 

I've found there's a "don't start none, won't be none" policy. Asking for a thread move aint nothin but a thang.

 

Is bike flights the best way to ship wheels? Selling some old 26" wheels so looking for the best method. Box size needed? Wishing I wouldn't have just recycled a full truck bed of flattened cardboard.

 

Like an intro to buying your first mountain bike. Maybe a list of some bikes in different price ranges we like or would recommend to one of our friends if they were to be in that position. i like the idea

 

I don't want to list bikes per se but more of a philosophy on how to pick a bike that suits "you." Only because maintaining a list will be a PITA as bikes get released and no one wants to hear "why didn't you include this?" I would hope that the buyer's advice leads them to pick bikes on their own then bounce them off of members of the forum. Let me know what you think?

 

I was kinda thinking along those lines as well. Way to much evolution to post up specific models as go to’s for a newb.

As for a sticky on mounting options, I think @abacall is putting together a blog detailing multiple options with some feedback on each. Maybe a link to that could find its way in here?

 

YYYeeesss!! I'm down to give some thoughts but I really like that what everyone has had to say as a collective. Lots of differing viewpoints that all seem spot on.

 

I think it should start off like "First of all, welcome to wonderful world of mountain biking! Mountain bikers, next to Tacoma owners, are the most opinionated bunch of assholes you will ever meet. So read between the lines of everything we say. Your bike is for you, not anyone else. No one, except for you, can determine what mountain bike you "need." Who cares if you live in Florida and have next to no relief change in your everyday ride. If you want a bike that is full suspension because you might hit some big jumps every now or want more traction over roots, go for it! Honestly, buying a bike for what you do 95% of the time is probably smarter than the advice just given but then again, its your choice. The most important step in this process is knowing thyself! If you like to hit jumps do not buy a cross country bike that has a steep head angle, get something that is a bit slack. Thankfully, these days you can buy hardtails that have more than just XC geometry angles.

Many of new mountain bikers often spend less money than they think is necessary in the process and they pay for this mistake usually within the first year of ownership. This goes back to "know thy self," and how important you gauge your interest in the sport. If this is something that you are going to be highly interested in then spend more money than you think is reasonable because you will quickly meet some of the limitations of what your $ can afford. If this is something you plan to do very leisurely then spend accordingly. Something that you can do to help you come to these conclusions include pestering your social network to introduce you to the sport or find a demo event or a shop that provides demo's for "rent." Riding a bike you are about to potentially spend thousands of dollars on cannot be understated. This may require an investment on your part but it is money well spent. Most important of all, do your homework! Do not limit yourself solely to a budget. You must decide what type of riding that you want to do before you come to the group with "I've got $600 tell me what bike I should buy." Narrow down a few models, then you should ask the group why or why not you should decide on a specific model. Good luck! We are here to help but you need to lead yourself to water first and foremost.

 

Yep, working on that exact project. If people are willing to add I need:
Pics, weight, things you like, things you dislike for:
-North shore style rack
-Roof mounted
-Side rail mount

What I have so far is damn close to publishing. I can always add after.