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

that sounds useful. Assuming that is mounted on the handlebars?

Is $750 enough to get anything decent or am I just shit out of luck and need to up my budget?

 

a dropper is a dropper seat post. push a lever and hold, apply pressure to the seat (sit on it) and the seat goes down, let go of the lever. stand up and push the lever again, and the seat comes back up. you want the seat up when you're pedaling, down when you're going downhill. both videos below are good. the first one is a pretty basic explanation. seth's bike hacks (berm peak) has a good description, but then starts talking about 2 specific droppers.

most bikes come with them now, with the exception of the base level bikes


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34hO4YD2SM&ab_channel=YourFavoriteCyclist


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpJeEpc1C8g&ab_channel=BermPeak

 

Yes it is handlebar mounted. 9/10 times will be on the left side. You can find stuff used around that price but unlikely you find the new standard (1x12 drivetrain and droppers) No dropper is not bad. It's probably better to start without it since itll have you thinking about "do I need to step off and lower the seat for this downhill so I can move around?" That actually helped me think about what I was doing more instead of just going through and reacting and saying damn shoulda lowered it.

 

Looks like REI has a hard tail new for $600, usually pretty impressed with the REI house brand stuff.

 

One thing is maintenance, so I bought new for both of my first two bikes for the benefits of bikeshop tune ups for free as well. Bikeshops also make it super simple should you ever have any issue with a frame cracking. Warranty is done through them. I also try to watch and learn as much as I can at the shop so eventually I'll do on my own, but the simplicity of drop it off ask for a tune up and they call with any issues or they call and say hey its ready to rip. I don't know if REI has any service stuff.

 

the co-op dirt 1? honestly, that will work great. if you ride it and find yourself wanting more, you can upgrade components, or just sell the bike and get a new one. bikes go so quick these last couple of years

 

Bought a REI Co-op 1.3 DRT. It’s not tubeless convertible stock but everything I’ve read says you and tape up rims to make it work. Problem is I’m not sure what size I can run. Came stock with 27.5 2.3 front and 2.25 rear set up.

Can I run 2.3 rear or even 2.4 with this set up? Not trying to throw down $250-200 on tubeless maxxis for them not to work.

Popped 2 tubes in 2 weeks so figure I’ll go for tubeless if possible.

 

So I'm someone who grew up riding $100-300 mountain bikes and bmx bikes as a kid and at the age of 25 I finally got a "real" mountain bike which was a $800 Trek Marlin 7 hard-tail. You will find a great bike in that price range but two things to note:

1. With anything, the more you spend the better components you get. $800ish will get you decent drivetrain/brakes/front suspension. $1200-1400 will get you something you will be able to grow into a bit more such as a 1x drivetrain, dropper post, better front suspension.
2. Bikes are in huge demand right now and the $500-1500 market is bananas. Shop around and place an order sooner than later!

 

I'd give it a shot. Back when I had my 2013 Giant Trance X 29er, my bike shop was able to convert the non-tubeless rims to a tubeless setup without any issues.

 

Yeah it's a lot easier with a 1 by so you don't have a mech on the left, you can just do the dropper. I know a few people do the levers on the seats too.

Coworker has one of those - I like it!

Once you get a certain point, beyond that it's no better, just lighter.

YUP ^^^ I got lucky with mine, got a GT Verb Elite, heavy but it's fun. 27.5.


@stinger86 With a hard tail instead of full squish, you'll be in a lower price bracket. $600 new at REI is decent, definitely a good base to build further on if you do anything.

 

More of a general question because I don't know but something for him to consider, what width rear tire do you guys like to look for on hardtails? I know the guys around me are riding 2.5's or larger. But I could imagine if I was back in Dallas a 2.3 width would be perfect with less rocks around so less tire is needed to soften the ride.

 

someone correct me if im wrong, but you typically go wider on your front tire than your rear. back tires swing around. you're more likely to fall if your front tire looses grip.

as far as how big of a tire you can fit, entirely depends on the bike. best way is to grab some calipers and see how much space there is with your chain and seat stays. look at how close the tires are getting to the frame of your bike and fork and go from there.

my commuter came with like 33s on there. i got lucky when i ordered some gravel 35s. it looked like it was gonna rub, but there was barely space between the treads of the tire and my frame. they would not have fit if i had a rain guard or something on there,

 

you are correct. my front is wider to prevent washouts. as for your rear tire clearance, usually the manufacturer says what they shoudl clear. if not, try measuring it out.

 

Likewise on BMX Racing. Park/etc people still do it but typically you'll just see people running the same size or whatever they can find.

 

I'd second the recommendation on a dropper. It might be by far my most enjoyable accessory on my bike! I can't imagine ever riding without one.

 

I run just slightly wider on my front tire for the same reasons @ginseng27 mentioned. The front needs the grip in the turns!

 

@stinger86 I live half a state north of you but ride coastal canyons and mountains a couple times a week ... and lots of other places too. You should find a bike that fits and is good value, but in my opinion I wouldn’t get too hung up on suspension travel. I’ve been riding MTB’s for almost 40 years and I’m old and slow, but ride with some fast guys who deal with lots of our ruts and chunk on bikes with 120-130 forks and less rear travel, or even hard tails.

However, there are a few modern features which really are game changers, in either capability or lack of hassle: 1x drivetrains, dropper seat posts and tubeless tires (I’m assuming you’ll be looking at bikes with hydraulic disk brakes). I have never, ever missed my front derailleur. Not when riding or when working on my bike. I’m not super-flexible moving around on the bike (I’m eligible for Medicare in a few months, that’s my excuse) and the dropper helps me get low and/or back and feel more comfortable descending, using it multiple times a mile on every ride. And, I’ve put about 6000 miles on my current bike with tubeless, and had ONE puncture ... which was a deck screw through the tread and out the sidewall. And even then it was a gradual leak not a blowout.

My two cents ... have fun!

 

This is still a little too rich for my blood but something like this then? https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/d/san-diego-2019-fuse-expert-275-hardtail/7302387318.html

 

Getting 1x12 and a dropper at that price is a really good looking deal. If you can talk him into 1200 I'd say that's not a bad look. Plus size tires are nice combo with a hardtail.

 

That looks pretty good. My son bought a similar bike, a Salsa Timberjack, two years ago and kicked my butt ... and I have a carbon FS 29-er. Of course a 35 year age difference, plus his physical conditioning care of Uncle Sam, may have had something to do with it. But based on the one time I rode in San Diego, it’s fine for many of your local trails. It’s interesting that he paid $1200 brand new, with a mixed Shimano SLX/XT build, which I prefer, but only 11 speed not 12 speed, and 27.5 x 2.6 tires and no dropper. Honestly, in today’s market, $1300 or $1200 is pretty good if it fits you. Tubeless conversion is easy DIY or a shop should do it for about $30-40 per wheel.