Help me buy a mountain bike!

Hey guys.

So I am looking to get back on a mountain bike this spring! Last time I owned one I broke both my elbows at the same time going over the bars... So it's been a while, and honestly I don't know shit about buying the right bike for me. Here are the facts, if you guys could help point me in the right direction it would be great!

- $1200 plus or minus budget.
- Used or new, as long as it's in great shape I'll get more bike for my dollar, or save a couple.
- Full suspension, hydro disks, etc...
- I am 6'2" what size frame should I be looking for?
- Basically I live in Tehachapi, CA if you know the place. Got some good mountains right next to the house. Not looking to do any down hilling just yet, more trail ridding with some mid difficulty hills. I come from a long history of dirtbike riding so I do want something I can get a little fired up on if I find the right section. Please help guide me to the right set of wheels!!!

I was looking online but there are so many options. Liked this Kona hei hei so you can get an idea of what I am thinking... just a little out of my budget though...

http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=hei_hei

THANK YOU!!!!

*I searched to see what other people asked, didn't see anything that fit the bill...

 

6'2'', you will want at least a 19.5" frame but it depends on your leg length. I don't like full suspension because they are hard to pedal uphill and other stuff unrelated to downhill riding. Any bike with a good rockshox fork, hydraulic disks, 27 or more speeds is a pretty decent bike. I haven't seen any that cheap out on components at your price. What I would do is look for a bike that has comparable components to that kona if that's what you like. Personally I would buy a 2012 model if a bike shop still has one. You can save a good deal.

 

For 1200 you will probably have a tough time finding a new full suspension bike with decent components. As far as size definitely at least a 19.5 maybe even one step up.

If you look at a bike with hydraulic brakes make sure they are avid, shimano, formula etc, i had a bike with some crappy hydros and they were horrible, the worst brake fade and squealed like crazy.

number of gears doesnt really matter as much since now a lot of companies are going less is more, for example the sram XX1 11 speed although nothing in you price range will have that.

as far as that kona, it looks like its got decent components. definitely try to find something with that level or better.

here is one i just found on pinkbike, looks like a pretty good price, i dont know what they go for new though so maybe you could get a little off. the fork isnt that great but its an air fork so thats good

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1278844/

edit: you could probably find a good hardtail 29er for that price, wont be as fast as an FS downhill but up it will be. and you might get better components
here is another good one for the price http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/1293871/ you can actually buy that frame 2012 model for like 550 from Santa Cruz

 

Check out www.jensonusa.com. You may be able to pick up a 2012 or even a 2011 model year bike for a lot cheaper.

http://www.jensonusa.com/All-Mountain-Trail-Mountain-Bikes?pg=100

http://www.jensonusa.com/Cross-Country-Mountain-Bikes

 

www.pinkbike.com

 

Some XC FS bikes in your price range and frame size for a reasonable price.

2012 Focus Super Bud 4.0 - $1099
http://www.jensonusa.com/Cross-Country-Mountain-Bikes/Focus-Super-Bud-40-Bike-2012

2012 Rocky Mountain Element 10 - $1139
http://www.jensonusa.com/Cross-Country-Mountain-Bikes/Rocky-Mountain-Element-10-Bike-12

2011 Focus Super Bud 3.0 - $1449
http://www.jensonusa.com/Cross-Country-Mountain-Bikes/Focus-Super-Bud-30-Bike-11

 

Thanks for the advice! If I do buy a new bike it will definitly be an older model, I just don't think I can swing a new one with the nicer parts in my price point.

Thank you for the advice on the size. I will probably go 19.5, not any larger. I have always preferred to ride just a little lower, seems more comfortable to me... though I am sure that is bad form on my part. I always road dirt jump bikes as a kid, and ride low on my beach cruiser, so it's probably a bad habit... Also thanks for the link to Pinkbike, that was what I needed to find a used one. I always hate using craigslist, so this is badass! Questions about the 29'ers below!

you weren't kidding about those things being monster trucks!!! Holy shit. Where would a guy test ride one of those on a trail? Do the tires really make up for no suspension?

 

Trek 4900 $1200 on the site so you can probably get it for under $1000.
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/sport/4_series/4900_disc/#

 

So after looking at what you guys have sent me I have a few more questions, haha.

- Full suspension or hard tail - So other than mentioning the hard tail being easier to pedal uphill, what are other trade offs for each bike. I know with trucks the larger the tire, the smoother the ride, I assume this applies to bikes as well. Are the 29'er hard tails noticably smoother riding? I know a friend of mine had a full suspension and the rear shock had a lock for riding up hill so you could esentially have a hard tail, is this still common and worth having? The last two bikes I had were both cannondales. One was a hard tail, and it was a cheaper bike, think I payed $300 new. It didn't have any of the nice shit on it. I remember it being very bumpy and jerky, and I was riding relatively used bike trails, so they were on the smother side. Then I had an older full suspension cannondale that had the lefty fork and an air shock in the back. Had mechanical disk breaks, and shity components (chain was always falling off). It was still a cheaper bike on the scale of things but it rode much nicer compaired to my other bike. It's been about a year and a half since I have had a bike though, and I want to do it right this time.

- Shocks - You guys had mentioned air shocks. What should I be looking for to know if it is a quality shock or not? Air better than coil? Should I key in on just fox or rockshox, or should I look for specific lines from these companies as well.

- Componants - Same question as the shocks, I know Shimano is a good brand, but they have cheap shit as well. Any line that I should be looking for?

Thanks again everyone for the help!!!

 

29er hardtail, 2x10 gearing if you can. You need large or extra large. For $1200, I'd search ebay or craigslist for a good model, lightly used. You can usually tell by the component level, how good/bad a bike is.

Shimano XT or better (XTR) = good
SRAM X9 or better (XO, XX) = good

with a 29er, the lighter the wheels the better.

 

Great info, thanks!

 

Just go to walmart and pick one out! $2-300 put the other 900 towards truck! lol

 

-Hardtail or FS would come down to what kind of trails you are riding. I had a hardtail for a while and my local trails are super rocky, when i switched to FS it was soooo much better. Although I would like a hardtail for the smoother XC trails. Most FS bikes will have propedal or lock out of some sort, I think rockshox has more of a complete lockout but i have never ridden a bike with rockshox rear suspension. Full suspension bikes are a lot better at pedaling now anyways, I have a fuel EX 8 and it pedals great.

-As far as shocks go fox and rockshox are the biggest companies. Marzocchi seems to be alright but I have never ridden. X fusion seems to be good for the price. I would just stay away from suntour, not the best forks. Coil versus Air is also personal preference. Most lower end bikes will have coil forks and downhill/freeride bikes usually have coil suspension too. I personally like air because you can adjust spring rate with a shock pump where you need a new coil to change it on coil suspension. Air shocks/forks are also going to be a bit lighter

-Components I would say Shimano SLX or higher is good. I ride SLX and its good, i just wish it had the clutch to keep the chain tighter. For Sram I would say x9 maybe X7 or higher like was said above.

 

My roommate bought a Motobecane hardtail off of this site. Basically, a guy bought the name a while back and has hte frames built in Korea (low cost). They drop ship it from you direct from the factory (no shop gross profit to cover). It is delivered to you as it would be to a bike shop, so there is some assembly required. We did it ourselves. It's a great way to get an affordable frame with top of the line components.

My suggestion for you would be the Fantom29 Elite. Nice setup for what you are doing. Use the under-budget money to have a good bike shop assemble/tune it for you are you're golden.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mountain_bikes.htm

 

For $1200, you can't really get a NEW bike with high end components like you mentioned, especially not a FS. So it will be up to OP to decide if he wants to shop for a used one with such components.

For shimano on a budget I think SLX line is a great bang for the buck. Deore would do on a strickt budget. X7 in SRAM maybe?

You can have a rear suspension lockout, but again, if buying new, not all bikes will have that feature in that price range. Most probably won't. I don't think any of the three bikes I posted link to on jensonusa have rear lockout. I may be wrong.

No.

 

HAHA!!! I actually considered this, nothing at that price point I need at the moment. Just got rid of the truck and want to upgrade my 4Runner, but that requires many thousands for what I want. Time to get a bike so I can still hit the dirt in the mean time while I save my pennies...

Thanks for the input!! I am leaning towards your train of thought. I just turned 30, I know I'm not old, but I do appreciate somehting with a little more comfort these days, haha.

 

http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/index.html

 

I just remembered, i think SLX has the clutch now (2012 and newer) but be careful because i think they make it both with and without

one other thing to think about, buy the best frame you can afford if you feel like you will keep it for a while, that way you can upgrade it later. if you feel like you are just going to sell it and get something better after a bit of time like a year or two then maybe go with better components

 

They have a lot of good looking bikes!!!

I would consider this, just not sur eI have the know-how to part one together. Wich components to skimp on, which ones to spend on. Can a guy same money putting one together? I am sure I could assemble it 95% then have a shop to some fine tuning to the shifters and such...

 

Really looks like used may be the ticket here for me... man mountain bikes are just as complex as trucks. At least I have trucks all figured out, this is martian to me...