advice from MT bikers needed!

X2

1K is by no means top of the line, if anything, that is decent entry level

Your height and size, my opinion would be go with that 29er. One of my best biking friends who has been riding almost as long as I have made the switched and hasn't looked back. Hes been trying to get me on one, lol, but I am a bit smaller and lighter (plus on my current ride already have just about 4K invested, so looking to get a couple of more years out of it ).

Start off simple, because we all love to pour money into our hobbies; cars, trucks, guns, bikes, etc...better off just getting on the trails while you continue to research, so you can figure out what suits your needs best.

 

Just getting into mt biking I'd say go with a quality frame and better fork and 26" which IMO would be easier to learn on. Components are easier to upgrade than frames and forks are. Basically bikes will come with good drivetrain and skimp on fork or frame or the good frame/fork and skimp on drivetrain when comparing similarly priced bikes. I would target at least Deore level components and mid level fork with mech discs and decent drivetrain for less than 800 for hardtail. You won't get a Fox fork on anything less than 1500 or so since most of there forks cost over 700 by themselves. I would go moderate on entry level ride to see if you are gonna stick with it then upgrade components or whole bike later as you outgrow it. Just because many say Specialized Rockhopper, I will tell you I bought a 1992 Rockhopper new with full LX components 20 yrs ago for 670.00 and have beat on it mercilessly for first 5-7 yrs and off and on for the other 13 yrs of owning it and I still have it hangin around in the garage with the other 12 bikes of varying types I rotate thru depending on where I'm riding. Still has many original drivetrain components on it. Can't go wrong with a rockhopper for an entry level ride IMO.


....and don't ride with clip-in pedals learning to ride trails, just use platforms.

 

Hey man I've been racing mountain bikes for about ten years now and I think both the selections youve made are great bikes for a beginner. On both bikes the weaknesses you will see first are the brakes and the fork.

I am 6 foot 3 so we are kind of in the same height range.....

29ers are a relatively new concept that role over small obstacles more easily/smoothly, similar to how big tires on a truck work. The idea was introduced by Gary Fisher about 10 years ago and has stayed fairly well contained to the cross country (xc) category. This entails fairly smooth trails without larger jumps and or obstacle. The terrain is usually rolling.

26 inch wheeled bikes like the Trek are typical style mountain bikes. These bikes handle better on tight and rocky terrain where wheel diameter can be an issue. If your doing more aggressive riding this may be a better bike for your needs. Larger jumps are better taken by 26ers because the tire settles more into takeoffs and other rapidly climbing sections of a trail.

Really it comes down to what type of riding you plan on doing.

The specs on the bikes are fairly similar the only thing is that you may miss the lockout feature available on the scott if you got the trek.....If you plan to do a lot of climbing.

Hope this helps. I have a fairly substantial product knowledge from being involved in mountain biking for so long, so if you have any other questions pm me...I may also have some other reccomendations for bikes that would be similar in price but more value in components.

 

im 6' 6" and i have an 09 fisher mamba and an 06 specialized enduro expert

the mamba sucks, and its going up for sale soon .... the 26" wheels do just fine for me.

 

Get a good quality hard tail like the specialized rockhopper. With fox shocks and WAY better quality components you'll be set for quite awhile. Save up, buy quality, be happy

 

hey man I forgot to mention you may want to check out www.bikesdirect.com under their mtb section they have a wide variety of windsor and motobecane bicycles. 29ers and 26ers both rigid and with front suspension. Many of their bikes are well within your price range with far better components than those you were looking at. I would avoid the full suspension bikes but the hardtails are extremely nice.

I would look at the:
windsor cliff 4500, 4700, and 4900, cliff 29er comp
dawes haymaker 1500
motobecane 600ht, and fantom ht trail, 700ht, fantom trail 29er

for rigid bikes and single speeds
motobecane outcast 29er
dawes bullseye 29er

and many more if you want to go up another $100 or so

 

agreed to some extent

 

x2 Pink bike is where its at. Got my 3 grand DH bike for 900.

The thing with hartails is there is no real new technology that makes getting a 2011 mandatory. Its all pretty much the same thing. My moms 2010 and my 2005 have the same parts, and i would prefer my fork over hers. Although Fox is where its at, neither of them have it.

If you can find a decent hard tail for cheap i would go with that and see how much you enjoy the sport, eventually you will want a full suspension.

I've been riding 26in wheels my entire life and there is nothing wrong with them, they are easy to weave around obstacles, down single track and best of all they have a ton of tire selections, where as 29in you dont really get as many tire selections and they are just a lot harder to throw around. But you do get going faster and it feels smoother.

 

I have a 2005 rocky mountain slayer 70 XL for sale, It has the fox fork and fox rear shock, also has brand new XT components.

 

anyone want my norco sasqautch freeride hardtail with marzocchi z1 sl magnesium its a 2006 and its got all shimano xt components.....see my add in the for sale forum?

 

Yea those aren't exactly comparable bikes. 29ers are a completely different ride than a traditional 26er. I would check out pinkbike.com for some used stuff to save some money. Anything in your price range will be outgrown if you get into it, but getting used parts will save a lot of money. Wheel sets and shocks especially.

 

This is my pretty much my feeling on it. Almost like someone buying a ford raptor just cause its ready to rock n roll whereas id rather have the reliable Tacoma.

Thanks for the response. Both of the bikes have the front lock-out. What are some of your other recommendations for bikes similar i price with better components?

Neither of the stores I've been to had any 2010s in. I'll go check out a couple other stores and see what they have. IF anything I'll find a better deal on one of the above bikes.

 

I checked out the Trek Marlin single speed with the front lock out and disk brakes. It was the same price as the other Marlin.

 

SS = whole different riding style on trails than a geared bike..........OP just gettin into sport, single speed wouldn't be too welcoming with hills and wind and soft ground to deal with. Best to make that a bike for later if he hangs in there. IMO. Besides, a geared mt bike can go anywhere anytime on any kind of ride, ss...maybe, just not as enjoyably for noobs.

 

yeah i wouldnt get a single speed. i should have put a poll on this thing.

 

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

After talking about other options with another member thru PMs I think I am going to go with this one if i like the way it rides. I'm going to the store on Saturday to try it out.

 

i recently got the Trek Wahoo disc, and man i loved it on the first trail ride. The trail was pretty tight and fast, handled excellent, brakes were great, gears did really well, the only thing i could complain about were the tires. They got caked up pretty easily but it had rained the day before so that is probably where the problem was.

I was gonna get the Marlin single speed but i decided, thanks to input here that it was a pretty specific bike. im glad i did go with a geared bike because the trails around here have a lot of hills.

i would definitely recommend the wahoo as a beginner bike, although im not too sure how the wahoo compares to that kona,

 

I want a Scott soooo bad nice bikes!

 

That is a strange mix of parts to me. Why would they bother with hydraulic brakes on a bike spec'd with Acera and Alivio components? 8 spd? Hope this bike isn't much more than 450-500. That fork won't last too long depending on what you're asking from it. IMO, this bike is mostly paying for the name on the frame and will not last long if pushed much at all on trails. You'll be replacing drivetrain stuff pretty quick if this thing sees much real offroad use IMO. Just my .02 tho. Have been riding for 43 yrs, have broken/worn out plenty of iffy stuff and have gotten 20 yrs of thrashing out of decent stuff. As far as I'm concerned, any group beyond XT is just for posing or racing because it won't last any longer than Deore, LX or XT stuff will. Others will of course disagree and may spec and spend as they see fit.

 

beats me. but thanks for your input. i dont know much about which components are good and which arent. so i wont even go look at this bike. they are asking 600. i think im going to just go with the scott. best price and deal and it should last me a good year till i find what direction i want to go with in mt biking which will be when i drop some serious money on a good set-up.