advice from MT bikers needed!

Some money saving advice for ya....buy whole bike from shops where you can walk in and test ride them because you won't save much by buying online plus adding shipping vs getting same bike from shop but when or if upgrading components use online places like nashbar, performancebike, ebay, cambriabike, jensonusa, etc to get your parts from. The part plus shipping will be much less than what the shop will charge for same part plus they will have to order it anyway most of the time and they'll most likely be hitting some place about like you could yourself.

Starting out where you are, I would be getting the better frameset with lesser componentry and if components need replacing it'll cost less to end up with better bike overall. Of course money is an object for me and having 13 bikes I have to be frugal as possible and I do all my own wrenching too. The wrenching is fun and I enjoy building my own rides. I even do wheel building and do some of the alternate lacing stuff from the standard stuff coming from shops and wheelsets already laced up. One of my bikes actually came completely in the mail to my house part by part as I spec'd it up and ordered the parts. Even the wheels showed up as rims, spokes & hubs seperately. Nice feeling bombing around on the trails knowing, hey I built this shit and it rocks..........What ever you end up with, get lights so you can do trails at night after you learn them a bit. Completely different very cool stuff!

 

Yeah I plan on buying the bike in a local shop and will do the other things online. So what do you think about the Scott? I think I would rather get the Scott than the Trek. 26" just seems like it'd be better on most types of trails out there and easier to maneuver around shit.

 

I agree, I bought a $600 specialized hard tail and had it for about 7 months, then I bought a Santa Cruz Blur used for $1800, big difference, but I have never looked back, or regretted it.

 

BLUR FTMFW!







Sorry OP for going off topic and cluttering your thread with pics.

 

Nice pic, where was this? Did you MTB all the way out there with gear and all?

Sorry for going off topic OP

 

I went through 3 bikes (full rigid schwinn, front susp schwinn, full susp Gary Fisher) of varying prices.

Settled on a full susp Specialized FSR XC Pro back in 1999 ($2200)
.......lasted 11 years.

then, last summer, i bought the Santa Cruz Superlight (same price but more bike)

price = longevity
IMHO

unless you plan on bombing it downhill constantly.


also, this months Mountain Bike Action has a 26" vs 29" article.

i have never even considered a 29'r.
i am 5'8" and i like my quick acceleration and nimble handling.

 

Well put!

 

bingo!

 

Well I got my bike. I went with the Trek Marlin. I went to a number of bike shops today and rode a lot of bikes. The Trek just felt the best when I rode it. You guys gotta remember I was looking for a good entry-level mountain bike. I know that I could have easily dropped $1500 on a bike and that price=longevity. This bike will serve its purpose till I find what direction I want to go in when it comes to my next purchase.

Telling someone to spend a couple grand on their first mountain bike is like telling a new member on here to LT their truck instead of just getting the 5100s.

Once again guys thanks for all your input!

 

That is the white rim near moab. It was/is a supported trip. We (my day, uncles and a few friends) go every year, though it has had some major road damage now so this year we will probably go to Fruita CO.

OP, enjoy your new ride!

 

Oh and i got the trek for 500. and turns out the store does do the tune-ups.adjustments for free lifetime as well.

 

Nice dude I really am looking for the same thing I rode a trek the other ay I need to ride a Scott and see withc one I like the most! Congats!

 

nice man! as long as you feel comfy on it... thats all that matters! now take those reflectors off! they will come off anyways when your on the tail. lol

lifetime tune-ups is a nice deal. I hate doing my own tune-ups... unfortunately, it costs $50 twice a year to have someone do it and check the bike over for any problems.

 

thats a pretty good deal, the shop i got mine at only gives unlimited tuneups for a year

 

Holiday Expenditions?

 

i personally liked the trek better. the scott felt fine, but i dont think i would have been happy riding it for long periods at a time.

yeah i know i gotta take 'em off. im glad i got the tune-ups and shit thru the shop as part of the deal.

 

Nah it's more like telling someone to skip out on a spacer lift and blocks than 5100s lol as long as you like it man

 

okay...?

 

it's just less drastic than LT to 5100s. no?.... not funny?.... damn...

 

you're correct. i just didnt know if you were actually talking shit about me getting an entry level bike.

but i think you were just saying my bike compare to a 1500 dollar bike is like a spacer lift to 5100s. a more realistic comparison. which would be true. i just don't like being associated with spacer lifts and blocks.