Bicycle Fans?

how many miles are you all getting out of your chains?

 

I get about 5,000KM (3,100 miles) out of chains on my road bike, but half that on my mountain bike.

 

Newbie here, looking into getting into mountain biking...any suggestions for bikes that won't kill the bank but still be great first bike? Thanks!

 

what sort of riding do you want to do? if you're going to tackle rough terrain and single track, you probably want a full bouncy bike, and a "XC" (Cross Country) bike is probably the best all arounder. Disc brakes are pretty much awesome on the dirt.

how large are you? if you're on the taller lankier side, I'd definitely suggest a 29er, but if you're smaller to medium, a 26" or 650b is a better fit. Any of the major brand names (Specialized, Trek, Giant) or the secondary brands (numerous) make just fine mountain bikes at most any price point. I wouldn't touch a full suspension bike thats much under $1500 new, the shocks and bearings and stuff will be junk. I'd look for all Deore, going much above that adds more expense than utility.

I've always liked the Specialized Stumpjumpers (they fit my long torso nicely), but the base FSR Disc 29er is at least $2900 MSRP now. yeouch.

you probably need to define 'kill the bank' ... whats your budget ?

 

I would suggest a $500 bike to start out on to see how bad you really want to do this before going crazy widdit. Gently used will get you some good bikes in that range that will also have better components than what you get new for that money. There are some new hardtails in that price range that'd be decent first bikes. I will 2nd the Deore and up stuff for reliability.

 

OTOH, buying a good used bike requires a fair bit of familiarity with the technology...

 

So does buying new........

 

my first and only full bouncy-bike was a 2001 Stumpjumper FSR Disc. After a year or so of taking it up Wilder Ranch and such for rides, I realized I am getting too old to crash, and if you ride enough dirt, you will crash.

I gave that stumpy to my kid, along with my cruiser (its his playa bike, a great continuation). I wouldn't give my kid my 1975 all campy french bike, so I got him a Trek road bike more his size (hes got longer legs and a shorter torso than I), with mostly Ultegra parts, and some good tires on strong wheels.

 

did I mention, I *still* have my 1984 Stumpjumper Sport that I think I paid $350 for new? heh..

my wife's matching bike was stolen at a music festival 4-5 years ago, sigh, hers was like new and barely ridden compared with mine which is beat to shit, hahahah.

 

I have no more body parts to spare on crashing and especially at this point in my life. I don't feel there is "enough" dirt that has been ridden and I never will so I've just dialed back the craziness and enjoyment comes from completed rides with no casualties for me or the bike. No sponsors to keep happy, isn't a job, need no trophies or groupies & nothing to prove to anyone but myself so it's all about enjoying the outdoors and the ride. Speaking of, it's gonna be a great fall weather wknd to be going out of town headed for the riding mecca area of my state hangin out with some friends which is exactly what I'll be headed out the door before first light tomorrow morning. Time for more of this............

 

sorta kinda why I ended up with this bike, for doing the bike trails around the levy, and light commuting duties...

 

Been biking as long as i can remember

 

I have 1992 Specialized RockHopper Comp, 1994 DiamondBack Vertex, 1995 Trek Y-22, 2002 Giant NRS XTC Pro, 2006 Fuji Reveal and 10 other road, gravel, offroad and cruisers. Wife only has 4 bikes. I have resurrected several, bought several and some just showed up to hang out with the others, lol. I build and ride and n+1 keeps them coming. Next I want to do an internal geared belt driven disc brake faunky frame fat tire cruiser thing...........

 

Yep, that's a beauty. How ya like those $20 lights? I have about 5 or 6 sets of those in varying lumens. They kick ass for the price and will never buy $300 lights again. I just bought this Fuji Tread 1.0, and made some changes, for greenbelts/sidewalks/gravel/light trails (altho I took it to some crazy rocky trails to find it's limits....and mine for riding it offroad)
I love it. I refuse to ride in traffic so my road bike gets very little play and the Tread is just what I need to just leave from house and go do whatever I want for however far and not have to ride in road................

 

that larger light on my bars in that picture is *WAY* too bright, its like a motorcycle high beam, 1000 lumens or something, and even with a spreader lens (spreads the beam horizontally) there's way too much glare, I gave it to my kid who goes out to the desert and rides at night (burning man, and similar stuff).

I'm using a nite-rider 120 lumen, usually in strobe mode, its adequate for the little amount of night riding I do. equally important is a red strobe tail light, I use a cherry bomb.

 

I have the light n motion urban 350 or something like that 50 bucks and a good light

 

Been busy at work here in PA recently. I did get a chance to ride a few trails in the area. Gunpowder Falls State park was really nice. I forgot how much I love the mid Atlantic.

 

My old bike is a Diamondback and just got a new to me Giant full susp

 

This is a sweet bike I picked up a couple months ago. I've swapped out a couple parts so far , still gotta take a couple more pics too. KONA UNIT single speed, very fun bike. I'm also in the process of swapping my drivetrain to a 1x9 on my Specialized FSR XC Pro. I'll post some pics of it when I get it done.

 

I love riding my Gary Fisher Roscoe One. Can't wait for spring.