Show off your Mountain Bike!!!

The first Pivot Switchblade to hit the market. Not mine but true to form for Pivot, they didn't miss a single detail

 

Thanks for all the info! I think the best bike for me is going to be in the "trail" category. I think for now I'm just going to continue rocking my cheapo Nishiki until I can save up some more green and get a decent bike. Or until something breaks on it! Then the wife can't argue about getting a new one! It seems there are some decent bikes to be had in the 1200-1500 range. That's where I'd like to be.

 

Lock 4 in gallatin TN.

 

My slash8, 160mm travel 27.5. End of last season demo, day I picked it up. Slapped on icetechs and setup tubeless, otherwise stock. Thing rips and that pike fork is amazing coming from a fox float 32.

 

My bike is trail bike. 140 to 160mm depends on how burly you get with the downhill. I'm happy with 140mm as that is what my bike is setup for. 160mm is too much...always follow what the manufacturer recommends unless "MANY" have tried a different mod...don't listen to one person's advice unless it sounds sane to you. Too much travel can compromise the frame as well if it wasn't designed for it. I think a used $1500 you would be really happy with high end gears. The drivetrain will shift so much better. Just start getting more familiar with the equipment you want and then start looking around for used bike that hasn't been ridden much or parts being sold by sponsored rides selling their extra equipment. If the Nishiki is working for you...just ride it until you don't want it anymore... half the battle is to just get out there and ride.

I forgot to mention about all mountain category.. it's the one inbetween a trail bike and downhilll bike. It's more beefy trail bike.. kind of like BanAndy10's bike. It's got a RS Pike fork 34mm fork and reservoir rear shock. It's meant to be more stout than trail bike. All mountain tend to stay in the 30lb range.

 

Brought the Mach 6 down to Brevard and stretched its legs on the Black Mountain trail. It was certainly right at home. What a blast!!




Dupont State Forest on the Ridgeline downhill. One of the best downhill flow trails i've been on.

 

This is at raccoon mountain near Chattanooga.

 

Hell yeah man! Im in Franklin and love that trail

 

My bike shop gave me a loaner bike while they build my bike over the next couple days. It's an Intense Spider. Climbs really well and it's the first carbon bike I've ever been on. Not really a fan of it to be honest. It's real only redeeming factor is how well it climbs versus my last bike.

 

So I went to a salsa bikes demo day on Saturday and had a total blast. My mountain biking experience is pretty limited, I mainly rode narrow windy single track in very flat terrain on an entry level hardtail. This was my first time riding a full suspension and I really liked it. Also the trails had a pretty good mix of elevation changes, roots and rocks.

The bike I liked the most was the salsa spearfish, which is there xc race style bike. It was fast and light.

I definitely want to get a bike soon, but I need to do a lot more research and ride more bikes to find the right one. Also gotta find the right deal.

 

Anyone got some brands they recommend outside of the big names?

 

My views may be slightly biased on this one but, I haven't met someone who didn't like their Kona.

http://www.konaworld.com/

 

By big names, I assume you are talking about the big 3, Trek, Specialized and Giant. For full-suspension trail bikes, those big 3 represent the 3 major suspension designs. Trek has their ABP (single pivot with pivot around the rear axle), Specialized has their FSR (Horst link), and Giant has their Maestro (modified DW Link, similar to VPP and other various names using a solid rear triangle attached by both a lower and upper link). They all feel a bit different. For a XC/Trail bike, the Trek ABP is good, and it does stay more active under braking. But it is a single-pivot design and lacks a little plushness at speed when compared to the others when moving up the chain to more travel. But these are my opinions and experience, others may feel different.

When straying outside those 3, there are tons of slightly smaller brands that utilize similar designs, except for Yeti, who takes their own road. I would like to own one of those someday. There are some foreign brands that you can get here, but are more popular in Canada, Europe and down under. Rocky Mountain, Niner, DeVinci, Pivot, Scott, BMC, etc. All good bikes, maybe not better or different or cheaper enough to stray from the big 3. I am really liking what I see from Pivot over the last few years.

What you get with the big 3 is lots of local bike shops that can get parts and service them. You also get a good product with good components for a good price. You can go boutique if you want, but if you only have a single bike, you may be down for a time if you break something, and you will break something.

Anyway, sounds like you are doing the right thing, going to demo days and getting a feel for the different bikes.

And now some bike and riding pics.

Greensfelder Challenge race a couple weekends ago on the Stache:
2016 DRJ Gorc Race-611 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Ride this morning on the Stumpy fattie at Greensfelder, bottom of the monkey head downhill:
DSCN0210 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

 

Santa Cruz, their customer service has always been very helpful and willing to do what they can to help. Their bikes ride well....I'm on my second frame...first was a Heckler and now a Nickel (discontinued) single pivot as I don't care for extra maintenance versus horse link set up. There can be some brake jack if you don't tune the suspension with single pivot, but I don't have half a dozen bearings to maintain.

I suggest you go to bike forums once you find a frame/bike you like and see what the folks say. But there are so many to list...boils down to what design you like...the reviews you read and the support you get. If you like boutique shops... my coworker loves Foes and it's all hand built in Los Angeles area.

 

Awesome guys thanks for the info. Anyone got a good mountain bike fourm they recommend

 

For latest news and info, check www.pinkbike.com.

For forums, use www.mtbr.com. Otherwise known as "empty beer."

 

sounds like a holy war. i ride over 1000 miles a year. i ride clipless mtb pedals on my road bike and flat pedals on my mountain bike. i'm wary of anyone that says you have to ride one type of pedals or another. with proper technique, flats can be almost as efficient as clipless and your feet are not going to fly off of the pedals. i run 5.10 shoes and have good pins in my pedals... i have 0 issues with my feet slipping off.

 

Clips and flats are within a small percentage of efficiency, in a race where every 1/10th of a second matters sure clips. Every day ride what your want.


Clips Vs Flats – Which Mountain Bike Pedals Are More Efficient? | GMBN Does Science