BootsnAll Travel Community

Hey all, I'm starting to look for a good, sturdy mountain bike. Any recommendations? My only concern is cost, so I want something relatively affordable.

What do you want the mountain bike for?

80% commute / 20% mountain biking?
50/50 split?
Tearing up the trails mainly?

Where and what sort of trails are you riding? Are you an experienced mountain biker?

Generally speaking, if money is your main concern, get one of the lower series from one of the big brands. Giant, Specialized, Trek, Scott, etc. are probably the most common mountain bike brands. Per example the sport line from Giant: Boulder, Rincon and Yukon. They are all decent bikes and unless you want to do some hardcore stuff (serious downhill, jumps, etc.) that will suit you just fine.

Giant as an example

As for price range (with those brands), the differences between lower and higher price ranges are usually frame (geometry, material, weight) and the components on the bike (gear stuff, cranks, cassettes, breaks, etc.). The more you shell out, the better the components and the frame build. Again, if you don't do epic stuff off the road, you do not really need the top-notch components. As for frame material...it's a complicated matter. They all behave different and have different weights.
Also, if you don't intend to do some real downhill/jumps, do not get a full-suspended bike.

Also, obviously, look out for second-hand bikes of these brands. Often you get a good very good bike for little money. MTBs are geeks. We upgrade out bikes because the latest model has some new modifications that are SOOOO coool. Despite the fact that the other bike is just 2 years old and perfectly fine.

Do NOT get a nobrand bike. If you want to waste money, I have a good bank account for you.

Let me know what you plan to do with the bike - and I might help you out a bit more.

Thanks for that information elAdi. I probably should have mentioned before that I am a beginner. I'm looking into hitting some trails this summer in Upstate NY, so I'm searching around for a nice decent bike that will work for me. I have been biking for all my life, but I've never taken to any trails--the prospect excites me.

Yeah, I would never go for a Brand X bike. They are untrustworthy and would probably fall apart after a few jumps. I am currently looking at Giant, but I'm unsure of what bike would work best for me.

What do you ride? What do you now recommend?

Thanks!

What sort of riding are you looking for? Cross Country (XC), Downhill (DH) or Freestyle (FS)?

If you want to ride XC tracks (like Graham Hills and Blue Hills upstate NY or Ringwood over the river), then personally I would recommend a hardtail (no rear suspension) bike to you. It's cheaper, lighter and you don't have to worry about loosing energy on the flats and uphills (or locking it in and out all the time). But that really is personal preference. These days many people like the full-suspended bikes. Many probably for the wrong reasons.
Within the XC Hartail range - well, basically it depends on a) what sort of ride you want and b) how much money you've got. I ride a Giant XTC2 - which is the 'cheaper' version of their two XC Racing bikes. It's very light and therefore I can kick butt uphill and in the flats. My friend rides a Specialized Hardrock - it's quite a bit heavier, which makes it much more stable on down hills and through rock gardens. Obviously he has to work much harder going up, with all the additional weight.
They also have different frame geometries. On his Hardrock, you sit a bit more upright - on my XTC2, you are much more stretched forward. This means, that he has to worry less about weight shifting on downhills and through rough stuff, because the weight is already distributed to the back. On the other hand the energy transfer to the back wheel is much better on my stretched position.

So you see. It's a bit of an art to find the right bike. You'll also need to test ride a few. Some feel right and others don't. I per example don't like riding Tom's Hardrock. Too beefy and too low for me. But that doesn't make it a bad bike at all. It's just preference.

Do you have friends who'll take you to the trails?

a.

For XC riding:

Frame geometry

The single most important thing is that the frame geometry fits your body type and riding style. Unfortunately, as a beginner, you will not know what this is. It only comes after riding many, many bikes. For instance my idea full suspension XC bike would have:

travel - 4 in
wheel base - 43 in
top tube - 23.1 in
bottom bracket height - 12.8
chain stay - 17.00 in
head tube angle - 70.5
seat tube angle - 73

I generally buy the frame from whatever main brand bike manufacturer is closest to this. All the other stuff is really BS in my mind as far as which manufacturer has the best frames. There is also a lot of talk on which full suspension (FS) frame design is the best (single pivot, virtual pivot). But, the reality is the shock technology is so good these days it really doesn't matter too much where the pivot is if you have a half decent rear shock.

Frame material
For a FS XC bike the frame material really doesn't matter. Other than you'll pay a lot more to save a little weight. And there are cheaper ways to save weight.

On a HT, however, the frame material is important. If you are light weight you will want a steel frame (aluminum is too rigid). If you're heavy (a clydesdale) an aluminum frame is good and titanium (flexes under your weight) is out.

HT or FS

Unless you plan on racing, FS is the way to go.

Inches of Travel

3 inch for racing
4 inch is best all around
5 inch is plush but you're getting away from XC now and the handling suffers.

You guys make some good points. I'm just looking for something basic for starters. I think my brother has a Giant, so I'm gonna test that one. Test riding is definately a good idea. I want to make sure I get the right kind of bike.

I'm looking at trails along the Finger Lakes regions, and I'm also open to those suggestions.

Thanks for this information--especially with regards to frame geometry--I never would have taken that into consideration. I think I prefer to sit more upright, as it's easier on my back. I also prefer a lighter bike, as I feel I'll get more versitality with it.

I've just started to do some research, so thanks a lot!

Don't buy new! There are plenty of "gently used once" mountain bikes on Craig's List for cheap.

quote:

I think I prefer to sit more upright, as it's easier on my back.

Newer bikes will suit you then. If you go to the Giant site, you'll see that the vast majority of their lines now feature relaxed geometries.

I second static though. You quite often get good deals on 'old' bikes.

If you find a used bike (or a good deal on a new bike) that you like but it is not as upright as you would want, you could always get a shorter stem put on it. Probably don't want to go much below 80 mm. Although, 100 mm would probably be better so you don't risk popping a wheelie while going up steep hills. Alternatively, you can replace the stem with a Syntace VRO stem (hard to find in the USA) which has an adjustable stem length. They're pretty cool. I have one on my FR bike. I stretch it out to 135 mm for the uphill sections and then shorten it down to 85 mm for the downhill. But, if I wanted to ride more upright I could just always leave it at 85 mm.

Also, if the bike has a rear coil (not air) shock, the spring weight is pretty important. You may find a used bike with a spring that is too light/heavy for you (especially if you are not average weight - 170 lbs or so), But, I wouldn't count the bike out, you may be able to replace the spring with a lighter/heavier weight one for a few bucks.

Good luck...

What do you ride, halfnine?

Another possibility instead of saddle hight is to have handle bars that raise more. Or put more raisers below the handle bar.

Ah, geek talk.

a.

quote:

What do you ride, halfnine?

I have 3 bikes (3" HT, 4" FS XC, 6" FR) all of which I built up by hand (including a self built wheelset or two). Then a half dozen or so wheelsets that I can rotate in and out and maybe 20 or so tires. Hey, it's a cheaper hobby than playing with cars.

But, these days I don't ride much of anything. The bikes sit at a friends house. Eventually, when I stay more than 2 or 3 months in one place, I'll have to figure a way to get my bikes and start riding again.

Wow, great information. Thanks! Has anyone here bought a good quality used bike from Craigslist? Another question, if I go more upright, am I sacrificing suspension or speed? What are the advantages and disadvantages between being upright and being more bent (outside of aerodynamics)?

You generally have better power-transfer to the wheel on a stretched position. That's why XC racing bikes have that sort of geometry.

quote:

Don't buy new! There are plenty of "gently used once" mountain bikes on Craig's List for cheap

quote:

Thanks! Has anyone here bought a good quality used bike from Craigslist?

There are definitely bikes out there that have only had a few uses on them that you can pick up used. Normally, someone who is getting rid of a hardly used bike doesn't know much about bikes and isn't replacing one with a new one. That would be the first indication that it probably hasn't been ridden too much. That and there are also ways you can tell if the owner hasn't put too much mileage on the bike:

1. the tire tread should hardly be worn
2. the chain length should be 12 inches per 12 links. For reference, a chain should normally be replaced when it gets to 12-1/16". Which means quite a bit of mileage has been put on the bike.
3. The teeth on the cogs of the rear cassette should not be worn

As a point of interest - elAdi - I have the same mountain bike as you (Giant XC). I bought it in Argentina and put 30+ kgs and 4000kms on it over 6 months on our bike tour in Patagonia... and its still holding up like a trooper!

I had six broken spokes in one month in Tasmania. The rims are definitely not made for touring. Also, some of the screws ate out the screw thread in the frame, which is a pain in the neck. It's a racing bike - everything is made lightweight.
Also, if your frame breaks (doesn't happen often, but can, especially with lightweight frames like on the XTC), your regular mechanic will have some issues welding an aluminum (or carbon) frame.

But don't get me wrong. I love my bike for mountain biking. None of my friends can keep up with me going up the hills. On the way down, I just try not to kill myself.