Mountain Bikes

[Seany-izzle]

So, i used to mountain bike all the time back in the day, like 5-6 years ago. I did it almost everyday i could. I know its sort of late in the season to be looking for a bike, but i want one, atleast for next season. I dont care if its full suspension, id rather get a hardtail with front suspension only. I dunno if the bike companies have changed much but the reputable ones to check out are Trek, Gary Fisher, GT, Specialized, cannondale and Giant. Im not too familiar with Schwinns and Mongooses or anything else for that matter. Im not up to date on teh new equipment and "must haves" and whats good models vs bad models (when talking gears, shifters, and all that shit)

What im looking for is something that i can ride mostly off road, but occasionally on road to get to the trial, or ride the 30 mile bike trail thats al paved, with side trails. Im in the first stage of looking for bikes, so ive started here with hardtails and i dont NEED disc brakes, the regular brakes seem to be okay by me.

the Specialized 05 Hardrock Comp Disc. (3rd)
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=05Hardrock

Bianchi Lynx (2nd choice)
http://earlsbikes.com/site/itemdetails.cfm...rt=Price%20desc

Schwinn mesa Ltd (4th)
http://richardsbicycles.com/site/itemdetai...rt=Price%20desc

and the Trek 6500 (1st choice)
http://earlsbikes.com/site/itemdetails.cfm...rt=Price%20desc

any opinions, insight, advice, knowledge... i wanna get back into this and i just did it recently in California and picked back up on it quick. im lookin to spend 650 max... id rather spend somewhere in the 550-600 range

 

[swanny]

I have a Fisher Tassajara, right in your price range and a damn good bike for the money.
http://www.fisherbikes.com/bikes/bike_deta...&bike=Tassajara

 

[sooboss]

I bought a hardrock sport last year and love it.. and it works great for the trails here in Durango, Co.. The bike feels well balanced. Also Just the beginning of this year I bought a Stumpjumper FSR Comp. Which I totally love.. Specialized is what I’ve always bought.
A co-worker has a hardrock comp and he loves it..

 

[Bob Vila]

I bought my Trek 6500 back in April. I have almost the same bike as pictured however mine is full Haynes Disc Brakes (2 pot) as well as upgraded Components.

The 599 price you see there is for V-Brakes. The good thing about the wheels though is that they are disc ready so if you do go with the V-Brake model, you can easily change over to Disc with a future upgrade.

I love the bike, the ergonomics feel great and its a nice ride. I've done mostly easy trails as I just got back into it this year but have certainly made my way through some sick sidebacks and tree jumps.

For the price and components you can't beat it.

 

[Seany-izzle]

lol FINALLY some feedback. well i checked out almost all the bikes in person, the Bianchi they didnt have and only get thru special order... I went to dicks to see what they had cuz i was gettng some fishing stuff... They have NORTH FACE bikes, yeah the clothing company. From what ive researched, heard, and read they are Iron Horse frames (which i decent but not great) with good componets on them (shimano xt brakes and shifters. lx deraillers, good marcozzi fork) i could of gotten it for a big discount (friend) but i just couldnt do it. so i bought this....

05 Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc

in black just like the pic and man, does it ride nice. picked it up for 540. bought a matching black Giro helmet for 28 bucks (discounted with purchase of bike) im swapping on my black metal pedals with the plastic toeclips cuz i dont want to spend the cash on shoes and clipin pedals...and the fact that i hate them. barends... i have a pair but im not sure if i want to put them on, honestly, i can climb just as well with no barends....

 

[E_SolSi]

nice

 

[swanny]

Nice buy! Aluminum I'm guessing?

 

[posol]

i need to get riding again....

i LOVE my '94 GT Zaskar... but the more i see new bikes, its just so outdated.

i've contemplated picking up a new bike... but i just don't ride enough, and i'm not so sure that it would be worth it for me. it would do me a lot of good if i started riding again though....

kinda late in the season to start now though. snow will be here before we know it...

 

[E_SolSi]

start riding your old bike
if you find that it is something you are enjoying and want to do a lot more of, then upgrade to a newer bike
the last thing you need is ANOTHER garage ornament

 

[Seany-izzle]

im with E, ride your old bike for the remainder, if you feel that you want to really get back into it, buy a new one. and you dont need to break the bank either, just get a decent bike like the one i got. nothing stupendous or like OMFG but it will do/does what i want to. Also, you may want to wait till the new models come out, the 06's, cuz then they willbe discounting their '05's like crazy. i didnt do that cuz i wanted it now, and i didnt want to wait till after winter to bike to school.

oh and the frame on this thiing is BEEFY as hell. the welds look great, smooth and consistant. the specialized frames beat almost everyone in terms of their beefyness and strength.

 

[posol]

bike the bike stays in the shed hehe


this is pretty much my bike...

i have a rockshox judy XC fork
full XT component system w/ 24/32/46 custom sprocket and 11-34 cogs
mavic sup ceramic rims
gofast dowhill bars
panaracer dart front tire 2.1
veliceraptor rear 2.1
ritchey comp seat post and 15mm extended stem
selle itala ultralite seat

thats the jist of it anyway...

i bought that thing when i was 14 for like 1800 bucks... broke the roxshock mag21 that was on it (snapped the fork lol) so i upgraded to the judy xc in like 97 i think...

i used to be pretty hard core into riding... rode every monday night with a club, been to killington, mt snow, and a couple other places for downhill events, raced cross country for one season, with a best finish of 16th out of 76.

then i get my license....
and started smoking....
and got fat....

and the bike has been hung up pretty much ever since, save for a few times to work, or something.

 

[sooboss]

thats a great hardrock.. i have the gray colored one.. sport of course.. Eventually I want to upgrade my wheels to mavic wheels and my forks… the front forks are kinda too plush for me..

If I get a great Christmas bonus I plan to get a santa cruz bullet… downhill and all mountain. But still recovering from my stumpy… it took a chunk of change outta me..

 

[reckedracing]

i've got a sledgehammer....

and yes, i take it off jumps

 

[Bob Vila]

I had the same bike as Brian, mine was just stollen. If I were you I'd just get a new pair of hubs that allow for disc brakes, get a haynes set, and a tune up and you're golden. Nothing comes close to that frame, I still would buy it today if it was on the market. I love GT bicycles, they fit me well, but unfortunately, GT Turned Huffy, and then went high end again, and now its basically non-existent.

 

[posol]

the frame is bad ass. its still study and tight as hell. response is great.

maybe i'll do a disc brake conversion and upgrade to the new xt 9 speed system

i should probably get a new handel bar and seat post too... those tend to snap from time to time.. and its been like 8 years since they've seen any kind of force on them.

bill wanted to start biking this year too, but we just never got around to it.

next summer steve, we gotta get something together where we ride once a week or something...

 

[Bob Vila]

yeah definately. that would be sweet.

 

[Seany-izzle]

2006 hondaswap mtn bike meet??

 

[posol]

LATE 2006, sure.. i need to get back in shape first. lol