Looking to learn more about how to shop for a new MTB?

[A Potted Plant]

I've said this b4 on another thread but join group rides and try their bikes and ask questions. It's free and you will get a lot of opinions.

Just don't trust any bike of paul's that has tubes

 

[BPaze]

Just don't trust any bike of paul's that has tubes

Who rides with tubes anymore anyway?

 

[Paul H]

Who rides with tubes anymore anyway?

Ppl who break their bike and needs to ride a loaner.

 

[qclabrat]

Who rides with tubes anymore anyway?

well if you have lots of bikes, you have lots of wheels, and lots of sealant, that leads to lots of Stan's boogers
Half of my wheels are still tubed for that reason

 

[A Potted Plant]

Ppl who break their bike and needs to ride a loaner.

3 tubes 1 ride and a wonderful stroll around the woods, who's complaining

 

[Paul H]

3 tubes 1 ride and a wonderful stroll around the woods, who's complaining

Not me... had good company

 

[A Potted Plant]

Lu

Not me... had good company

Lucky you wish I could say the same

 

[qclabrat]

Not me... had good company

wtf is with these Hallmark moments...

 

[Paul H]

Lu

Lucky you wish I could say the same

You mean to tell me you did not enjoy nature as company? Wait... you thought i meant you were good company?

 

[A Potted Plant]

You mean to tell me you did not enjoy nature as company? Wait... you thought i meant you were good company?

Lol fuck you guy

 

[Paul H]

Lol fuck you guy

@qclabrat this is THE hallmark moment. Lol
Ok.. no more thread hijacking.
Sorry!

 

[olegbabich]

The best i can offer is demo, demo, demo. Even if you aren't looking at say a pivot or Santa Cruz you'll get an idea what a wheel size and full squish bike rides like. Ask questions too, I was just on giant's site and the categories suck, trail, all mountain, enduro, for a beginner this is all Greek.

A good hardtail will get you the best bang for your buck. Be wary of buying a lower end bike and planning upgrades. Forks, brakes and wheels are pricy upgrades and it might only be a $500 difference between something you'll never have to update and something you'll hate in six months.

I'm a big fan of used but sometimes you can't be too picky, you might have to say "ok, I want a 120mm travel 29er" then wait for a fuel, stumpy or whatever to pop up.

Regarding used. There's deals to be had but try and find someone knowledgeable to look with you and also budget for some repairs.

Keep us posted. We like to talk about bikes here!

+1

Good advice.

Buy as much bike as you can afford. I would look at Full Suspension used bikes. Good deals are out there, but for a beginner rider it might difficult to pick out the "Safe Bet" ride.

Last year I picked up an older Santa Cruz Nomad for less than $700. The bike looks brand new. I got it on NorthEast Bike Classifieds on Facebook.

Good Luck.

 

[DevsAdvocate]

are you getting the same discount for cannondales?

Yes.

 

[DevsAdvocate]

Ok, deep breath. Factoring your discount.........

So I'm going to go against my nature and just discuss 2 DB bikes (see screenshots) because it sounds by your tone that you really want to go down that route.

At first glance I naturally was leaning towards the 29er because of where you ride and being 6'. But..... The 29er 2 has a much more XC oriented geometry, specifically the head tube angle 71 degrees and speck'd fork travel 100mm.

The Pro is a 27.5 which is a closer wheel size to the 26" you have now, has a slacker head tube angle at 68 degrees and is speck'd at 120mm, though the 20mm diff is a wash in the real world due to the reduced attack angle of the smaller wheel... But I digress.

If you put a gun to my head, of these two bikes, I'd lean towards the pro because between the drive train and the more forgiving (in my opinion) HT angle I believe you would ride this one longer before you upgrade to a bike that's... Um.... Well, more.


That said.... Used HT bike (from known source) is a smarter option....

2c-



View attachment 73054View attachment 73055

Thanks!!!

 

[DevsAdvocate]

This guy is a young gun too, maybe younger but in 100 times better shape just not as handsome lol. 27+ will take the edge off the trails like a FS bike, get a 27+ and when he can get 29" tires to swap in and out with.

I'm 32 lol. I'm not that young!

 

[DevsAdvocate]

So... I'll keep an eye out for used FS bikes. I'm also gonna save some more money and maybe budget $2k instead. I'd rather "buy once, cry once" when making these kind of purchases and get a suitable bike for the next 5 years (or more).

Thank you all for the help

 

[qclabrat]

So... I'll keep an eye out for used FS bikes. I'm also gonna save some more money and maybe budget $2k instead. I'd rather "buy once, cry once" when making these kind of purchases and get a suitable bike for the next 5 years (or more).

Thank you all for the help

5 years? Based on the changes I've seen in the last four years since picking up this. I hope your counting dogs years....
$2k is a real good realistic budget for a used FS. In the meantime, demo bikes, it's generally free. Come back to one of our rides and feel free to ask for a demo from one of us.

 

[A Potted Plant]

@DevsAdvocate are you at least still having fu!n on your bike?

 

[Patrick]

With the discount, $2k is $4k.

This is a different monster now. New, FS, possibly carbon!

 

[Karate Monkey]

anyone tried their Level Link design? Looks pretty capable but I don't understand why there's no Clutch build for the boys. Would much rather have the Yari fork and SRAM.

No problems there. I'll buy your Shimano takeoffs.

Really, I mean, their shifty bits are okay, but my hatred of their brakes has bled [ha!] over into their shifting stuff. I'm cool with their suspension people, though. They're generally on top of their shit.