buying full suspension in the spring.

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
come the springtime im looking to upgrade to a full suspension bike. now, im not made of money so i cant afford to buy a 3 thousand dollar bike. im looking to spend between 1500 and 2000. im looking to buy new, not used. now seeing as there are a ton of people on here, id love to hear suggestions. im looking for an XC bike. i dont do any crazy downhill or anything so im not looking for anything with 30 inches of travel or anything, lol. just a great XC bike. thanks ahead of time.
 

Btown Biker

New Member
I like the new pic. I'm glad your not showing your udders. :puke:

I was just in the same boat a couple of months ago and picked up my first FS. It's a Giant Trance X4 and I love it. Very well spec'd out for the price.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I would ask why you don't want to buy used. Given the state of the market, 1500-2000 isn't going to go as far as it once went, unfortunately. You'll probably be better off buying something used.
 

Engignar

New Member
I'm sure you will get plenty of suggestions from folks, we all have our own opinion (yea, they are like ***holes etc)

Do you have a local shop that you frequent? Buying something they carry would make a lot of sense for maintenance etc. Personally, I am partial to anything with a DW link rear suspension...totally sold on the benefits of the design. I ride an Iron Horse MKIII and love the way it handles, climbs like a goat and descends even better. They are not being sold in bike shops from 09 on, which can be a point of contention, at the same time you can get some killer spec'd bikes from RScycle for the price point you are talking. Campmor has a few of them on the floor still at some pretty solid prices I believe - I recommend looking into them.
 

al415

Banned
The only FS bike I've ever owned was a 2005 Cannondale Prophet,

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/05/cusa/model-5VE6.html

I loved it while I had it. I used it mostly at Hartshorne, Huber etc. It was very a versatile trail-bike, could climb the technical stuff and was up for more than I could ever dish out going downhill. I've since regressed back to steel hardtails (of the SS variety) but I'd go right back to a prophet if I was in the market for FS. Oh, I picked it up for around $1600 when it was new, never had any issues at all. I believe Halters carry Cannondale...
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Cannondale Rush, nice stiff frame, single pivot design so the maintenance is less than on a multi-pivot (especially if you ride in mud a lot). I have ridden this since may and am very pleased. You would have to get one with the FOX RP23 since it doesn't pedal as well without the platform feature of the shock (this might take you over 2000). The Rize is sweet too, but probably too much suspension for what you need.


Giant Trance X-I rode a trance for a few years and it is a great bike and the X version is improved. Awesome bikes for the money since giant has such good buying power and they look cool too. The geometry is just plain fun, and with 5" of travel it has what you need. Good pedaling with just a Fox Float R (rear), not as much need for a platform feature on the shock as the rush.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
The only FS bike I've ever owned was a 2005 Cannondale Prophet,

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/05/cusa/model-5VE6.html

I loved it while I had it. I used it mostly at Hartshorne, Huber etc. It was very a versatile trail-bike, could climb the technical stuff and was up for more than I could ever dish out going downhill. I've since regressed back to steel hardtails (of the SS variety) but I'd go right back to a prophet if I was in the market for FS. Oh, I picked it up for around $1600 when it was new, never had any issues at all. I believe Halters carry Cannondale...

prophet is replaced by the Rize and Moto
 

idbrian

Crotch Rot
It is hard to beat the Giant Trance for your money. I had a hardtail Giant as a starter bike, and then after much research went with a discounted Trance (previous model year). That was a few years ago. I spent in the same price range.

Had i to do over again i would have waited around and purchased a used bike. If you have time it is worth to be patient and grab a great used deal. I didn't want a used one either, but with the deals that have posted on here since getting my bike it is definitely the way i should have gone. The board is a pretty tight knit group so you don't really have to be concerned with getting screwed. I also check nycmtb.com as they are good group over there too with some good deals getting posted.

I've ridden the Trance for over 2 years and it is great. I bought a mid level trance and since then have put more money in upgrades into the bike than what i originally paid. Bought the bike for $1,400 and have made about $1,800 worth of upgrades. Another reason it would have been better to just get a great used bike that wouldn't require expensive component upgrades.

I'm now looking to move my parts over to a 5"-5.5" travel frame. I'm watching the for sale section for that.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
Huh? whatever. Hey have you guys heard of this Obama fellow? :D
I heard he was responsible for the "wiggles" :rofl:

MIG, Dave is right, everyone will have an opinion, but do yourself a favor and come up North on the 26th to the Giant demo that Monteverest mentioned. They have a Trance x (I think the 4) that is in the $1500 range that is nicely appointed.

I ride a 2006 trance 2 and love the bike. If you eventually purchase a Giant, make sure you ask about the "Keep It Rolling" program, which is basically a warranty program which covers wear and replacement on almost everything with the exception of tires, brake pads and maintnenace issues.
 

743power

Shop: Bicycle Pro
Shop Keep
I heard he was responsible for the "wiggles" :rofl:

MIG, Dave is right, everyone will have an opinion, but do yourself a favor and come up North on the 26th to the Giant demo that Monteverest mentioned. They have a Trance x (I think the 4) that is in the $1500 range that is nicely appointed.

I ride a 2006 trance 2 and love the bike. If you eventually purchase a Giant, make sure you ask about the "Keep It Rolling" program, which is basically a warranty program which covers wear and replacement on almost everything with the exception of tires, brake pads and maintnenace issues.

I have an 06 trance 2 that will be for sale very soon. It's pretty porky for an xc bike, but it pedals like best and is super solid. Makes a great trail bike for most places.

For $2000 srp, giant has the trance x3 and anthem x3. Both spec'd similarly. Anthem will be lighter and has a better rear shock. The trance has the fox qr15 front which makes for a super solid front end if you're a bigger guy. Both have hydro discs and race face parts.
 

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
im really glad you guys are all mentioning the giant trances. ive been keeping my eye on the giant trance x2 for alittle while now. and its also in my price range. plus its one hell of a nice looking bike(in black). im hoping to maybe find one left over from this years models somewhere when im ready to buy. plus id like to buy from brick bikes when i do and i seen yesterday he was a giant dealer. so thatll be good for me for maintnance. but im still open to other options so keep em coming.
 

NJ-XC-Justin

KY-DH-Freddy
im hoping to maybe find one left over from this years models somewhere when im ready to buy.

Just so you know, the '08s won't be "closed out" in the way previous years' bikes have been. Often you could walk into a shop in January and get last year's bike for 10-20% off, but with '09 prices going through the roof, I've heard the '08 prices will stay as is.
regarding specific bikes, yes giant has pretty much the best bang-for-the-buck component spec and killer suspension design, jamis does a good job there too, and the IH bikes, well, you simply can't beat them. You can still find an '07 or '08 MKIII with 5" of DW-linked travel for under two grand -- and that's ridiculous, totally sick when you think of people paying 2500 for just a turner frame with the same suspension design (albeit a very nicely made frame). but those bikes aren't being made anymore so they won't be around on rscycle.com come the spring. gotta get em now.

if you're cool with wrenching on your own, ibex bikes also get great reviews.
 

hooples3

Member
trance x

Giant trance x3 is probably the way to go.. their suspension is great and the bike feels really solid.. you should get one to test ride before making any decisions.. you will not b e disappointed. If your looking for a shop.. my LBS lets you take the bike out on the street for a test ride if you like.. only thing its i Brooklyn. PM me if your interested I can save you some money on it as well.. since I work there P/T
 

sixseven

New Member
Sounds like you have your mind made up but if you have til spring, might as well look at more bike porn: http://www.santacruzbikes.com/superlight/index.php?builder=1

I do agree you could find much better specs if you buy used, esp now, probably a ton of killer bikes about to be unleashed from hedge fund garages all of them with 'only two rides on this one' or 'I babied her for two years and now must surrender her to a good home (translation: it was cool the one time I rode it at the beach and then bought my 5th car and then Brittany was born)'

Man there will be a million pricey road bikes being freed up around here this winter.
 
N

njbiker66

Guest
santa cruz heckler

You should check out a Santa Cruz Heckler its a pretty cool bike and can handle a beating. they have a base model in price range.

Tom
 

Purple Liquid

Shop: Efinger
Shop Keep
I'll throw another bike into the mix, just to give you something else to think about :).

Specialized has redesigned the FSRxc this year. It rides nicer than the 2008 FSRxc, but the 2008 FSRxc is still a solid XC bike.

The 2008 FSRxc Pro is still available, which is their top-model FSRxc. MSRP $1950 (See picture attached). It's a pretty good bang for you buck: XT RD, Deore crank, Reba Fork, Fox Triad rear shock, Avid Juicy 2 SL...

The 2009's can be found here: http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=09FSRXC&eid=95

We do have some left over Kona's too: http://efingersports.com/store/cycling/sale_bikes.htm (Actually, just one right now :rolleyes:)

Good luck hunting! :D
 

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Liv2Ride

New Member
I'd have to agree w/ some peoples advice on looking at some used bikes.I picked up a used 08 fisher hifi pro 29er at a steal because the previous owner thought mtb's werent for him and he had to get rid of it.Now if I were to spend the same amount of money I used for a new bike I would've never came close to getting the quality bike I have now.It would be best to be able to see the bike first though before committing to buy used(beware of ebay)..good luck,happy shopping!!
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
Why Full Sus???

Where are you riding? My initial thought is you can save some money and get a nicer ride for a bit less money or about the same if you went with a hard tail.
 
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