What is the "Haro Mary SS 29er" of 2020's?
- Thread starter Pearl
- Start date
Yeah, while none of us want to really ride a Rockhopper with a Judy fork and Deore drivetrain, it's a fine beginner bike.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
I try to compare someone's journey into cycling like my journey with Kayaking. You start with a sketchy boat from Dick's and if that doesn't scare you away, you'll stick with it.
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Thing is, today’s entry-level bikes still have today’s geometry and gearing. These are the two things that are gonna most help a newer rider actually feel some sense of competency pretty quickly.
Mrs. G (not a beginner, but not exactly sending it, either) went from a 2015 El Mariachi with a 100mm Reba to a 2020 Chameleon with a 130mm Fox 34, and it was like two different sports (in a good way).
Mrs. G (not a beginner, but not exactly sending it, either) went from a 2015 El Mariachi with a 100mm Reba to a 2020 Chameleon with a 130mm Fox 34, and it was like two different sports (in a good way).
Insert whichever Trek model is comparable because NICA 😉
Jmann
Never gonna let you down.
My experience with taking someone *insert action sport here* for the first time, is:
They have a terrible time and never want to do it again.
or
They have a terrible time and want to do it again immediately.
This made me think the entry level components are also way better now than they were.
A 1x12 nx is a million times better than those shitty 2x9 X7 drivetrains from 12 years ago.
Johnny Utah
Well-Known Member
Oh man, you reminded me of having to try to explain shifting between the front and rear derailleurs. People looked at me stone faced.
Meh, I don't think they were so bad. At least, not bad where they turned you off the sport.
What turns people off is a Dick's Sporting Goods whatever 3x8 Shramano with steel everything except the pot metal rear derailleur hanger and the who-knows-what fork. Those are bikes that make riding anywhere pretty miserable.
NX is probably comparable to X7. Now there is SX to put on barely passable bikes.
Joy broke her 1x11 shifter a few years ago right before our trip to Pisgah/Dupont and I swapped mine onto her bike and used my 1x9 X9 30t/11-36 I had from my El Mariachi through Pisgah/Dupont and found it completely fine except for the chainslap.
I'll take modern geometry over modern drivetrain.
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I don't envy a newbie trying to navigate the current offerings out there but as @ChrisG said, entry level bikes have modern geometry - pretty much anything you get is probably better than what the pros were riding 10 years ago. I don't know if the Haro Mary is a fair comparison to make though - back when that bike appeared on the scene, SS was actually a thing. Nowadays? No one just starting off considers a SS. And if you are able to even find a bike that's purpose built as a SS, it's not going to be cheap enough for entry level. Probably the best advice you can give to someone looking to get into MTBing today is to give them directions to a good local shop and tell them to be prepared for the fact that bikes good enough to hold up to most trails will probably cost a bit more than they think.
Yeah that sounds awesome! We were kids and just rode around the neighborhood, built sketchy jumps in the street, and rode down the stairs at our local school and stuff.
The Kalmyk
Well-Known Member
If it’s your way to wealth then hold that line. I can find union in that thinking but i also understand the ethos of the cycling community is undulating.
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Added another perspective, haha.
And let’s not get started on 120mm stems and 500mm handlebars.
AND…this may be controversial, I’ll take the low low end Shimano or SRAM hydros over any cable pulled disc brakes.
I’ve ridden them both and it’s really not even close.
JDurk
Well-Known Member
I had a similar experience explaining which is the front and rear brake.
One thing about Shimano levels is that the lower models work very similar to the higher end models, just look different and weigh twice as much. The same cannot be said for sram for whatever reason. Even GX works better than NX and XX is like a different world.
@Santapez, it is not fair to compare x7 to NX. X7 was absolute junk. NX isn’t much better but you doing it dirty by comparing it to X7.
That is when we measured handlebars in inches, haha.