Ok so back in high school i was really into trail riding. I had a diamond back when they used to be decent bikes so it has been awhile since then. I am looking for advice on a new ride. Went into bert’s the other day and i won’t go back because the were really pushy and I would prefer a smaller shop that isn’t going to push me into a single brand. I was looking into haro, kona, and gary fisher. Anyone have any ideas of what components are good? I am probably looking for a hard tail and want to stay below 600 since most of my money goes to subaru. Should i be getting disk brakes if i intend on doing mostly off road riding? The bike i thought was pretty much what i wanted was the gary fisher pirhanha, the brakes seemed really good and i was assured the fork was very good. The price was a little higher than i wanted to pay and it only came in an obnoxious paint scheme. If anyone can help me out i would really appreciate it.
I looked at the piranha too. I ended up getting the Trek 4500 disk for 600 dollars at Berts Bikes. What else have you looked at so far?
hahahh i work at berts. and fyi as far as the hardtails go trek and fisher are like the same thing
yeah, fisher kinda blows. my mom just bought a jamis on closeout that’s pretty ill. i can’t remember what’s good anymore, good names become department store bikes all the time, i’ve been out of it for too long.
i have a trek 4700 disk I’d sell you if your looking for used.
I only rode it 50 miles… I have no time anymore.
Get disc… They won’t lose stopping power when you go through a deep puddle like the rim brakes do. I’ve already been sent over the bars by my rim brakes that weren’t working too well because they were wet, and then dried and kicked in too abruptely on a downhill.
I’ve got an entry level Fisher, and am already planning on upgrading the brakes next spring/summer. Luckily my frame is drilled for disc mounts. For your price range too, you are definitly looking at a hardtail.
Watch out too, because you will get sucked in and just want to keep spending money more and more. I already know of so much I want to do to my bike. Haha.
Edit- I wasn’t all that impressed with berts either… I just went there because it allowed me to structure a payment plan/credit that allowed me to get a new bike affordably for me.
I have cable actuated disk brakes, they are a big improvement over rim brakes, but I liked the hydraulic ones better. Oh well, more stuff to spend money on.
If you want disk, go hydraulic. Cable disks blow.
I still prefer a rim brake for trail riding.
yeah cable discs are horrible. a $10 set of crap v-brakes will work way better than a cable disc, with the only exception being in slopply mud (maybe).
fork-wise i would stay away from any of that nsync garbage, and rst as well. manitou or rock shox are decent, but not great, at that price level.
i used to work at berts for years. id say they are average on salesman knowledge and mechanic ability. some people are really good, and some people suck. just comes with the territory of staffing a big shop, usually with an age group of people that are going to move to a different job after a summer or a couple years. ive been to some other smaller shops and wasnt particularly impressed with their ability either, so :shrug:
haro’s mountain bikes suck last i saw one (few years ago, though). gary fisher is the same as trek, which are good bikes, but very corporate and ‘bland’, but maybe i just think that because i was surrounded by them for so many years at berts. jamis and kona cant really speak for.
i bought my bianchi road bike shortly after i left berts, but i went with bianchi at a different shop at full retail, vs. a trek at berts for a big discount, just because i didnt feel like trek bikes have any ‘soul’ or uniqueness about them.
with all that said, the $600 range is tricky, because its where bikes start to get good, but arent great yet. stay away from any full suspension at that price point, as it will weigh a ton and work like shit. quite frankly, a trek hardtail would probably be your best bang for the buck for a new bike at that price point.
if you looked at used bikes, you could get a much higher caliber bike for that amount of money if you want to put that sort of effort in. ive sold a couple mountain bikes that would have retailed around $2k+ new for $600-800 a few years after purchase, in excellent shape.
Yeah. Go used. Enjoy savings,a nd have a killer setup. As long as it was taken care of , it’ll be fine.
the lower end cabel disc brakes are a marginal improvement from v’s. Avids’s BB series are great though, rivals some hydraulic brakes.
I don’t really know too much about the bikes in this price range but the biggest suggestion I can give is to go to a good shop. I don’t know any riders that would send you to bert’s. Mud sweat and gears in Ellicottville and Shifting gears in Lockport Are among the best, far drives though. Campus Wheelworks on elmwood and Eric’s Cylce Works in Hamburg also come to mind at the moment.
all the serious riders i know would be buying frames and parts online and wrenching on their own stuff.
i bought a complete bike this time around to save myself the time and hassle of piecing one together, but have no plans of setting foot in a shop for parts or service ever again.
I did sit on a few and i noticed the fishers are set back more towards the back wheel, it felt better but i did like the look of the treks. The new flat black paint jobs were really cool, not that i care about paint but its a big plus. Anyway i want to go with new because i will be using my trusty credit card. Can anyone tell me what to avoid as far as parts? Is haro good cause i am looking at bicycles and more tonight and thye are a haro dealer.
yeah fishers used a different geometry setup, which used a longer top tube and shorter stem, called ‘genesis’ (or at least they used to last time i checked). verdict was mixed on how the different setup performed. pretty much boiled down to personal preference. materials, parts and ownership wise, its still all trek though. they will both be covered in bontrager parts, which used to be a small high-end company, but trek bought them and just slapped their name on their house-brand, imported parts.
not a fan of haro mountain bikes. they have never made anything exceptional.
sidenote- if you see yourself upgrading the bike in the future, get the best frame you can find in your price range. most companies will typically sell the same frame with 2-4 levels of componentry available to make different models within each line. if youre on the borderline of the next frame up, make the stretch for the better one.
doesn’t make a lot of sense to start upgrading a heavy, crappy frame in the future with expensive parts.
Thanks for the input, When i get around to it im probably gonna post some stuff im looking at and if you guys can look them over and give me some opinions I would appreciate it.
Talk to mindless. He hooked my friend up with an awesome bike, that he just loves. And he works at a small shop in cheektowaga!
:tup:
Word where is it?
Umm its on George Urban.
Across from Quebecor.
They sell darts, and bikes.
:tup: