buy a Kona.
THIS.
Find a local shop that will rent you the model you’re interested in. A few shops here are as cheap as $40 per day.
Also there’s a very similar saying wiith bikes compared to cars. Strong, light, cheap…pick two.
From the sounds of it if you want to do jumping as well as trail riding an aggressive hardtail may be for you. They are built for strength and nothing is as predictable/playful off a jump as a hardtail. Here’s what I ride for downhilling and its a hardtail:
However with a few key component choices it can be made into quite the stout and sturdy do anything take a ton of abuse yet still be ridden almost anywhere bike like what my brother did with the same frame (side by side comparison, his is on the right, to show the differences such as a lighter wheelset longer stem and slightly shorter travel/lighter fork):
yip, this! Go to a shop and get sized and fitted on a bike to find out what you fit. Going to be one of the best things you do vs just buying something off the floor because it looks cool. I had one of those uber expensive Specialized FSR Enduro’s and it took quite awhile to get one that was sized to fit me at 6’3". One of the best mt bikes I’ve owned, but mostly due to the fact that it fit me well.
And +1 to what he said about hardtail vs softy. They both have their place and trust those who state that pedaling around a softy on trails better suited for a hardtail isn’t fun. I also find a good hardtail on most fireroad/single track around here to be more enjoyable as it’s easier to be more technical on the lighter, stiffer frames.
I’ve got an older(02/03 monocoque) intense M1 frame here that if I ever get around to finishing up, wouldn’t ever consider using it as a trails bike. Legs would probably fall off after 20 minutes of riding :ahh Just not the right bike for that type of riding.
Ok so for more urban type shit and jumping I’d be looking at a hardtail then? Don’t foresee a ton of downhill kind shit in reality. I found a company called transition, seems like a good quality bike, and a bit cheaper than the specialized. Any input? Thanks a ton guys
Sick bikes! A buddy of mine has the covert and another friend had a dirtbag. Top quality construction and a stand up company. I ran there revolution wheelset a while back on an old downhill bike of mine and it was indestructable. Actually my buddies covert had developed a crack in the rear triangle because he used to beat the piss out of it using it for way more than its intended for and they no questions asked sent him a new rear triangle. You might really like the Bottle Rocket, you’ve got full suspension in a compact dirt jump geometry. Their color options are tits as well!
Glad to hear that! I was looking at the bottle rocket and also the bank model, which is a hardtail. From what I’ve been hearing, a full suspension bike sucks for just cruising around town, any truth to that? I’d like to be able to ride to work and not be 100% dead lol.
Well with any full suspension design you will be suceptable to pedal bob, which is the compression and decompression of the rear shock due to the forces of pedaling. Will you notice it? Probably. Will you feel like its sucking all the energy out of your pedaling? Probably not since its only really an issue in out of the saddle hard pedaling instances.
Also with modern suspension technology you could get a shock equiped with propedal which with the flip of a switch greatly reduces pedal bob at the expense of some bump compliance.
Or if you want to get really fancy there’s a company called Push industries that does custom valving for shocks and you can basically tell them how you want the shock to react and they can make it happen. I sent my rear shock to them last year wanting the first two thirds of my shocks stroke to be linear aand have a sharp ramp up in compression for the final third as an almost bottom out protection. I could get away with this because the suspension design of my frame (DW Link, research it if you want its really kind of neat) naturally eliminates most pedal bob. When I got it back it was exactly what I wanted.
I’m going to wait until the fall/winter and see if there is anything I like on sale.
I would get a hardtail and learn from there. Solid hardtail technique transfers over into a full suspension much better.
I’m pro Giant, but to each there own. I would never buy a bike up here locally, their prices are retarded. eBay or build it yourself.
you need to decide first what kind of riding you want to do… XC, mixed, or DH. This will significantly change the parts, layout, frame design, and also the price.
If you need any help, lmk… I’ve got just about any tool you’d need for bike mechanics, have built dozens myself
:wowDamn with the way you guys talk i would need 3 different bikes for how I would ride.
I want a Harley Davidson dirtbike
Spend $700 on the bicycle and used the $3000 to build an awesome gaming rig is more practical. Staying indoor is not as bad as you think…:rofl
Just saying.
This.
With a full suspension it soaks up your uphill pedaling power like a mofo.
For the last two years I have been using my Ironhorse Sunday as a general purpose bike, riding down a paved hill you still have to pedal to maintain speed…its a fucking pig.
The Ironhorse Sunday is a downhill bike, meant for bombing down hills, stairs, whatever. Its built like a brick shit-house so weight is a factor too. I recently picked up a 2009 Specialized Hardrock for general riding. I got it used for $300, it has mechanical disc brakes as opposed to the hydraulic on the Sunday but they still work fine. I find hardtails much easier to ride than full suspension. Before I got the Ironhorse I had a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR (full suspension, hydraulic brakes, etc) even that would dog pedaling up hills.
I loove your Sunday, its the big brother to my MKIII but yes pedaling is not what it was meant for. However compared to most other dh sleds it pedals like a rock star thanks to the ingenious DW Link suspension design.
I rode that thing on the Lake George bike path from Lake George to Glens Falls and back when I got it…I remember having to pedal down the hill by the uncle sam statue to keep up with my friends who were coasting :rofl
Hmm…might go with the hardtail then, as a few people now have said that starting on one is better than a fully, plus its a good bit cheaper. I feel like a hardtail would be a lot easier to wheelie/manual and such too.
Yup there’s nothing int the rear that will “squat” to prevent it from wheelieing/manualing.
I wanna ride with some of you fools up in toga. The trails are incredible up there.
Can I kind of hijack this thread a bit? I want to get a good bike that will stick with me for a while, preferably a hard tail MTB. I’m a huge dude (6’2" 300 32-33" inseam), but have always loved riding.
I don’t want some dumpy walmart POS, something used in the $3-400 range would be nice.
I found this on craigslist, emailed the guy but he never got back to me:
http://albany.craigslist.org/bik/2453585864.html
Something like that would be ideal, but could you guys recommend something that would be good for my weight, with upgrade-ability in the future?
I just haven’t really been in the loop for a few years on what’s ‘good’ in mountain bikes in terms of hardware and mechanicals.
There were a few nice ones at Plaines for like 5-700 man. Worth lookin at!