I competed in XC mountain bike racing for years, and after all those years of having high-end mountain bikes and bmx bikes, the only bike I have these days is a aluminum/carbon bianchi road bike. For riding on pavement nothing else can compare, and few of my mountain bike friends ever want to ride with the road guys because the bikes are just too fast.
However, you really cant take a road bike anywhere other than smooth roads, and I do feel limited by that sometimes. I’ll probably get another mountain bike soon to supplement the road bike. You can always put skinnys on a mountain bike too, and they are decently fast on the road that way. For someone just getting into biking and not knowing specifically what they like to do, I think a mountain bike is the best bet. Much more versatile and easier to ride.
Hey man…My buddy has an awesome full suspension mountain bike with a lot of money dumped into it. He probably has ~2500-3000 into the bike including the cost of the bike itself. That was however 6 years ago or so. He was looking to sell it last year for 800 I believe and I don’t think he put too much effort into getting rid of it. There’s a good chance if he still has it, it will be within your price range. I’ll try to get a hold of him tonight and see if he still has it. PM me your # and I’ll get back to you later if you are interested.
If youre going to do any amount of riding on the road, full suspension is a waste, and will make the bike a lot less efficient. But, if the bike stated above is in good shape, its probably a steal.
Having a lockout is dependent on the shock that is fitted to the bike. I’d say that the majority of shocks don’t have a lockout feature though. Even if there is a lockout, full suspension bikes are a lot heavier than an equivalent hardtail, and if you are using the lockout frequently, then what was the purpose of buying the full suspension bike?
I guess the big question here is what do you plan to do with the bike?
Haha, I know that from working at a bike shop and owning a lot of race bikes that I’m a bit of a bike snob, but those are garrrbage. Not to mention that the people who assemble them dont know their ass from a seatpost.
Retail price:
<250 = shit
250-400 = good casual use bike
400-800 = good entry level bike for a more serious rider
800-1500 = high quality, intermediate/advanced use bike
1500-2500 = race quality
2500-7000+ = pro quality
A full suspension bike at any given price will have the same componentry and overall quality as a hardtail bike that is $200-300 cheaper.
oh and fuck no i moved the fuck on. although i somewhat miss doing absoloutly nothing everyday and getting paid decent money to do wheelies and ride unicycles…
