Mountain Bike ?

wydopen

wydopen

onthepipe
Location
Goleta the Goodland
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these are my rides...big bike for downhill and the little bike for jumping/ trail riding...i raced for years...it was allot of fun..haha i havent ridden either since i got my standup two years ago though!!!
 
crammit442

crammit442

makin' legs
Location
here
GDFL said:
This bike buying stuff sucks. I rode 5 different bikes today and I'm not any closer to knowing what I want. The shop I ended up at had all the Haro Flightline series and all the Specialized Hardrock series. I think I want to end up with a good fork like the Rock Shox, but that takes a minimum of $550. Sorry to threadjack, but I need help.
Haro Flightline Comp with Rock Shox 2 and mech disk brakes is $675
Specialized Hardrock with Rock Shox 3 is $550 w/ V brakes or $700 with disk brakes.
I could also step down in either series and probably be happy but I don't know. This is confusing.
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FWIW, you will NOT find a very good bicycle in that price range. A good fork costs more than that. Ebay or Craig's list is your best bet. For the most part, frame maker is secondary to component group. Feel free to send me some links to stuff you see on Ebay or CL. A REALLY nice bike that's a few years old can be had for $3-400. A super nice hardtail with excellent components that's 3-4 years old will work much better than a new bike with low grade stuff. It'll take $1500-1600 to even get in to the mid range of good stuff new. Bikes don't hold value well and you can really score if you look for a little bit. I bought the bike I'm riding now for less than half of what it sold for and it was two months old. Let me know if I can help.:beerchug:
 
wydopen

wydopen

onthepipe
Location
Goleta the Goodland
crammit442 said:
FWIW, you will NOT find a very good bicycle in that price range. A good fork costs more than that. Ebay or Craig's list is your best bet. For the most part, frame maker is secondary to component group. Feel free to send me some links to stuff you see on Ebay or CL. A REALLY nice bike that's a few years old can be had for $3-400. A super nice hardtail with excellent components that's 3-4 years old will work much better than a new bike with low grade stuff. It'll take $1500-1600 to even get in to the mid range of good stuff new. Bikes don't hold value well and you can really score if you look for a little bit. I bought the bike I'm riding now for less than half of what it sold for and it was two months old. Let me know if I can help.:beerchug:
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exactally...the little black bike in my last post has all top of the line stuff on it, just a couple years old and i havent even been able to sell it for 800$...you couldnt buy a 1/16th of the components for that..used is the way to go..
 
GDFL

GDFL

Location
Melbourne, FL
crammit442 said:
FWIW, you will NOT find a very good bicycle in that price range. A good fork costs more than that. Ebay or Craig's list is your best bet. For the most part, frame maker is secondary to component group. Feel free to send me some links to stuff you see on Ebay or CL. A REALLY nice bike that's a few years old can be had for $3-400. A super nice hardtail with excellent components that's 3-4 years old will work much better than a new bike with low grade stuff. It'll take $1500-1600 to even get in to the mid range of good stuff new. Bikes don't hold value well and you can really score if you look for a little bit. I bought the bike I'm riding now for less than half of what it sold for and it was two months old. Let me know if I can help.:beerchug:
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Thanks, I understand what you're saying. The only thing that caught my eye on ebay is http://cgi.ebay.com/HARO-SHIFT-FULL-...QQcmdZViewItem and it isn't really that great. Craigslist is a bust for around here and I just can't seem to find anything that I would call a great deal on ebay that I could afford.
 
cookerq62

cookerq62

Life's Been Good
Location
Upper Bucks, PA
The only downside to a used bike is the warrenties aren't always transferable. I would have been f'd because I broke my frame on my 08rockhopper 29er. I brought the bike in on Friday and they swapped all the components at no charge and I was riding an 09 rockhopper expert on Wednesday.

Looking I wish I had spent more up front. Breaking stuff is no fun when your starting out but I had no idea what I was in for. My advise is to get a really good hardtail. You are going to get more bike for your $ and it won't be outdated in 2 years.
 
Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
Looks like the prices jumped considerably from last years pricing.
But everything has also.

I have been thinking about getting a new Full Suspension, I have had mine for 6 years now. It is light, never gave me a lick of problems other than the front shock, but I just bought it 2-3 years ago..... leaks. Would have to sell a ski to get one.
 
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yamaslut

yamaslut

kill it
Location
Daytona Beach, Florida
I got a bike for 550$ and it's fine... I would say it's possible to find a bike in that range that will work for you (hardtail). Who needs the top end components anyway??? I guess it depends on what you are doing w/ it.. It's flat here, so you don't need much and stuff doesn't get beat up as much...
 
Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
GDFL said:
I've got one of these coming: http://www.marinbikes.com/2008/us/bikes/specs_palisades_trail.php
It has 5 rides on it and I think that I got a decent deal. I just have to wait until the paypal clears and it'll be on the way. Speaking of Paypal, when did they start doing direct checking account transfers as e-checks that take 3-5 days? That's new to me and it pisses me off because I've never had to wait before.
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they have always had that option, but I never use it, just do a straight paypal transfer to the sellers account.
 
Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
yamaslut said:
I got a bike for 550$ and it's fine... I would say it's possible to find a bike in that range that will work for you (hardtail). Who needs the top end components anyway??? I guess it depends on what you are doing w/ it.. It's flat here, so you don't need much and stuff doesn't get beat up as much...
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Bikes truely are a "you get what you pay for" commodity. Yes, a 550.00 bike will get you around. But at what cost to performance and durability. Weight is also a factor. cheaper bikes have more inferior components at greater weight. The better the components, the lighter the weight is going to be. On flats, this is not as important, but in the woods and going up hills and over obstacles it is a huge factor. Only time weight helps is on down hill bikes!!!!!!!!!!
 
GDFL

GDFL

Location
Melbourne, FL
I figured it out. My backup funding credit card expired 11 days ago and I didn't catch it. I'd be good to go now, but I can't cancel the e-check to replace it with the instant transfer.
 
crammit442

crammit442

makin' legs
Location
here
yamaslut said:
I got a bike for 550$ and it's fine... I would say it's possible to find a bike in that range that will work for you (hardtail). Who needs the top end components anyway??? I guess it depends on what you are doing w/ it.. It's flat here, so you don't need much and stuff doesn't get beat up as much...
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Big Kahuna said:
Bikes truely are a "you get what you pay for" commodity. Yes, a 550.00 bike will get you around. But at what cost to performance and durability. Weight is also a factor. cheaper bikes have more inferior components at greater weight. The better the components, the lighter the weight is going to be. On flats, this is not as important, but in the woods and going up hills and over obstacles it is a huge factor. Only time weight helps is on down hill bikes!!!!!!!!!!
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I agree. That's why I always recommend people look for used bikes. Particularly in hardtails. Frame geometry is pretty established at this point and the major upgrades from year to year are forks. The difference between even midgrade comonents and low end are amazing. It's nice to have a bike that works perfectly and will for years. You can find a two year old bike with full XTR for way less than a new bike with Alivio and it'll ride better used than the new low end bike. With bike prices where they are now it takes 1500 to begin to hit the upper mid level. I've always ridden LX and XT bikes and had always just heard about XTR. The bike I bought used this spring is full XTR and I really didn't understand what I was missing.
 
Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
That is why I try to stay off bikes with XTR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Sugar has XTR rear derailure, it is about a 2000-2001 series, Never had to touch it.

Only other XTR part I have is the rear cog set on my Kona hardtail, man that is stupid light compaired to the one on my Sugar.
 
crammit442

crammit442

makin' legs
Location
here
Big Kahuna said:
That is why I try to stay off bikes with XTR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Sugar has XTR rear derailure, it is about a 2000-2001 series, Never had to touch it.

Only other XTR part I have is the rear cog set on my Kona hardtail, man that is stupid light compaired to the one on my Sugar.
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I agree. It's like jetskis. We're probably better off not knowing what we're missing.
 
W

Watcon

Location
Near Seattle WA
wydopen said:
exactally...the little black bike in my last post has all top of the line stuff on it, just a couple years old and i havent even been able to sell it for 800$...you couldnt buy a 1/16th of the components for that..used is the way to go..
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Hey Wydeopen,
If you want to trade the little black bike for a new factory pipe and a few other parts ($800.00 value) I know a short fat guy that's interested.. Contact me at wcc@watcon.com
Thanks,
Randy
 
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