Originally Posted by tjpark1111
OK, gonna visit the bike shop tomorrow, it's 1:27AM right now, a bit too late for pleasant bike shopping. You guys have no idea on the frame size? o well, the guy there will tell me. The shop near me is called Campus Bicycle, because Stony Brook University is right next to it, if any of you know about Stony Brook Univ. if you live in NY. I keep eyeing the Trek 820, but I guess that will be crap...... Here's the website:
http://campusbicycle.com/site/showit...=39&sort=Price can you make some suggestions from the choices in the site because that is the 99% likely place I will be purchasing the bike from. thx!
I think you've been given great advice by Jeff and khuon. With regard to the Trek 820, my oldest son has one that he's been riding for three years. He's taken it on trails, paths and street riding with no repairs and only one tune-up and usual lubrication, chain cleaning, etc. It is a solid bike for the price with a great re-sale track record. But the 3700 recommended by chipcom offers a more up-to-date frame for only a few $ more. I think your best bet is to follow the advice on the MTB forum, ride/sample as many different bikes and different sizes that you can. Then buy the one that you feel the most comfortable on within your price range. One more comment, don't forget to consider what the LBS is offering free. One of my local LBS offers lifetime deraileur/brake tune-ups free, another charges $80 for the same service contract. Yeah, some are more hungry for your business than others. Good luck.