Mountain Biking - Decision time

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Sterling
10-19-02, 06:10 PM
I am an avid road biker and am looking for a low cost mountain bike. I am on a very limited budget but my choices are

03 Specialized HardRock 299.00

03 Kona Hahana 299.00

03 Trek 4300 309.00

I know these are entry level bikes. I was wondering if one of these bikes stands out over the others or if they are all about the same. Any help is appreciated.

threadend
10-19-02, 07:01 PM
Unless you have a personal aversion to Giant Bicycles, take a look at them. Giant's buying power and engineering resources allow them to put some quality stuff out at pretty good pricing.

A couple other options to consider are '02' closeouts and / or waiting until you can spend a little more. Getting a good frame is crucial, the rest you can upgrade as the parts get trashed and worn out. Secondly consider the wheelset / tire package, you can overcome a lot of other shortcomings, but bent wheels and tires you aren't confident in will wreck the experience for you real fast.

Best wishes.
Maelstrom
10-19-02, 07:31 PM
I would say Giant or Kona. Just my prferences. I don't like the look af specialized (those damn s's everywhere) and I don't think Treks make good mtb's. :)

Grendel
10-20-02, 03:20 PM
Don't make any decisions until you've had a chance to ride each one and see which one you like best. I had a choice between the Trek 4300 and the Giant Rincon and ended up going with the Trek because I liked the ride better. You wouldn't think there would be much difference between the two when fitted properly for each, but they felt very different to me and I liked the Trek better -- and after almost 700 miles in the last few months I haven't changed my mind.

It's got some weak points, of course... the RST Capa forks are crap (plush enough but sloppy, and adjustability is poor) and the components are low-end Shimano stuff but so far everything works well and for an entry-level bike I think it's fine. The frame seems quite good - I think they use the same frame on their higher-end hardtails - and with some upgrades should make a decent HT that'll carry me for thousands of miles.

You just have to ride 'em and see for yourself which one you like.