Mountain Biking - Intermediate MTB question (steel HT)

I want you guys to help me pick my next HT bike. I have been to my LBS to look at bikes, but I still need some help. I am 23, 5'11 and 170-175. I love speed and love to climb like a mountain goat. This bike is going to be for some nice 30-40 mile trips and hopefully some nice epic rides when I get out west with ascending/descending of 3-4000ft. I still haven't made up my mind on the steel vs. aluminum frame, so that is still in the air, even though I am leaning towards steel for obvious reasons. I have narrowed my list down to the following list. I really would like to spend as close to a grand as possible, but some of them are a little over. I wish I had more experience knowing the different levels of components and the reputation of the bike companies, but I don't. So let me hear what you guys have to say.


Jamis Exile XC
Kona Explosif
Marin Eldridge Grade
Rocky Mountain Hammer

I have had a chance to try out the Marin's, RM, Kona, and Jamis at my LBS. They all felt very nice and there really wasn't one that stood out from the others. Sorry that my list is so long, but trust me it was a lot longer before. It has taken me a couple weeks of research to come down to these bikes and I am stuck. So help me narrow my list down some. If you need any more info let me know. Thanks for the help guys.

I'm partial to the Hammer. A friend has an 04, it's a sweet ride and he has had 0 problems with it. Sweet paint, lifetime warrantee, classic Rocky geometry, can't go wrong in my mind. Plus the 06 is black... swwweeeet!

The Kona is OK too, however if you plan on leaving the gears on it the sliding drop outs just add a potential headache down the road. When Kona started with that system a lot of people had slippage issues. Since then I think Kona has speced bolts with more "grab", but still there is potential for problems. If you want to try singlespeeding, the Kona would be the best pick.

Yeah I have heard a lot of great things about the Hammer. I don't plan on getting into a singlspeeding yet, so that is not something that I am strongly considering.

Please don't bump your message.

I agree with Kris, RM seems to suit what you are looking for better.

Maelstrom
Admin

Any other opinions

Of the four bikes you mentioned, the Kona is the odd man out as far as handling goes because of its less slack head and seat tube angles. The angles on the other three are steeper, giving the bikes a little more reactive steering, while the Kona will be more stable in this way and better on descents. Of course whether or not you'd notice the difference is something else altogether. But saying you could, you might consider what kind of trails you'll be riding. Tight twisty singletrack? Go with a steeper geometry. Riding over lots of rocks and roots? Lots of steep descents? Consider the Kona.

I will say that I have a Marin Pine Mountain, which I believe is about the same frame as the Eldridge Grade, and I'm very happy with it.

Next, consider the fork. I don't pretend to know much about the differences between forks, so I can't offer much advice there. But I will note that the Jamis has only 80mm of travel, while the others have about 100mm. Again, consider where you'll be riding. On my local trails, I only bottom out my 80mm fork a few times a ride. Your experience may be different, but 100mm isn't going to be all that different from 80, so maybe check mtbr.com for reviews on each of these forks.

As for components, don't weigh these too heavily. All four bikes have pretty much the same quality components---all are nice, reliable, middle-of-the road parts that offer the best bang for the buck.

Bottom line is, there's not a whole lot of difference here. Each one is a sweet bike that'll serve you very well. If it were me, I'd go for the one I could get the best price on. If all the prices are within a couple hundred bucks of each other, I'd go with the Rocky Mountain just because I think it's a sexier looking frame than the rest.

Of the four bikes you mentioned, the Kona is the odd man out as far as handling goes because of its less slack head and seat tube angles. The angles on the other three are steeper, giving the bikes a little more reactive steering, while the Kona will be more stable in this way and better on descents. Of course whether or not you'd notice the difference is something else altogether. But saying you could, you might consider what kind of trails you'll be riding. Tight twisty singletrack? Go with a steeper geometry. Riding over lots of rocks and roots? Lots of steep descents? Consider the Kona.

I will say that I have a Marin Pine Mountain, which I believe is about the same frame as the Eldridge Grade, and I'm very happy with it.

Next, consider the fork. I don't pretend to know much about the differences between forks, so I can't offer much advice there. But I will note that the Jamis has only 80mm of travel, while the others have about 100mm. Again, consider where you'll be riding. On my local trails, I only bottom out my 80mm fork a few times a ride. Your experience may be different, but 100mm isn't going to be all that different from 80, so maybe check mtbr.com for reviews on each of these forks.

As for components, don't weigh these too heavily. All four bikes have pretty much the same quality components---all are nice, reliable, middle-of-the road parts that offer the best bang for the buck.

Bottom line is, there's not a whole lot of difference here. Each one is a sweet bike that'll serve you very well. If it were me, I'd go for the one I could get the best price on. If all the prices are within a couple hundred bucks of each other, I'd go with the Rocky Mountain just because I think it's a sexier looking frame than the rest.


Thanks for the post. The bike will be used mostly for singletracks and epic XC trips. I guess the major issue that I have/ need help with is the quality of the frames between the 4 companies and their perspective customer serivce/warranty. From some people that I have talked to everyone seems to be pointing me towards the Rocky Mountain, telling me that they have a solid build and a great customer service. I just haven't heard anything negatively about the other 3, so does that mean they are mediocre or just not as good as RM?

The other thing, I found a great deal online for a 17.5 RM. I am 5'10/11ish, and I wonder if it would fit or if I would need the 18.5, but I am afraid that might be alittle to big.

Rocky Mountain's frames get talked up a lot, possibly for good reason since they're a little smaller company than the others and may be a little more hands-on when it comes to framebuilding. I always hear "handcrafted" when I hear about Rocky Mountain, and their prices typically reflect that. When compared to similarly speced bikes, RMs run a little higher in price. That being said, the other three brands are definitely better than "mediocre."

The 17.5 if might work well for you. Compared to the 18.5, you're only talking half an inch difference in standover height and half an inch difference in top tube length. Compared to road bikes, mountain bikes allow for considerable more leeway in sizes. Maybe check out some bikes with similar measurements at the LBS to see which would fit better (I'm probably gonna get flamed for suggesting that, but what the hey).

After further review, it seems I may have given you a bit of erroneous info regarding the Eldridge Grade. According to the Marin web site, it looks like they have two different versions of the Eldgridge Grade now. There's the regular one, then there's the Eldridge Grade Columbus, which is listed for a little more $ and has slightly different components. The Columbus version's would probably be on par with the others you listed. The standard....maybe not so much. Not sure which you had your eye on.

I was looking more towards the Columbus version. I am leaning towards the Hammer right now, just because I can get a good deal on a used 04.