Mountain Biking - Just got into mtbing, just got a bike. got some questions...

Hey i just got into mountain biking, this is my first post here btw, and i just got a new mountain bike.
this is the bike i got, am i allowed to link sites like these? If not i'll remove it... (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2057160&cp=713103.1892903)

I kinda wanna upgrade it but i'm not sure. If i do upgrade it, i want disc brakes in the front but i dont have mounts. I guess i need a new fork as well..
how do i know what will be compatible with my bike?

Another question (s)
I wanna learn how to do a wheelie (or manual, whatever it's called) and a bunny hop. I found a site with videos on how to do them but i just can do them at all. Any tips?

thanks in advance!

For that, I would jut upgrade the whole bike. That bike screams out Wal-mart.

wheelies, manuals, bunny hops, etc. all take practice. they can all be explained, but none are easy. manuals and wheelies have taken me so long to learn and to find the balance point, but i can still only do them for maybe 20 feet at best.

btw, a manual is riding on the back wheel while standing up, out of the saddle, without pedaling. a wheelie is riding on the back wheel, seated, usually pedalling

i agree w/ "wannagetgood"...get a bike change...its not worth upgrading that

If you choose to upgrade it, the parts you'll get will be worth more than what you paid for the whole bike. I don't mean to be cruel, but that was a terrible choice of a bike. Although, you probably didn't know better, so it wasn't your fault. Return it if you still can. Go get a real bike.

If you choose to upgrade it, the parts you'll get will be worth more than what you paid for the whole bike. I don't mean to be cruel, but that was a terrible choice of a bike. Although, you probably didn't know better, so it wasn't your fault. Return it if you still can. Go get a real bike.

Wow.

ANY choice of bike is a good choice. Yeah, this bike isn't high end. But it's a bike, and that's all that matters.

Upgrade all you want, then when you really get into it, get a good frame and transfer your upgraded parts over to the new frame.

But don't feel inferior because you bought a bike at Dick's. We all have to start somewhere.

First off, welcome! Good choice picking mtn biking...loads of fun.

That said, I wouldn't upgrade anything on that bike. Its not a very good and if you stay with the sport, you'll likely outgrow it ability wise very quickly. I suggest you ride it stock to get a feel for the sport. Once you have that down, you'll inevitably want a newer/better bike and i would put the upgrade cash towards that when the time comes.

Alot of people are going to give you shtick for picking that bike, dont let it get you down. X-mart bikes like yours are not well recieved because they are known to be of poor quality and tend to fail. But as lugged says, any bike is better than no bike. Ride the crap out if till it breaks, or your skills outgrow it....by then you'll have a better idea of what exactly you want in a bike and your next purchase will be a good one.

Good luck!

Ride it like you stole it. And, it's not even grand theft!

Upgrade all you want, then when you really get into it, get a good frame and transfer your upgraded parts over to the new frame.

If he does choose to upgrade, he's going to have to look for special parts, because the majority of parts are NOT compatible with those extremely low end bikes. If you choose to stay with that bike, do not upgrade anything, it's definately not worth it. A cheap fork, maybe a rockshox Judy, will still cost you the same price as the whole bike did. Or more. And I doubt that regular forks will even fit into that headtube, as most X-mart bikes don't use a steer tube, the use those 1 piece garbajo crappers.

Your safety is even compromized on very low end bikes. As most say "Not meant for offroad use" even though they are supposed to be 'mountain bikes'.

To do a manual go out and practice for 6 hours.

repeat every day for 6 months.

To do a manual go out and practice for 6 hours.

repeat every day for 6 months.

:roflmao:

:roflmao:


its not fault he doesnt have a 400 dollar bruiser

I'm new to these forums so I'll speak my piece and shut up. I've been a roadie for over 20 years and just got into Mtn Biking last year. I took my own advice which was buy what you can afford, ride it until the bike is holding you back, then upgrade. I've got the Bunny Flop down with the scars to prove it. I've got a Scott Yecora Disc, still waiting for the bike to hold me back.:o

thanks you some people for those positive replies...
I did know i wasnt buying the best bike but that was all i could afford.
I'll take your advice flak and save up and when i outride my bike, i'll buy a better one.

for now, its the best i could afford and i've had no problems with it.
I wont upgrade it like you guys said not to and i'll enjoy my new sport.


Thanks guys! (well, the ones that were nice...)


EDIT: Hey it's wethepeople from mrcc! wats up?

its not fault he doesnt have a 400 dollar bruiser
Great grammar. Makes a lot of sense.

I think he's trying to imply that I started on a 400 dollar bruiser? Well TOUGH, because I didn't. I started on my Trek BRUISER 2, which was 920 with tax.

Ditto, what Flak said.

Jason, not everyone is well to do and can afford a bike as nice as yours. I'm sure that you worked hard for your bike and you appreciate it but other people may have worked hard for theirs and I bet they appreciate it as much as you do yours.

Everybody has to start somewhere and I think for him this bike is good enough for him to learn on and find out what he really needs. Maybe mtb is not his thing. Maybe it might be. For a first bike, it sure it better than what I had as a first bike.

Please try not to slam what people have. We know you have a top notch bike and it is nice, I agree. But sometimes people just have to make do with what they have. When you cut down something someone is happy to have, I think the majority of what you are accomplishing is hurting someone's feelings.

It seems that whenever someone here talks about their bike that is lower in cost than yours, you say something not so positive. If you want to slam someone, slam me because I know my bikes are not the greatest.

My friend has a $2500 bike and my nephew has a $7000 bike. But neither one of them cut my bikes down. They were just happy that I was riding and are willing to help me develop my skills. People come on here to learn, not to get slammed.

Please try to be nice, okay?

Thanks.

So now were comparing bike prices? Mine was free!@!!!!!

And NoF3ar is happy and he didn't even have to pay money for it~;)

---And that, is appreciation! :)

Jason, not everyone is well to do and can afford a bike as nice as yours. I'm sure that you worked hard for your bike and you appreciate it but other people may have worked hard for theirs and I bet they appreciate it as much as you do yours.

Everybody has to start somewhere and I think for him this bike is good enough for him to learn on and find out what he really needs. Maybe mtb is not his thing. Maybe it might be. For a first bike, it sure it better than what I had as a first bike.

Please try not to slam what people have. We know you have a top notch bike and it is nice, I agree. But sometimes people just have to make do with what they have. When you cut down something someone is happy to have, I think the majority of what you are accomplishing is hurting someone's feelings.

It seems that whenever someone here talks about their bike that is lower in cost than yours, you say something not so positive. If you want to slam someone, slam me because I know my bikes are not the greatest.

My friend has a $2500 bike and my nephew has a $7000 bike. But neither one of them cut my bikes down. They were just happy that I was riding and are willing to help me develop my skills. People come on here to learn, not to get slammed.

Please try to be nice, okay?

Thanks.

Damn right you are.

lil 222 why dont you go pop off on someone with a better bike than you and not people that have a lesser bike? ... inferiority issues much?

lil 222 why dont you go pop off on someone with a better bike than you and not people that have a lesser bike? ... inferiority issues much?
Dude, gmoney. Jason is giving the advice that everyone on bf forums gives someone who bought an xmart bike. There is no good reason to waste money upgrading a bike that most likely won't even be comptable with most parts.

Dude, gmoney. Jason is giving the advice that everyone on bf forums gives someone who bought an xmart bike. There is no good reason to waste money upgrading a bike that most likely won't even be comptable with most parts.


i said that because he was talking down to the owner of that bike... not because he said not to upgrade it.. i wouldnt upgrade it either. just dont blatantly talk down tosomeone who is new to the forums and sport.... so i told him to go to someone with a better bike to talk smack to, see where that goes... Nowhere

Great grammar. Makes a lot of sense.

I think he's trying to imply that I started on a 400 dollar bruiser? Well TOUGH, because I didn't. I started on my Trek BRUISER 2, which was 920 with tax.

Saturn, there's some good jewels of wisdom in there and it appears you've picked up on them. Unfortunately in this sport, you'll find those that, generally, without good reason or any foundation will look down on you simply for what you ride. If they deem it to be inferior to what they ride, they will shat upon you and your bike. Mostly to make themselves feel better about their mediocre equipment....

I started on a Mongoose Villain the was $50.

That bike brought me so close to a junior sponsorship.

sand blast the thing, paint it flat black, get a new suspension fork, rear shock, lube down shock points, and get some new handle bars, cranks, derailers and u will have one heck of a bit**ing wal mart bike, thats what i did to my first mountain bike, now i have a hard rock comp with disc, just save and save and save(sell candy bars at school if ur a kid like me)good luck

whoah, havent checked on this topic for a while...

well, i returned my old bike before it started to wear away and they wouldnt let me return it.

I'm hopfully gonna get a hardrock sport for around $150 from a guy next to the town i'm in.
then later on, i can upgrade it with whatever i want.

thanks to everyone that stuck up for me, and everyone else that has a cheaper bike...

dude i started off in the same situation i started out with a dyno void from crappy tire that i got for christmas. i wrecked it the first day i got it (bent frame snapped fork) my parents were not pleased! as for learning the basic skills bunny hopping cannot be done by a begginer on a full suspension in any situation, so my advice is take it back and buy a cheap bmx (haro) new or used. bmx is a great way to get all ur basic skills and it will not brake down, hope my reply was helpful, best of luck:)

Saturn, there's some good jewels of wisdom in there and it appears you've picked up on them. Unfortunately in this sport, you'll find those that, generally, without good reason or any foundation will look down on you simply for what you ride. If they deem it to be inferior to what they ride, they will shat upon you and your bike. Mostly to make themselves feel better about their mediocre equipment....


Well stated. I guess I will cancel my Racer X order so I can be Jason's friend.

Saturn - Hardrock sports are great 1st bikes.

About that bunny hop - start with little things to hop over - like, a 4 inch log. Get the move down 1st (on the grass, please!), and then move on to bigger things. Wheelies & Manuals? show off stuff, not really necessary, unless you LIKE to fall on you a**!

Worry more about rocks, roots, & off camber tracks (off-camber is when the trail itself is at some weird slope, like a 30 degree slant). Learn to climb, and to go downhill without killing yourself. And remember, it IS OK to get off you bike and walk/run down a hill that you don't feel ready for - better for your body & your bike than crashing. MTBing is supposed to be fun, not a death wish!

Good luck, and stay safe & enjoy yourself!

thanks for all the help guys.

after this topic died a while ago, i didn't think anybody would still post here.

i ended up getting an '05 hardrock new at my LBS.
it rocks. I just got a new front wheel so i can buy some discs. I got two waterbottle holders (one from my old bike, the other from wally world)

i've been practicing wheelies lately... just because only one of my friends can actually do one and i love to show off.
my record is 5 crank rotations before the front just drops, i end up jumping off the back, or my pants rip on the gears.

i think i should probably get a bashguard...

i can see how bunny hops would be more important than wheelies but i cant do anything close to a bunny hop right now. i tried doing one on a wally world bmx bike on display but was unsuccessful.

i think i'll just practice and practice for now...

i did find one hill that i had to walk when i was biking with my friend. it was almost as steep as the little slashes on the computer ( / ) in fact in some places, it was. I walked down it and saw my friend (who really sucks, the kind that cant catch up to you, even on the road, Doesnt beleive in shifting, doesntwear a helmet, ect. ect.) sitting on his bike at the top. It was his first time mountain biking ever. I told him to walk it but he didnt listen. it took about 10 minutes until i got him walk. he was p.o.ed for the whole ride. He gets really easily frusterated. It wasnt a very fun ride after that but hey, at least i was out there.
It's been raining every other day here. I cant get biking at all. Its kind of annoying...

well, gtg.

thanks for the tips and support!

About the bunnyhop thing... ask any rider who can bunnyhop decently and they'll tell you its definitely not the bike or the pedals or anything, I taught my friend how to bunnyhop (and he could bunnyhop well at the end of the day) on a 38lbs crappy x-mart dual suspension bike and he could. If you want I could try to post a comprehensive description on how to do a simple bunnyhop but the best way to learn is watch someone do it and learn it from them in person. And remember, the key IS in the legs.

And heh slash hills are the tops, but the best ones are the ones were you really hang on for dear life as they are steeper than the slash, almost a drop lol, they last like 3 seconds but they are awesome. "Talus" or "Taluds" we call them around here.

Congrats on the new bike, we'll love the Hardrock, it's a good bike for the price.

btw, your avatar scares the **** out of me.

X-Mart bike = bad if you got it from walmart tho there no questions asked returns policy is great and you can probably take it back no hassles... if they do give you crap about it... they have that 90 day warrenty so ride it till it breaks and "make sure" it breaks within 90 days ^^ take it back for a new one and repeat... or try to get store credit or somthing and use that money for somthing more usfull.

I was close to buying there nicest bike a 200$ mongoose, looks great but after reading up for reviews on the net before I bought it I soon found myself here and now and quite knowledged.

Definitly beforhand I had no idea a bike could cost more than a good car... I still dont see WHY when a car cost more to make and is bigger, heavier ect ect... but thats just how the market is... supply and demand.

I wish they had a monthly payment deal for bikes like they do with cars/motorcycles that would really make the trasition easier for some of us, and also make the LBS more money due to intrest.