Mountain Biking - Opinions on Bikes

Well I'm finally looking to upgrade the old Mongoose to something better. There's just too much out there to choose from. Looking to spend 1000 to maybe 1500 tops.
Been looking at the Gary Fisher Sugar 3 or 4, Trek Fuels and Specialized Stumpjumper. Any opinions of these or any other suggestions? Thanks for any input! :)
Ain't shopping fun?:D

Go with the "Stumpie!"

I'm with Hunter on this one...

the Stumpy is probably the best hardtail at this price, but as usual, it depends on what sort of riding you're looking at...

Even on knarly downhills and all day riding, the Stumpy would be hard to beat.

Good luck with the choice mate :)

Rich

I also have to say the Stumpjumper. You are going to get the most bang for your buck out of that one.

I ride the Fuel 90.I was a Toys R us Kid before this one. Although I'm new to the scene I feel comforable with my buy. The Fuel gets very good reviews. I've never heard a bad word about it. If you compair the Fuel 100 and the fuel 90 you will find very little differences. The top riders for Trek ride the 100. So...

Grinder...there a lot of excellent suspension bikes out there for that price range. The FSR stumpie is an excellent bike for the money. Another bike worth considering is the Giant NRS which does not bob under pedaling. The Giant also has excellent specs for the money. I believe that even the $1500 model comes with disc brakes. A very worthy upgrade in my honest opinion.

Like Trekn mentioned the Fuel has gotten great reviews as have the G.F. Sugar models. I got to ride a Sugar last year and was very impressed with the suspension design.

My best suggestion is to ride as many different models as possible so you can get a feel for what type of suspension design you prefer.

Good luck on your search.

You're right Joe, that Giant, (XTC NRS 2) does have some good stuff on it. I should have been more clear on the stumpjumper though. I meant the FS ones. But now that I see the prices probably the Rockhopper is more in line. Have you or anyone else heard anything about the Rockhopper? Thanks for the input. DG

ok...

I must admit, I haven't ridden any of the above bikes...but I have heard that the Stumpy is an excellent ride...and although I'm a Trek owner myself, I can't help but think that Specialized have done their homework on this one.

I'd certainly go for it over a Trek Fuel..no dis intended Trekn!

Rich

Well, AMP did their homework and Specialized copied their design. Then they bought the patent to the Horst Link.

Have you checked out any Cannondales? The Headshock rocks man, definetly check one out. And another plus is that C'dales are American made,something very hard to find these days.

I'm also a big fan of Specialized, however there are so many good bikes out nowadays, you almost can't go wrong with any of the aforementioned bikes. If you're not into having the latest and greatest, you can always get great deals on left over models. The new 2002's are coming and the 2001's will be on closeout. You may want to wait another month or two before spending those Ben Franklins on a bike.

I'm always into riding what no one else is riding. You could probably buy a frame and build it up yourself for about $1500.00 that way it would be full custom. Like I said, closeout prices are starting to hit and you can get some great components at superb prices.

Later Gator
Boomer

P.S. Check out the new Haro Bikes. Nice bikes, good prices, and not everyone has one. That'll probably be my next bike.

P.S.S. For $1500 you can also get a really nice used bike that would be "race ready". Check out www.mtbr.com under marketplace and have fun shopping.