Mountain Biking - I'm a begginer

I'm a 14 year old boy who is just starting out. I went to a bike shop today with my dad and look at some bike because I really want to get into mountain biking.
I looked at the Fuel 80 and really like it but it is expensive. My dad said i could get it if i agree to sell my four wheeler, which i do.
My question is should I go ahead and get the feul 80 or get something else. I also ask this because I live on fairly flat land with lots of open fields and forests to ride in.

Welkom to BFC, Prox33

You said you liked the Trek, but whats the price you want to pay for a quality MTB?
After that you can ask yourself wich way you going to use the bike; commuting, downhill/freeride or race/crosscountry?
The choice of the bike is personal, compare different brands and go for a test rides,

enjoy MTB!

Welcome to BFC and MTB. I agree with ToolFreak. You need to go out and ride everything you can. Decide then based on the type of riding you will be doing.

Since you live in Flatland, dont get too hung up on high tech bikes. Get something light and good, but dont be taken in by downhill suspension if there are no big downhills.
Most of the kids I see riding bouncy MTBs dont have the skill to ride a non-suspension bike.
The best flatland cyclists use single speed off road bikes. Others build up their bikes with 1X8 speed transmission, because you really dont need any more. Keeping it simple adds a lot of fun.

Originally posted by MichaelW
Keeping it simple adds a lot of fun.
Hear, hear. Also you can take more credit in your accomplishment; the bike is servant, not master. And there will be a lot less to go wrong, the simpler things are kept!

I hope you find just the right bike--let us know how it goes.

hey
I just want to thank everyone who gave me advice, but I could use a couple of examples of bikes that would be good for the area I live in.

I live in mostly flat land with lots of forests and fields to ride in. Loggers came in and cleared out about a miles worth of land and then made trenches in it. It's the perfect place for biking. Please give some examples.

Get a Gary Fisher:D :D :D Checkout Fisherbikes.com and take a look. I am guessing you will have about 600-800 dollars to spend right? That would get you a Hoo Koo-e-Koo, a badass bike. Fisher is good bang for the buck too. If you are looking for total bang for the buck look at Giant. For 700 dollars you can get a Rainier that comes with Avid Mechanical disc brakes, a Marzocchi z.5, and Shimano Deore drivetrain, talk about bang for the buck!!!

Wow, you're getting rid of your 4wheeler to buy a bike. I'm impressed.

The Trek fuel 80 that you mention is a fine bike, but like other's have mentioned simpler is often better. I would suggest you take a look at hardtail bikes (bikes with only front suspension) as you get much of the comfort of a full-suspension bike with less maintainance and expense.


I wouldn't get too hung up on brand names. Most bikes use frames made in factories in taiwan and china and parts from Shimano and others. Trek does make a lot of their frames in the USA and Cannondale makes all their frames in the USA.

I'd suggest finding a good local bike shop and then selecting a model from the brands that they sell. I also live where it is flat and I find that I don't need half of the gears that most bikes offer and that plain old V-brakes offer more stopping power than I need.

one last thing, it's a good idea to include into your budget some accesories that you'll need to ride. If you don't already have one you're gonna need a bike helmet. If you're getting a bike with clipless pedals you'll need shoes to work with them. and you should get a seatbag ,a spare tube, allen wrenches, a patch kit
and a good pump to go on the bike.

Well, i hope that's of some help.

Number one rule: Don't get a bike from a department store!!! They are crap, even if they have full suspension, they are still crap. There is way more to a bike than what it looks like and the suspension.

Other than that, I would definetly go hardtail for your first bike. It improves your bike handling skills, climbs better, and is just plain fun. And it sounds like a hardtail is better for where you live, full suspension is better for hills, and rough stuff.

I agree with the rest of yall. Hardtail to start with seeing as how you wil be riding flatland mostly. But please dont make the mistake of getting a heavy bike, because the first time you DO decide to pull a hill, youll be wishing for it to end quickly.


Speed

I also agree that you are probably better off with a hardtail unless you can afford to spend $1500 on a full suspention (like Fuel 90 or something comparable).

The Fuel 80 has some Alivio parts, which I would stay away from if you're serious about mtb/can afford it. You're better off skipping the rear suspetion and using the savings to get a better/lighter front fork, components (get at least deore drivetrain or better if you can afford it) and wheels. Good fork, wheels and components will ride a lot nicer than cheep stuff with rear suspention.

I just bought a Trek 8000 and am very happy with it. I decided against full suspention because I could get a much better, stronger and lighter bike for the price.

Of course, if your terrain is really rough (bolders and rocks) then I'd probably say go for the full, but on flat singletrack, nothing beats a hard tail.

As far as brands check out what ever your bike stores carry. Any brand carried by a real bike store (not Walmart) will be a good bike for the price.

Hi ProX33,

Excellent advice above, you've come to the right place!!

I'm biased towards Trek, as I've ridden one for ages, but do try as many brands as your local bike shop has in stock. At the price range you're looking at, there are some smart deals, but you're probably better off getting a hardtail bike which would be lighter, and better specced that a full suspension at the same price.

Whatever you decided, not only will cycling get you fit, you'll be able to meet simular nutters that inhabit these forums ( a good thing! :thumbup: )

Again, make sure you get a helmet, and take it easy out there!

Rich :)