Mountain Biking - New, and need Advice!

Hey guys,
Im looking for a way to stay in shape and at the same time enjoy what im doing. I've always wanted to get into mountain biking. I used to be into dirt jumping wiht my Freeagent bmx bike. I would consider myself a pretty good rider. I've great balance (can ride a unicycle) and am great a bunny hops on my bmx bike. What I want is to buy a mountain bike that can take a beating, and is meant for riding dirt trails and the occasional jumps here and there. I live in Orange County CA, and basically in my back yard is the Aliso Creek Trail, which is a few miles long and runs to the beach. There are tons of side trails that are dirt and great for mountain biking. Can you guys give me suggestions on what type of bike I should get, or maybe just name the best brands like Specialized. I am looking at spending at around $300. Oh yea, does anyone know of any great bike shops near me?

Thanks in advance guys,
Bastiaan VandenBerg

Check out the Specialized Hardrock, pretty much the perfect all around bike.:D

Other than that you might want to check out some used bikes.

If I were to check out some used bikes where would the best place be to search for one? And what kinda deals would I be looking for?

Also, should i be looking for full suspension? only front suspension? disc brakes? how many gears would be acceptable? and do most come with a 3-piece crank? I once bent mine on a bmx bike, and broke the frame on my freeagent.

Thanks again,
Bastiaan VandenBerg

look for front suspension
24 gears
no discs on a new bike
discs on a used bike could be questionable

Why not discs on a new bike? but maybe on a use one? Arent they better then regular brakes?

on a new bike they give you cheaper drivetrain components to make up for the price of the disc brakes which are more expensive than v brakes
on a used bike someone could have put discs on it that were a higher quality but not always, hence the questionable part

What would the price be to buy disc brakes? Im sure i could put them on myself.

bb5's are 40$ a wheel at jenson usa and they are mechanical so you dont necessarily need to get new levers but you would need disc compatible wheels

Would anyone suggest this bike Found on craigs list for $250?

1999 RED TREK Y3 FULL SUSPENSION MOUNTAIN BIKE

post the link and or pics

There arent any pics, so i just e-mailed the guy for some pics.
If it were in good condition would it be worth it?

Would anyone suggest this bike Found on craigs list for $250?

1999 RED TREK Y3 FULL SUSPENSION MOUNTAIN BIKE

That's a 7-year old Y-framed bike. The answer is no.

Would anyone suggest this bike Found on craigs list for $250?

1999 RED TREK Y3 FULL SUSPENSION MOUNTAIN BIKE

I found my 02 cannondale jekyll for $600, it came with hope mini hydraulic brakes, mavic wheels, michelin country mud tires, marzocchi pro mx fork, fox rl rear shock w/ lockout, raceface dues headset plus more for $600 on ebay. If you're a crafty ebayer, you may find a good deal, the best bang-for-buck! Yes, it is not a new bike, but it is in great condition! If you are patient you can find a great deal, otherwise you will only find a full suspension bike with low end components in that price range! Also, my biking goals are similar to yours- I wanted to get back into shape and I'm from a freestylin background and do alot of cruising on the pavement and trails, and needed an affordable/starter MTB! Good luck to you!

I keep seeing a Spec. Hardrock. The thing with them is that there will be some cheap parts on any $300 bike, and if you ever want to start Djing agian, that is not the bike to go with.

How tall are you?

Here's an older L trek 6500:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=012&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=220070119147&rd=1&rd=1
Very decent bike for the buck and the BIN will keep it under $300

Also, I would be quite interested in this GF Tass- if you want a medium...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330072193550&rd=1&rd=1

Search Ebay and make it specific for full bike and front suspension on left tool bar and then I would say look at specific brnads on left side including (but not only): specialized, haro, kona, gary fisher, trek,...

I would agree with above poster- you will get a better bang for your buck with V brakes, BUT it will take more $$ to upgrade them later (b/ wheel upgrade too) than deraillers and other components later.

Edit: what should always be emphasized is to get out and ride some bikes- don't just pull the trigger on a used, ebay buy w/o having some idea what size/brand/geometry fits you.

Im gonna have to say, for 300 bucks on a mountain bike, youre not gonna be able to get too aggressive with it, without it falling apart. First, stick with a hardtail. Second, usually companies really start to skimp out on components at that price level which means after a few drops youre gonna need new forks and wheels. As for brakes, for a low end bike go for v-brakes. Cheap disk brakes are so bad. They need to be constantly adjusted and break apart quickly.

My suggestion is if you only want to spend 300 buy a used bike. For 300 new, youre not gonna get a bike that can take very much abuse at all without changing components rather quickly. Also, get a dirtjump/freestyle/urban bike if youre wanting to do everything that you listed. I normal xc bike wont be able to handle the abuse. Even something like a rockhopper which is a great all around bike cant take too many big drops before id start worrying about the frame.

I have a gary fisher mullet which has a pretty strong frame for jumps and drops, but not too inefficently of a geometry that i cant climb or do xc (ive done 30 miles on the road with it plenty of times). A hardrock is also another decent frame that could stand for abuse, but once again youre gonna have to swap out the components sooner or later for the cheap model.

In the end its a matter of do you want to spend the money now by buying a decent frame with decent components, or later by replacing your frame and components.