Mountain Biking - Help with MTB Choices

Greetings,

I discovered this forum while researching various Mountain Bikes in preparation for making a purchase soon. I did some searches, read a lot of threads, and it seems to me that this forum is a very good resource with a friendly atmosphere. So, I decided to join and ask for some advice relating directly to my situation.

First, a little background, I ride a KHS hardtail. I can't remember the model name, but it has a cromolly frame and XT components. I recently had my bike in the shop for a "tune-up" and the shop mechanic said it was a "sweet ride." I have no complaints myself, so I think I'm OK on my bike for a while. Besides, until recently, I haven't been able to get any riding time in anyway (it had been almost 2 years since I did any real riding).

The reason I haven't been able to ride for a while and the reason for my post revolves around my recent marriage. During the last couple of years, all the planning, the traveling, the visiting, the house re-modeling, etc., ate up most of my free time so I haven't done any riding. I plan to get back into the mud heavily this year and my wife is going to get into it too. So, I need to get a bike for her.

She is age 24, 5'7" tall, and 130lbs. She hasn't done any riding since college, and never did any real mountain biking, but she is pretty aggressive when it comes to sports, or anything else for that matter. So, I don't want to get her something that she will out grow too quickly. For example, I introduced her to snowboarding this past season and set her up with an entry-level board, but she needed a real board before the end of the season.

So, I've been budgeting to spend about $450-$550 US. We've looked at some bikes and concentrated mainly on the Giant Yukon and the K2 Zed 3.0, because they were both comfortable for her and she likes both bikes. I'm leaning toward the Giant because, since the components are all pretty much the same, the Giant is a few bucks less, I've read nothing but favorable comments in this forum about Giant and the Yukon, and because of Giant's overall reputation. Also, the shop where I'd buy the Giant is closer to our home and it is a full-service shop with lifetime adjustments, good customer service, etc.

The problem is, just when I was ready to make a decision, I discovered another shop that is having a sale and puts the following bikes into my price range ($550 or less):

Giant Yukon
K2 Zed 3.0
GT Aggressor
KHS Crest
Marin Hawk Hill
Fuji Outland
Barracuda A2E/ A2BS
KHS ALite1000
Schwinn Mesa GSX
Marin Quake 5.0
GT Agressor 1.0

I haven't researched any of these other bikes (except the Yukon and the Zed) and that's where I'd appreciate some help. We're going to go to this new shop this weekend and test out a few of these other bikes, but I'd like to know what the members of this forum thinks about the choices above.

So, what do you think?

I look forward to reading any responses.

Thanks,
D

Stick with the K2 or the Giant! Marin's are o.k, KHS is also good. I don't like the Fuji's or the Barracuda's. GT isn't what it once was!

L8R

I second the Giant! :D

Specialized rockhopper. oops, thats not on the list is it? ;)

GT and Schwinn are now owned by Pacific, the same Pacific that puts bikes in discount stores. Not sure what's happened to their good bikes, but it's something to keep in mind.

Giants are great bang for the buck bikes. My first real bike was a Giant ATX 760 that I paid $500 for in 1992. Fully rigid, Shimano Exage stuff. Still have the stock front derailleur and cranks on her now that she's my beater bike.

OK...so...Giant and K2 are still on top and I should stay away from Fuji, Barracuda's, Schwinn, and GT....but KHS and Marin are OK.

Should I add the Specialized Rockhopper to the list?

Thanks,
D

The Specialized Rockhopper is a little more expensive than the Yukon, however ... like 75% more I think.

Don't forget to add Trek, and Gary Fisher! Both make good solid bikes in your price range. GF is actually owned by Trek, so they have nearly identical specs at each price point, but their geometries are totally different!

Personally, I like Specialized bikes the best for overall value and performance.

But there are so many different brands available, you should find exactly what fits your style best.

L8R

I believe the Giant Iguana also fits into that price range (don't bother with the disc option though, they lower the other specs to keep the price the same). The Trek 4900 is a good bike for about $550 that comes with a women's specific geometry which she may find more comfortable.
My only negative comment about the Yukon is that the stock fork is a little soft for my taste.

OK, I think we're ready to test a few bikes and make a purchase this weekend. Thanks for all the comments and info.

FYI: I priced the Iguana at several shops around here and it's over 550, but under 600 so we'll probably test it out. I found the Rockhopper for 500, with same Alivio/Deore components as the Yukon. There is also a women's frame for this one and we'll try it out too. I didn't frind the Trek 4900 yet, but I know who the local dealers are and I plan to scope it out this week.

Here is my narrowed list of options going into the weekend:
Giant Yukon (430)
Giant Iguana (580)
K2 Zed 3.0 (500)
Specialized RockHopper Womens (500)
Trek 4900 Womens (???)

I'll let you know what we get and try to post a pic next week...that's a rule, right?

Thanks again for all the advice,
--D
:beer:

I like the Iguana. Good frame, good(ish) fork. The place they skimp is the place thats easy to upgrade: deraileurs, brakes, (cage pedals on an entry level bike are par foor the course) etc. If you find the Alivo components are giving you a hard time its a very small ordeal to upgrade to Deore or LX.

Giant will probably give you the most bang for you buck. Specialized is a kick ass bike company. Take a look at the Hardrocks..You can get the Hardrock pro, which is built for abuse and comes with Deore mechanical disc brakes, for around $550 US I believe.

Isn't the Rockhopper a better line than the Hardrock?

Yeah, I wasn't sure if you were going that high in price or not, sorry. The Rockhopper is a better bike. The Axel fork is flexy, if this gives you trouble try to get your bikeshop to swap or give you a deal on a stiffer fork.

Happy shopping!!

It looks like the Hardrock Pro is more expensive than the Rockhopper...must be the disc brakes...we're going to see if she can test a Rockhopper (women's frame geometry) and a Trek 4900 WSD this weekend...if one of those feels right to her, I think I'm leaning toward one of those two over the Giant.

It's going to be a fun weekend regardless!

It's going to be a fun weekend regardless!

Sometimes shopping for a bike is almost as much fun as riding (especially when the weather is like it is now in Portland) :roflmao:

Test ride as many different bikes as possible, then test ride them again. The more you ride, the more you'll learn what you like and dislike. If you re-test ride the first ones, you'll be more observant to how it "feels". I did this with my wife and we spent 3 Saturday's test riding bikes. Our original budget was $500, by the time we decided what she liked, we were in the $600 to $650 range. It came down to two bikes and two different shops. At that point, it was who offered the best deal. Wouldn't you know it, they matched each other's prices. The end result was which color she liked best. We settled on a Purple GT Backwoods. That was back in '96, and we still have the bike! Of course she's NOW riding a fully decked out Cannondale Raven w/full XT. (about $3400 value).

L8R

She test rode everything this weekend and the one that she liked the best was the TREK 4900 WSD. So, that's what we bought yesterday. I'm picking it up on my way home from work and we're going to go for a ride this evening.

As soon as I have a chance to take some pics, I'll post them.

Thanks again for all the help. I know that we got the best bike for her, because of all the advice I was able to get here in this forum.

--D

Cool, hope she enjoys it.

L8R