Mountain Biking - what's your favorite under $2k MTB

Hello all.

Well I just returned from San Diego and spent all my extra time checking out bikes, I must have rode $30k worth of bikes, Giant,Specialized Cannondale and about everything in between. so now I am real confused and want about three bikes.

I really like the Stumpjumper fsr comp, real sweet bike. Also the Giant's ride real nice , but the frame seems a little too delicate for my riding area, I think one sharp rock and that'll be that.

Just wondering what all of you guys have and like. I think I'm going to get that Sumpjumper in the nasty yellow paint and give her some discs and a new saddle and call it good. But still looking .

My only problem is the local shop(only shop on the island) is a Specialized dealer who is right at msrp on the bikes, he'll save me shipping and offers the usual services on bikes he sells. If I go another route I will have to order and I'll be on my own for repairs/maintanence, which I could probably deal with.

so many nice bikes. I just wish I could found a Kona and a Trek to ride.

see ya

I would probably agree with you in the Stumpy / NRS area, but the NRS is strictly a cross country bike. For a hair over 2k you can get one of the new VTs with the Manitou shock on the rear. Its only been in production for a year, so I'd let it get a little more time under it's belt, otherwise the VT looks pretty good.

I would say the Stumpy FSR is.

The FSR is an awsome bike. I too had to pay retail. They didnt anticipate the sales on them being so high. They put alot more effort into the epic line. Even paying the retail, I felt the price was good for the components on the bike. The brakes arent the best and like many, I too added disc brakes. Big difference. Both the Stumpy and NRS are nice bikes. I doubt you would have trouble with either of them unless your a hard core freerider. You made the right decission to ride several bikes to see what suits you best. Im not sure about Giants warranty, but specialized has gone to a lifetime warranty on their aluminum frames rather then the old 5 yr. Just something to consider. Good luck on whatever you choose.

Mine :D

I prefer hardtails myself, so I'd go for the Trek 8000/8500

Favorite under 2000$ would be Ironhorse SGS pro or Kona Stinky. Oh and the Giant AC1 (is that under 2000$ in american coin)

Complete bike, or just frame?????

There are soooooo many sweet bikes for every type of riding. I like most of Specialized bikes. The Ironhorse bikes this year seem sweet. ( I haven't ridden any yet!). K2's Tirade seems sweet for the price. Yeti's Kokopelli Disc is a sweet XC full squish bike that just seems to FLOW under you. Have you seen their bike on Supergo, or JensonUSA? All of Kona's bikes have a solid feel to them that you know the bike can go bigger than you!

Too many choices. What are some of your other choices?

If FRAME only, I'd of course choose an Intense Uzzi SLX with the Progressive 5th Element shock!

L8R

Well, my only local shop is a Specialized dealer, so that is good for service. But I really don't care about that all that much , I can do about anything maintanence wise and can order parts cheeper than he sells them so no worries there.

I just want something tough , GOOD climber and did I say tough.

I just rode my roomates crappy old GT(the only markings on bike) hard tail on my usual ride which is 2.1 mi climb up to 2400ft then down the back side for another 4mi which is a real gnarley trail used by 4wheelers and man it was miserable until I hit some real mello bottom trails and back out to the dirt road. FS is a must for me. My 210lb A@# on that uncomfortable HT was murder and the bike climbed like I was on the paper boys huffy.

Ok back to bikes. I tried to order my Stumpy FSR comp the other day, but have to wait until monday to get the right person to order it. In the mean time I am trying to make sure it is the right bike($1500+ is scarey). Also I have herd that there is a long wait on the model I want and I'm itching to get rolling, the weather is awesome and the mountains are calling.

The big advantage of the Specialized versus the NRS is ye old Horst link. The wheel travel on the Stumpy FSR is purely vertical thanks to this little guy. On the NRS, the wheel follows a circular path. This means your chain is going to be stretching and contracting, which often leads to ghost shifting and problems of this nature. Also, the NRS is designed so that pedaling forces effectively lock out the rear shock-the FSR is going to be more active over bumps while you're pedaling.
The Kokopelli is a pretty sweet ride too, and your LBS can get them in, even if they're not officially a dealer. They won't make much money at all on it so they may try to talk you out of that.