Mountain Biking - Mountain Bike Recommendations

I am going to be buying a new mt. bike within the next week or so. I haven't been on one since last summer, and before that it was at least 8 years, but I want to get back into it. As well as riding a bit off-roads, what mt. bikes were made for, I do a lot of road riding as well, but I don't want to buy a road bike.

I think I want something that has full suspension, like a Raliegh or a Canndondale, and I want to spend in the range of $600 to $800. I would like full disc brakes as well.

Coming up in July, I will be doing the Seattle to Portland bike ride, so I want something that I can use for that.

Anyone have any recommendations on a good bike brand and model? I have been out of the scene for years and am curious what out there is good.

Thanks all!

Paul

How about a cyclocross bike? You lose the suspension but it is good trail riding, and for roads.

Other option once you get a MTB get a set of slicks for it to ride on roads..

For that price range you could look at the Specialized Rockhopper, Kona Blast, Kona Stuff, Giant Iguana..

Do MTBikers prefer hardtails over full suspension? If so, why? I personally haven't been on a full suspension bike, so I couldn't say one way or the other. But I guess that's another thing I would like to see what people prefer as well.

Thanks,
Paul

There has been quite a few threads HT vs FS.. Some prefer HT soem prefer FS, the one think that virtualy all agree on you can't get a decent FS for under $1000.

I have and prefer a ht...why because I really don't ride trails that need a dually. A ht can ride anything I am currently doing. I will get a dually for next summer...when my riding has progressed enough to use the suspension.

You can't get a good fs new for under 1000$. The bike will work but the quality will be poor. Not to say it wo't work for you but most fs bikes under 1000$ are equal. :)

It is good advice not to buy a full suspension bike for under $1000. Their designs are generally not as efficient (saps energy) and they weigh noticeably more than higher end FS bikes or hardtails. Cyclocross might be a good idea for dual purpose, but they usually don't have any suspension. I live along the route, although I have never ridden it, but I see a significant number of riders come through on hardtail mountain bikes with slicks on them. Whatever you get, make sure you put in plenty of miles in training (I hope you've started) and get yourself adjusted to your saddle. The ride is over 150 miles.
As far as bikes, the Giant Rainier may fit your demands. It is a decently lightweight hardtail frame, with clipless pedals and Avid mechanical discs. You won't need the discs for the STP, but they should be nice with all the Northwest's mountains, and the pedals should help with fatigue during the long ride. The one negative comment I have heard about it is the fork is a little soft, which be something of an annoyance on a long road trip.
Oh yeah, make sure you slow down as you pass through Winlock and take a look at the "World's Largest Egg." Don't blink or you'll miss the town! :D

Once you get used to a dully there is no going back. Its like sucker punching your cousin. Wait... nevermind. I think most people agree, if you're not a veteran, get a hardtail. Then you can entertain the HT vs FS debate.

I like HT because I can't afford a FS bike. My dream FS bike used to be a Santa Cruz Superlight ...

Many people have said that bikes under 1000 dollars are of poor quality. This i agree with, howver there are manygood deals on MTBR. I recently was about to buy a Santa Cruz Heckler frame for 400 dollars with a King headset. From there with 600 dolalrs you could build a really nice FS bike. Just my advice, look used sometimes you find a really good deal.

Originally posted by psgrn
I am going to be buying a new mt. bike within the next week or so. I haven't been on one since last summer, and before that it was at least 8 years, but I want to get back into it. As well as riding a bit off-roads, what mt. bikes were made for, I do a lot of road riding as well, but I don't want to buy a road bike.



It sounds like you are going to be doing more road biking than off-road stuff so I am thinking a hard tail would be better than dual suspension.

I just recently bought a MTB. It is a Brodie Bruzza. I do about 90 % of my cycling on the street with this bike and 10 % off road sort of stuff. It is a hard tail but does have good front suspension which really helps going over really rough patches on the road, over potholes etc etc and I have much less wrist pain than I did on my rigid fork bike from the constant pounding over curbs and bad roads (we have alot of them around here).

You are going to get alot of different opinions on this. Dual suspension bikes are great when you are out doing off-roading but I think way more bike than you need if you are going to do mostly road stuff and don't really intend to do alot of off roading. Of course, if money is no object you have more options but otherwise - I would put the money that you were going to spend on the dual suspension towards getting a higher end hard tail that will be more suited to the kind of riding you have stated that you plan to do.
But that is just my opinion.

Justen

Originally posted by psgrn


I think I want something that has full suspension, like a Raliegh or a Canndondale, and I want to spend in the range of $600 to $800. I would like full disc brakes as well.

Paul

Paul,

A couple of other things that I forgot to mention :

Full suspension bikes can be pretty heavy and thus greater rolling resistance - especially with bigger tires. I personally think a dual suspension bike would look kind of odd with semi-slicks but that is probably the kind of tire you would want for the long road tours you are doing.

Disk brakes are really overkill if all you are doing is road cycling with a little off-roading. With the amount you plan to spend, having disk brakes will guarantee that you will make sacrifices in the quality of other components on the bike which might be more important to you. The disk brakes are great in really wet or muddy conditions.

The decent dual suspension bikes here start at $2000.00 (Canadian dollars) which is something like $1300-1400 USD (not totally sure about the conversion but I know it is more than $600-800 USD).

Anyway, I would suggest you go and test ride some dual suspension bikes and see how they feel. Then go back to the hardtails.

By test ride....I mean really test ride. Take them out for half an hour if you can, not just around the block. Any reputable bike shop will have no problem with this.
Then you can really see how a dual suspension might feel after some longer rides on the road.

Sorry for the long note. I am no expert in this area but have learnt a great deal from the people here and my own experiences.

Justen

As far as Hardtails in that price range along with Kev's suggestions you can add: Specailized Hardrock Pro and Gary Fisher Tassajara. I'm planning on getting the Fisher any day now.

The Kona Nunu is also in your price range. It's a bit more than I wanted to go or I would have seriously considered it.

Originally posted by psgrn

I think I want something that has full suspension, like a Raliegh or a Canndondale, and I want to spend in the range of $600 to $800. I would like full disc brakes as well.



i think that you have to think in more $$$ if you want a full suspension, and thats depends on what terrain you are going to ride the bike, if you are going to buy a ht or a dualsuspension
thats just my opinion

nicolas

Thanks people. I am going to go test ride some bikes, and since my budget is only $600 to $800 right now, I will probably stay in hardtail, until I get more experienced, and my budget increases to around $1300 to $1400.

Thanks again,
Paul

I'm sure you'll find yourself pretty happy with the kind of hardtail you can get for that range. After you've had a chance to test ride some, feel free to start a new thread if you have any more questions.