Mountain Bike Racing - What do I need to make my bike race ready?

hi, i am new to this forum but not MTB. I'm 13 and live on the east coast. I have the ironhorse warrior expert 2005. what do I need to make it race ready or is it fine? I'm looking to go into all different types of racing and experiment to see which one I like...thnx

it's fine. get out there and race.

Check up on your maintenance - check the cables & brakes, clean & lube. Have fun!

+1

make sure that what you have is working properly is the best advice.

Like everyone else said, just make sure everything is working properly and you have good brake pads. Other than that just go have a good time.

thnx. does anyone know of racing on long island like cross country?

www.dirtyevents.com some off road bi's and tri's

Try connecticut for the closest MTB race series

http://www.root66raceseries.com/

You'll need a good strong set of legs.

With the bike check-up make sure you check your tires. Depending on where you are riding, worn tires may not be your friend.

Best of luck to you with your racing. Welcome to the forums.

13 is a great age to get into racing, provided you don't take it or yourself too seriously. Just go out and have fun. But be prepared for it to hurt...

I got into MTB racing when I was about 13 too. My best suggestion would be to ride, ride, ride. Ride your MTB around the neighborhood, explore, find some trails. Never ever slow up because of your gear or bike - that was one of my big mistakes when I was starting out.

The best thing is that you can build a lot of muscle quickly as a teenager (both cardiovascularly and in your legs.) Plus, competing early on will definitely give you an edge when you're older.

If you want to have a future in racing, remember that everyday when you ride. Before you know it, you'll be racing and riding faster than you would have ever dreamed!:eek:

Legs to power it ;)

i have ridden 677 miles in one year. any opinions?:) does anyone recomend having a hardtail downhill bike? if not can someone link me a full suspension frame like one of these that is decent quality, i want to build a bike up and the frame to be less then $1000........ http://www.pricepoint.com/thumb/3-Parts-60-Frames-False.htm

And whatever you do, don't make any big changes to your bike just for the race. It will be doomed to go all bad on you, no matter what it is, lol.

what do you mean?

i have ridden 677 miles in one year. any opinions?:)


Sure...ride more. ;) I'm just a sport class racer but I already have in over 2,300 miles since 1/1/07. If you are serious about getting fast one of the best things you can buy is a road bike.

what do you mean?

He means if you are going to make changes to your bike do it a few days before your race so you can test out everything. Otherwise, something is going to go wrong.

Does anyone recomend having a hardtail downhill bike? if not can someone link me a full suspension frame like one of these that is decent quality, i want to build a bike up and the frame to be less then $1000........ http://www.pricepoint.com/thumb/3-Parts-60-Frames-False.htm

In your price range you should be shopping for complete bikes, not building one. You get much more for your money that way. Also, there are very few $1000 full suspensions worth buying. If you are set on one though check out Jamis.

does anyone recomend having a hardtail downhill bike? if not can someone link me a full suspension frame like one of these that is decent quality, i want to build a bike up and the frame to be less then $1000...Hardtail will be OK for beginner DH and partway into Sport maybe. Hopefully the races you go to will have a hardtail class (ours do here). Otherwise, you will quickly be at a disadvantage.

It is hard to build a FS DH bike for $1000. I came close with my first frame build but that was with some sponsorship help. Best way to stay anywhere near that figure is used. Something like a used Specialized BigHit or Iron Horse SGS might fill the bill. There were a bazillion of both sold three or four seasons ago.

I'm going to add to this post: I have a young friend who is finishing up an Iron Horse SGS DH build. It is his first try at this and he shopped VERY carefully with my only-occasional guidance along the way. I think he did VERY well and is going to wind up with a capable machine; but even at that, he came in a tick over $1,200:
Frame w/ rear shock ___150___Iron Horse SGS w/ Fox Vanilla RC
Front fork: ___$250___’03 ? Super T
Seat post:___ $70___29.8mm x 330mm Thompson
Seat: ___$15___T.H.E. DH seat
Seat post clamp:___$15___Salsa lip-lock.
Brakes front and rear:___$130___Hayes Mags with 8 inch rotors – came complete with adapters, discs, pads, and everything
Wheels and tires:___$270___Alex Supra DH rims with Tioga 2.3 tires and Dimension? Hubs front and rear came with rear cassette (unknown) (cost me 130 to get the wheel re-laced and buy the new hub, which is included in this price of 270 – took them a long time, so they gave me free labor)
Pedals: ___$15___Blackspire Mr. Chunkie
Handlebar: ___$25___Answer Pro-tapers
Shifters: ___$ 35___SRAM X.9’s
Front derailleur:___$20___SRAM X-Gen
Rear derailleur:___$40___SRAM X.9
Grips:___$5___Oury
Chain:___$30___SRAM PC-991
Front chain rings:___$80___Blackspire super pro chain ring set
Headset: ___$80___Blackspire Shore DH Headset

TOTAL___$1230