Mountain Biking - New Bike ? XC,Trail,Freeride? CONFUSED

Hello,
road biker so please exuse the ignorance.

Looking at getting a decent all around off road bike. NO racing, just trails, maybe some medium hard stuff - riverbeds, occasional downhill. No man made stunts. I am 37 yrs old, looking to have fun. I am in Toronto Ontario so whatever terrain I can get to.

I looked at Kona Kikapu, Fuel 90 and Stumpjumper FSR. All about 2000 Canadian. Should I be looking at a Kona Dawg or something? Are these too ligh/not strong enough, not enough travel?

Would a Rockhopper FSR Comp Disc be a better frame for me than the Stumpjumper? Would an Enduro or Liquid be better all around bike? No Hucking (not sure what it even is)

Very confused...

thx
Ken


:D

The one's you're looking at are closer to what you want for the riding you described. The Dawg is a little closer to a Freeride bike. Bigger drops, etc. 80-100 mm travel should be plenty. Be sure and ride whatever you are looking at to see how it feels to you. Good Luck and happy shopping. :)

Personally, I'd stick with Specialized. Their suspension design is proven to be one of the best year after year. You'll find other designs similar, but if the rear pivot if on the seat stay vs the chain stay, it's not a true Horst Link design. There are a few companies that license that design and offer some good bikes, but why get a copy when you can get the original for a good price.

For what you've described, your riding style is more XC oriented or more "trailbike" (an all day riding bike) no more than 4 inches of travel front and rear and weight below 30 lbs. preferable less than 28 lbs. Any lighter and you blow your budget.

Big ?. Do you need discs? If no, then you can save $200-300 from a bike with discs.

KHS has some nice bikes, Jamis's bikes are good buys for the money. Iron Horse licenses the Horst link and you can find some good deals on 2003 model bikes. Giant's XTC are very good bikes and also a good value.

I don't really like the Trek's and Gary Fisher's. Their design is good if you're a racer and want a hardtail type full supsension bike. What I mean is a full suspension that is set-up so stiff, it's like riding a hardtail.

L8R

Man, all these classifications really suck if you ask me. I remember back in the day when a mountain bike was just a mountain bike, and your STYLE dictated what you did, not your bike :(

hey ksginh, sorry this ain't about ur choices, but i was wondering, where do you ride in Toronto? are u in any clubs? Cuz i just bought a hardtail bike and only rode on one trail (the dvp one) but i'm looking for others and to join a club to trail ride everywhere...cycle path have some decent bikes, and the deals are good since u can bargain with 'em

toronto bike club (http://tbn.on.ca/retailer/rtdb/discount.htm)
this is the retailer discount page for the toronto bicycling network, look on the left side columns.. there is information about road and mountian biking.. they have rides sat, sun, wednesdays and fridays. lots of info and even nobby trail days for newbies.

a big club but lots of diversity so don't be afraid that you won't fit in.. :)

p.s. in the off season - what's that..lol- they have skiing, hiking ,spinning and include inline skating to cross train with your cycling.

have fun.

thx for the replys, any other opinions? I have till Saturday...

cheers

Get a Stumpjumper FSR Comp. I have one, and it amazes me. I love it!