Mountain Biking - newbie's got some questions

Hi all,I need a new bike bad.I used to bike a lot,did some racing,
but got out of it about 5 years ago when I got my license.Sold my
bike to mod my car.:( I've got $800 to get a new bike,and I'm
looking for a good XC hardtail.I'd really prefer a steel bike,but it
doesn't look like companies are making good ones anymore.
Seems like everything is ALU.Allright,on to the tech ?'s.

9speed:What's the deal here?Is it durable?I'm assuming it uses a
narrower chain.I really don't like the idea of it.Seems unnecessary
to me.Anyone with it please give me some feedback.

Forks:What's a good fork on bikes in this price range?I'm 175lbs
and ride pretty hard in very diverse terrain.I've always used air
oil forks in the past.Marzocchil XC51 and a Rock Shox Mag21slti.
A few of the bikes I've looked at have the Manitou SX,and the
Judy C.What do you think of these forks?

Disc Brakes:A few bikes I've looked at have the Avid Mechanical
Discs.Are these any good,as far as durability?Regualr V brakes
would be fine with me,my last bike had XT U's and canti's.

Shifters:Most of the bikes I've looked into have the Deore
shifters.Are these RF+'s?Any good?I like RF+'s and hate gripeshift
with a passion.Are the LX's much better?My last bike had XT
thumbies.

Any suggestions for a good bike for me would be great.I really
don't know what's out there.My knowledge is pretty dated.
I ride about 6-10 hours a week,pretty much all trail.It gets
pretty muddy in my area too.Thanks for any help,look forward to
chattin with ya'll on the boards!

Nine speed is durable. And it would really hard to get away from it unless you went singespeed.

I can't really talk about forks, the only one I've ever had is a Mag 10 and it crapped out on me. But personally I would go with Manitou. If you could get a Marzocchi that would be best. Look at some Gary Fisher bikes, I think they use Marzocchi on most of their bikes.

If you like to stop and stop good, get discs. If you like to stop and stop pretty good, get V brakes. If you don't care about stopping at all get canti's. But I doubt you'll find a bike with canti's for 800 bucks.

Deore shifters are fine.

As I have not been in the new bike market for about 6 years, preferring to build 'mixed and matched' bikes, I cannot help you with specific models but I will comment on your observations and questions. Sorry, it's long...


Originally posted by Singlecrack
...I'd really prefer a steel bike,but it
doesn't look like companies are making good ones anymore.
Seems like everything is ALU.

It's true that most bikes in the $250 - $1 200+ range use aluminum frames. In fact, many of the remaining steel frames (other than department store cheapies) are fairly expensive and there are many custom frame builders of steel MTB frames out there right now. There are exceptions however. For instance I know that Jamis (off the top of my head) offers both cheap and expensive steel rigid frames; however bike stores may not stock these because the general public right now "wants" aluminum frames. You should definitely ride any bike you intend to buy (obviously?) and you can form your own opinion about whether aluminum frames are, as a rule, 'harsher' and 'more stiff' than steel frames (an ongoing debate). I think it is safe to say that you will generally get a very well made aluminum frame on an $800 bike from a reputable company (I assume 800 US $$).


9speed:What's the deal here?Is it durable?I'm assuming it uses a narrower chain.I really don't like the idea of it.Seems unnecessary to me.Anyone with it please give me some feedback.

My personal opinion is that this is just more 'reinventing the wheel' crap crammed down the throat of consumers by the big 'S'. I mean, for road bikes OK but for MTBs? Having to dish the wheel even further over (going from 7 to 8/9)? No thanks. That being said, I gather most people are satisfied with their 9-speed setups. As you guessed, it uses a different width of tooth and hence a different chain from 8/7/6... speed. Some complaints I have heard (I still use 7 speed) are: more rapid wear of chainrings and cassettes (brand dependant), greater sensitivity to mud due to closer tolerances and the annoyance of having the chain rub the front derailleur cage in more gear combos than 7/8 speed. Because the front shifter is indexed (unlike your old XT front shifter) you can't fine tune the front derailleur position to get rid of it. That would drive me nuts!!

There is no choice but 9-speed now with new MTBs (do I hear 10? 11?) but I thought I would give you the update anyways.


Forks:What's a good fork on bikes in this price range?I'm 175lbs and ride pretty hard in very diverse terrain. I've always used air oil forks in the past.Marzocchil XC51 and a Rock Shox Mag21slti. A few of the bikes I've looked at have the Manitou SX,and the Judy C.What do you think of these forks?


I just got a '99 RS Judy XC used and I am very impressed. I don't think you will be dissapointed with either fork. The general consensus is that forks keep improving every year (it is a competitive market) and from what limited knowledge I have on the subject, I would have to agree. You will have to decide whether the characteristics of the fork (ie air vs oil/spring vs elastomer, travel and adjustments) suit your riding style. Check the link below.


Disc Brakes:A few bikes I've looked at have the Avid Mechanical Discs.Are these any good,as far as durability?Regualr V brakes would be fine with me,my last bike had XT U's and canti's.

V-Brakes are the norm for suspension and even rigid MTBs now. I haven't ridden the Avid Mech. Discs but I know they get rave reviews. One of the greatest assets of Discs is their performance in wet and muddy conditions. This is where rim brakes fall behind. You will have to decide how great a factor this is for you. Note: It is very expensive to upgrade to Discs later on, especially if your fork is missing the requisite tabs. Check http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/ for specific products, it is an enormous resource. This can answer your questions about the ratings of the bikes, forks, brakes and shifters you are looking at.


...My last bike had XT thumbies.
These are no longer made and are hard to find. I was thinking of putting a pair up on ebay to finance a major bike upgrade!

Good luck!

Oh, and make sure the bike fits you properly (a whole other can of worms!)

Thanks for the feedback guys.That link REALLY helped!There's
tons of great info there,thanks man!I'm gonna go test ride a
01 Schwinn Moab-1 and a 01 GT Avalanche 2.0 and see how I
like those.If not,I may try and piece a bike together out of new
and used parts.I know of a shop that has a ton of leftover 94
XTR stuff.;) Be nice if I could find some thumbies.I'll have to price
it out.

Originally posted by Singlecrack
...I'm gonna go test ride a
01 Schwinn Moab-1 and a 01 GT Avalanche 2.0 and see how I
like those.
Unfortunately Schwinn/GT were recently bought out by Pacific and you may have some trouble with warranty issues should they ever crop up. The upside is that there are usually discounts at this time of year and there are huge discounts on both Schwinn and GT bikes (up to 50%) so don't be afraid to haggle on the price a bit (or a lot ;) )


Originally posted by Singlecrack
If not,I may try and piece a bike together out of new
and used parts.I know of a shop that has a ton of leftover 94
XTR stuff.;) Be nice if I could find some thumbies.I'll have to price
it out.

It's usually more cost-effective to buy a complete bike but if you get some old XTR brand new and cheap that may change the balance. Just make sure that you can get replacement parts in your area (on your planet?? :D ) so that the money is not wasted!

Originally posted by bikerider
These are no longer made and are hard to find. I was thinking of putting a pair up on ebay to finance a major bike upgrade!

If you ever want to get rid of the XT thumbies, let me know. I have a pair on my geared bike that are almost 7 years old. I estimate they have close to 10k trail miles on them and still run great. 7 speed shifters running in friction mode on a 8 speed drivetrain.

I recently bought a new pair of XT thumbies off Ebay (gosh I love that site)..

I think they set me back $42.00...is that good? Anyway, I'd never use STi stuff as it has no friction option on it.

Good luck with the bike!

Rich

If you wanna fly you gotta get TI
Great bike for the price!
Corsair
Marzocchi Bomber fork
Deore group
Rolf Satelite wheels
$850 Used for a magizine review NICE

http://www.airborne.net/

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