Mountain Biking - someone help

i'm am trying to get started biking. my parents are buying me a bike for xmas.

in our searches a salesman told me to get a trek4500 while another told me to get a raleigh m50.

are either of these good?

also my parents were looking at a mongoose intake and were wondering if this would be okay to start out on since they are a lot cheaper and if i decide i like the sport then they would get me a more expensive bike. is a mongoose a good pick or is it just a toy and worthless bike like one man told us.

we need a valid opinion.
can anyone help?

I don't know much about the Raleigh, except that they are probably low end bikes. I never see them talked about in magazines either. Mongoose makes a decent professional model bike, (one's you see in bike shops, not the Wal-Mart bikes), but the fact that they sell bikes through department stores has ruined their name for a lot of people.
In my humble opinion, I would definately go with the Trek. They are a well known and respected name. I would assume that it is probably the most expensive of the one's your looking at, but you get what you pay for.
Good Luck and happy riding. DG

I don't know anything about Mongooses but I looked at a few Raleigh's before I bought my Giant. I can't directly comment on the M50 as the UK range is different. The Raleigh's all seemed good value for money and no worse than any other bikes at the price range I was looking at (pretty low :)). If you're largely going to be riding the street with a little gentle off-roading you probably don't need to spend that much, but if you're looking at downhill riding you're obviously talking different needs.

Decide what riding you're wanting to do and what you're maximum budget is before looking for a bike.

Richard

Raleigh bikes aren't that bad actually. They have sold-out to other companies a couple times in their history. When I was looking at bikes, Raleigh tended to put a few "Wowzer" parts on it, and then cut corners where you might now look. For example, the one I looked at had an Alivio rear derailleur, but a front derailleur with no name on it.I don't know what that is about. But I went and looked at this years line-up and is doesn't look to bad. Do you know what your parents price range is? The m50 seems to have no name parts(headset,bottom bracket,hubset,pedals) and those may not serve you very well depending on how hard you ride it.

Holy Cow!!! I just went and compareed the m50 and the 4500...the 4500 kicks the m50 bootie!!!!! Don't get the m50. Let me go see about the Mongoose.

Umm, I don't see and intake...Did your parents find the intake at a wal-mart type store? If so, DO NOT GET IT.

thanks for your help. how are you comparing the information? anyway the 4500 was the most expensive one we looked at it was about $430 and the m50 was $325. of course i really like the trek 4500 a lot better but i'm not sure if its worth the price. the mongoose intake was at a sporting good store which is like a department store and i was completely hesitant about it but when i looked at it, it did look really good almost in comparison with the raleigh. it had all the same things....i just dont know what the difference would be? maybe you could help? b/c the bike was only 200 dollars. i'm hesitant to have my parents spend a lot of money bc/ i have a habit of getting into things and then dropping my interest and it just sits.....so that is what my parents are afraid of. but i think the price range right now is between two and three hundred.....what do you suggest?

I own a Mongoose NX7-1, which is no longer available. Not that I don't like my bike, but I would not buy a Mongoose again (due to it's bad name) and definitely don't even consider one from X-mart. I recently bought my GF a Raleigh MTB. I don't recall the model, but it was in the $300 range and did not have suspension. It was the perfect bike for her, but you are probably looking for something you can be more aggressive with. Trek has the best name out of the three brands mentioned, but if money is a big factor, I am sure you would be more than happy with the Raleigh.

Don't get the Mongoose. You will be completely unhappy with it. I compared information by looking at the bike specs. The m50 has a Suntour fork on it. Suntour forks are beginner forks, and if you plan on any serious riding, you will want a new fork. Of course, the Judy TT on the Trek is beginner too, but I liked it better than the Suntour when I was testing bikes. The Suntour fork on the m50 is adjustable, so if you weigh more than 140 or so it won't work very well. I tried out several bikes with Suntour forks and didn't like any fo them. The Trek Also comes with full Alivio, a step up from the m50, which is mix and matched with low end stuff. Alivio isn't highend, but it isn't the worst either.I rode a bunch of bikes with Alivio and Alivio is fine. Don't go lower than Alivio in my opinion. I could go on about each of the specs, but it would take forever. So I will tell you what I did when I shopped for bikes. Print out the specs(specifications) and then go to www.mtbr.com and reveiw the parts. MTBR isn't fool proof, but it'll help you out.

Don't go lower than Alivio in my opinion.

You might find some bikes use SRAM stuff instead of Shimano, which is generally reasonable quality, but not everybody likes Gripshift's.

Richard

Suntour forks and didn't like any fo them

Fubar know's a lot more about forks than me, but as someone who's got a low-end Suntour fork on his bike, I can only say it's perfectly adequate for the riding I do, which is mainly road but some fairly rough woodland bridleways (nothing too tricky though).

Have you looked at the low-end Giants? I'm happy with mine but I'm more of a commuter than a real off-roader.

Richard

Originally posted by latakiahaze


You might find some bikes use SRAM stuff instead of Shimano, which is generally reasonable quality, but not everybody likes Gripshift's.

Richard

Ah Ha!! I'm glad you brought up SRAM Richard! SRAM is a good component maker also. Are you familiar with the SRAM shifting system and the Shimano shifting system??
I haven't used SRAM very much so I can't really say how good their lowend stuff like 4.0 or 3.0 is.

I have had Gripshift on my last two MTB's, and have no problems with it. I wouldn't say that I like it better or worse than Shimano, but since I am used to it, I prefer it.

Dont know much about the raleigh. Dont go for the mongoose.The Trek is a great bike for the money.If your parents cant swing the money for the 4500 you could drop to the 4300.My mother in law asnd sister inlaw both have one and i really like them .They felt real good and rode nice(for a lower end bike).You might also consider looking for a gt or schwinn especially mailorder like supergo or others because of the bankruptcy deal. They both make nice bikes in that price range.

Hey Fubar...which component set are you going to get for your new ride??

Originally posted by Diligum
Hey Fubar...which component set are you going to get for your new ride??


The Kona Stinky I'm saving up for? Its a mix of Deore LX and straight Deore..My Fisher right now is full XT.

Re: Raleigh M50 - I read a query in the letters page of a recent copy of 'Mountain Bike' I picked up in London yesterday (being a US import it may not be the lastest issue - it had a picture of Alison Dunlap on the cover and something about 'the best'). The guy writing in was asking what it was like and their expert said it was a decent aluminium framed bike with no material disadvantage to others for racing I seem to recall (I'm paraphrasing from memory as I passed the magazine on to a neighbour).

Richard