Mountain Biking - DH rig?

I am trying to get into Downhill riding and i am looking for a bike around 1000 dollars i allready found a KHS DH-50 Fetish but i am up for ideas i dont wont to spend to much. All i need is an entry to intermediate level DH bike.

I think the fetish will work nicely for you. Got a couple of friends that ride/race them. Just make sure it does not have the DMX fork.

ok what fork should i get instead i can get marzocchi jr. t with bombshell wheel set for 500 along with the bike. I dont want to spend to much but i should be able to come up with enough my birthday is next month

The Jr. T is a good option. The wheelset you can leave wait till you wear them out. Does not make sence for you to buy a new wheelset while you are learning. But you'll want a better fork than the DMX.

JrT is ok for dh racing. However I would upgrade later (you can change the internals) to a superT. Signifigantly smoother ride and much much better damping for the high speed bumps you will be running into during a dh race. JrT's are freeride forks - one hit wonders - not rapid bumps :)

Maelstrom,

I agree with you. I think that a Jr.T will work fine for starting out. His point being getting into the sport on a budget. He will be better served taking the saved $$ and buying a good helmet and pads.

Get the lastest issue of MTB Action, it has the 2004 buyer's guide in it and several good articles on bike buying, one article in particular I think you will be interested in.

I had a Super T on a bike I was riding last year, that's the beefiest fork I ever rode. I even rode that bike at a local BMX park a couple times and jumped the big dumb heavy thing into the foam pit they had there. It was a real hoot. There's nothing like getting 15' of air on a 42 lb bike with 7" of suspension and landing in foam...

Supergo has the 03 super t for 550 which is a great deal. The super t would be a much better bet for downhill than the jr and for that price you cant beat it.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.aspx?i=FK707A43

As for a downhill rig, I would suggest that you look for a deal on a 2003 model. I say this because for 1000 your not going to get much of a downhill bike and, trust me on this, your going to regret not saving up more when a little while down the line your looking for a better bike. Once you start to progress in skills you will want a different bike, so all im suggesting is to look at where you will be skill wise a year or two down the road and try to forsee the bike you will want to be riding. Check out specialized bighit comp, the 04's are a little more expensive than the 03's, but you may be able to find an 03 sitting aroudn somehere. I know one of my local shops that has one and you can get a pretty good deal on it. Also with the bighits, or at least the comp, you can always buy the linkage upgrade that will allow you to get 8 inches of travel when you end up needing more. So its a very versatile bike that will work good in the long run.

Man, $550 is cheap for a Super T, maybe they are starting to closeout the '03's. I wasn't gonna say it first but I agree, a $1000 DH bike is probably not a good idea. Get the MTB Action mag and read it, if I remember right they said something similar...

If you can find a specialized dealer look for closeout bighit comp bikes, I know our shop sold one for around $1000. You can also buy a used one for around that, there are alot of used bighits if you look in the right places.