Mountain Biking - Should I get this bike?

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PiratePete
03-20-04, 10:12 AM
I've been riding a roadbike and a beat up hardtail for about a year and it's time for a nice mountain bike. I'm 5'10" 150-160 lbs with about $800 budget. This bike will be for trail riding with no more than 2 or 3 foot jumps. What do you think about this DiamondBack XSL

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3667143797&category=27948

It looks like it has quality components all around, good condition, and not a bad price. LBS has a nice 2003 Haro Extreme X1 for $600. Is it worth getting the more expensive DiamondBack with better components, since I'm just a beginner? I could always upgrade it down the road. Do I even need a full suspension bike, I could get a really nice hardtail for the money.

Maelstrom
03-20-04, 11:13 AM
Go for a good ht. :)
MikeOK
03-20-04, 11:35 AM
That's an excellent entry level dually. I rode an XSL for awhile and liked it except for the steep head angle. If you plan to do technical riding this will serve you well. I'm not sure I would give $900 for it but it's a good bike.

I also had some warranty issues with DB once and they treated me very well. In fact, the XSL I had was a replacement frame for a Vlink that I had cracked the frame on. They actually replaced my old Vlink with the more expensive XSL, and I had owned it for nearly 5 years when it failed.

diamondback_man
03-21-04, 04:38 PM
YES!!!! I love people who support DiamondBack! Why do people think they're so junky? We'll show them won't we PiratePete!! :D
DieselDan
03-21-04, 04:52 PM
The XSL is a pretty good bike. The rear suspension is liscensed from Specialized. Diamondback isn't the company it used to be. They're looked upon as a X-Mart bike sold in LBSes. My '01 Sorrento has taken a pretty good beating and deserves to be upgraded more then I've done, but I have succomed to the temptation of road riding and only trail ride occasionally.