Mountain Biking - Need help: new to the forum and to mtb

Hello all,

Im Ryan. I recently moved to Blacksburg, VA for my graduate studies at VT. I quickly found out just how big MTB is here lol. I think like half the students ride bikes to school :) Anyways, I used to ride BMX when I was younger, so I know a little about bikes and about repairing them. I dont really know much about mountain bikes, but Id like to get involved. Im looking to get a decent fixer-upper for cheap. Im too broke to buy a new bike lol. Would you guys be able to give me some suggestions and guidance in this area? Just pretend like Im an infant, because if you start rattling off all kinds of MTB lingo right off the bat, Ill probably get confused :p I think i pretty much know the majority of the parts on a bike and the mechanics involved. So Im thinking I should probably be lookign for a fixer bike with a solid frame and fork. I figured that because theyre generally the most expensive parts (at least in BMX lol). Now Im kind of a big guy too, Im 6'4" ad 265lbs. Im not a fat@$$ though, I bodybuild, probably around 15% BF now and decreasing :) This, as you may have guessed, is part of the reason Id like to get into MTB. So what can you all tell me? :o

Well how much are we willing to spend? Also what type of riding are you going to do?

Well how much are we willing to spend? Also what type of riding are you going to do?

hmm, well that kind of depends on how much stuff i can sell lol. I definitely need to keep it below $100 if its going to need work though. A local guy had a Diamondback EX Coil. His price was just a little too much out of my price range though :/ i think he was looking for like $200, maybe $250. I really liked the bike though :( So if its a really good deal on a good bike that doesnt need work, i could prossibly go a little past $100, otherwise, I was hoping for something around $50. Is that unrealistic? lol

Oh, and and Ill likely be mostly riding on the street, but their are a number of bike trails around here that Im sure Ill try out. I doubt any of its really hardcore though.

i hope my prices arent unrealistic, i really want a bike :(

Do you think it would be cheaper to build a bike from scratch with used parts?
hows mongoose? they were decent bang for your buck bikes when i was into BMX
and what sized frame do i need? i tried using some formula i found online about using your inseam to calculate it, but it ended up giving me 19-20" which appears to be small lol
i missed out on a trek 850 at good will for $6. was that a killer deal, or is the 850 a piece of junk?
sorry for all the n00b questions, please bare with me :o

and also, im sure a "decent" bike to me = a crappy bike to you pros lol just keep that in mind. i just want the darn thing to hold up.

if i were you id save up to around 300, get something older like and 02-5 model, ill get some links for some decent bikes for you right now, just hold on

heres some links, you can always ship the bike if its too far from you
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/503360/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/455575/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/502529/

heres some links, check craigslist, kijiji, pinkbike ebay for used hardtails and let us know what you find

heres some links, you can always ship the bike if its too far from you
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/503360/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/455575/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/502529/

heres some links, check craigslist, kijiji, pinkbike ebay for used hardtails and let us know what you find
Those look very nice, but they're def out of my price range. Kind of hard to save up money when you have no job too :/ (I'm working on that part lol)

So what's kijiji? I'm on my blackberry now so I don't feel like going through the hassel of finding out via google with crappy DSL speeds. I've been checking blacksburgs craigslist but there's only like 1 bike posted a week :( maybe ill try roanoke's, its not far. Is pinkbike like an ebay just for bikes?

I'm also going to talk to my 2 uncles who are big into mtb. They both own like $2000-3000 bikes! Sheesh! That's like buying a used car! Lol

Your best bet is local craigslist.

Your best bet is local craigslist.
Yeah I been keeping an eye out on CL. Any chance of me finding a cheap one here on the forum?

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=67259

Thanx, I had skimmed ver that before. I just read it in a little more detail just not. So what I got out of it is that I need a hardtail, coils in the front (if I get one with front suspension), disk brakes if possible or just disk in front, and I guess some regular all terrain tires. I didn't see anything about the crank though (could have just missed it lol). Should I bother with a nice 3 piece crank? I know in BMX 1 pieces are garbage and a lot of 2's can't handle much abuse. I had an aluminum primo powerbite 3 piece on my Haro that I liked a lot.

bump for some input on last post :)

hows this look?
http://roanoke.craigslist.org/bik/1291480268.html

or this?
http://roanoke.craigslist.org/bik/1289148165.html

where'd everyone go? :(