Mountain Biking - Trusted Mountain Bike Names

Can anyone help me, im shopping for a mountain bike, and there seems to be soooo many different kinds. I just want to hear what someone would recommend and why.
Ill say under $500, I'm shopping used though, so please don't let that stop you if you, Im only throwing price in there because I noticed even some used bikes are well over $500.
Thank you very much!!

Specialized, Trek, Giant, Fisher, Jamis, amongst others. I'm too tired to post reasons why.

We can guide you a bit better if we know a little more about what your needs are in a mountain bike. Will it be used strictly on trails, or will you be doing some road riding with it as well? With a $500 budget, your best bang for the buck will be with a used hardtail (front suspension only) which will handle both of those uses. As you probably know, Craigslist is your friend here.

Hey,
Thank you for the responses, I know I probably come off as pushy, but I have to get a bike soon so I can get back out there. It is indeed a need for both.
I want to get into trails a lot more than I already am, but I also enjoy long paved rides. I have searched Craigslist and Ebay for every kind of bike and in every nearby state I could think of.
I am looking for a 17.5"-18" frame. I can handle full suspension even on road, unless it's really not that big of a difference in comfort? I'm not too sure how this all works. You'll have to forgive.
Also- I hear with one of the Cannondales, you can actually lock the front suspension for road purposes?
I know I can't afford a cannondale, just would like to know I didn't make that up in my head. haha.
Thanks,
Ill look forward to reading the responses I get tomorrow.
Gnight.
Chris

correct me if i am wrong, but if you want to ride on the road too, i would get a hardtail with stiff front suspension. i believe you can adjust the stiffness on most shocks. a full suspension bike will make a very tiring ride on the road.

Specialized, Trek, Giant, Fisher, Jamis, amongst others. I'm too tired to post reasons why.

Hmmm...Specialized? Check.
Trek? Okay...why not...check.
Giant? Reign supreme...check.
Fisher? Meh...I'll skip it.
Jamis? Not so much...pass. (unless you're looking for a bashable but heavy hardtail...I could still recommend much better alternatives)

:lol: Get 'em!

^Ignore the official comment OP.

Trek, Specialized, Gary Fisher, Cannondale are your more popular brands.

But Giant and Ironhorse offer good bang for the buck. Scott makes some good rigs.

Kona and Jamis have nice frames.

Motobecane..... I don't like them, reminds me to much of a road bike =p.

KonakonakonakonakonakonakonaFisherkonakonakonakonakonakona

KonakonakonakonakonakonakonaFisherkonakonakonakonakonakona

Gee, I wonder which brand you endorse :rolleyes:

Next, Schwin, Mongoose, Hyper System, Polaris, Mantis, Huffy... The full suspension bikes, especially under $100, are awesome. Way better than the expensive stuff you'll find at a bike shop. All the pros buy their bikes at Kmart.

:)

Next, Schwin, Mongoose, Hyper System, Polaris, Mantis, Huffy... The full suspension bikes, especially under $100, are awesome. Way better than the expensive stuff you'll find at a bike shop. All the pros buy their bikes at Kmart.

:)

:lol:

Next, Schwin, Mongoose, Hyper System, Polaris, Mantis, Huffy... The full suspension bikes, especially under $100, are awesome. Way better than the expensive stuff you'll find at a bike shop. All the pros buy their bikes at Kmart.

:)

BZZZT!

Wrong answer.

come to NE I'll sell you my TREK Mt. Track 850XL for $150 been a great bike 19.5" frame... :D

19.5" is way too massive for me. I tried on a 19 and couldn't touch the ground. =(
I'm 5'9".
At any rate... Are Kona's any good for real?
I can pretty much tell when people are jesting, or being sarcastic, just not that guy... Lol.

Perhaps it's just nationalism but Rocky Mountain and Kona are my favourites... so there is that and they fact they make some really excellent bikes.

Read the stickys n00b! It'll help you a great deal.

Rich.........a really did lol.

+1 for KONA

19.5" is way too massive for me. I tried on a 19 and couldn't touch the ground. =(
I'm 5'9".
At any rate... Are Kona's any good for real?
I can pretty much tell when people are jesting, or being sarcastic, just not that guy... Lol.

Yes, Kona is a good bike.

Their frames pwn
=)

Perhaps it's just nationalism but Rocky Mountain and Kona are my favourites... so there is that and they fact they make some really excellent bikes.

Ahhhh crap..Rocky Mountain...I need to move further North where they make real bikes. I always forget about RM's. Freakin' beautiful machines.

I have a KONA and really, really like it. Wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

As mentioned, Rocky Mountain is also a really good brand. Another couple of Canadian brands that are good are Norco and Brodie. Both are quite popular in this part of the world.

http://www.norco.com

http://www.brodiebikes.com/

Ahhhh crap..Rocky Mountain...I need to move further North where they make real bikes. I always forget about RM's. Freakin' beautiful machines.

Kona is an American / Canadian venture and both Kona and Rocky developed their bikes on the north shore to really fine tune their bikes to be unmatched when it comes to twisty single track and steep climbs.

Besides my Blizzard I have a first year 1988 Kona Explosif steel frame (that I can't seem to sell) as few people have the appreciation for steel hard tails that I do...this bike would have been built when Joe Murray was still at the helm.

I had a fellow come into the shop today and he told me he had worked in the RM frame shop back from 1990 to 2002 so there may have been a chance he was the builder of my frame.

The Blizzard is an outstanding frame but because they are hand built to order the frame alone now runs $1000.00... and they are worth every penny.

Brodie also makes an outstanding mountain bike and they have to be ridden to be appreciated.

Cannondale!!!! There great bikes and the front fork can be locked out for road riding and they are expensive bikes but you can get a F8 hardtail for around $475 new. Iv never rode a F8 but they look good for the price. Or save an extra $300 and get an F5 lol. There sweet

I would trust a mountain bike named BOB...

BOB is a friendly name...

Kona is an American / Canadian venture and both Kona and Rocky developed their bikes on the north shore to really fine tune their bikes to be unmatched when it comes to twisty single track and steep climbs.

Besides my Blizzard I have a first year 1988 Kona Explosif steel frame (that I can't seem to sell) as few people have the appreciation for steel hard tails that I do...this bike would have been built when Joe Murray was still at the helm.

I had a fellow come into the shop today and he told me he had worked in the RM frame shop back from 1990 to 2002 so there may have been a chance he was the builder of my frame.

The Blizzard is an outstanding frame but because they are hand built to order the frame alone now runs $1000.00... and they are worth every penny.

Brodie also makes an outstanding mountain bike and they have to be ridden to be appreciated.

I knew a guy in GA that has a Rocky Mountain Blizzard. I remember him commenting on the A: Money value. B awesomeness and rareness for our area, and C: the classic value and the mental value it has.

Was a nice bike, I saw it a few times.

I almost got a RM Vertex 30. The last one they had in my size had a gouged stanchion. I wanted the fork replaced (not a mark down) so he said he'd have to send the entire bike back to RM to have them look at it. Not the fork to the manufacturer, the entire bike to RM.

Two weeks go by and no call. So I call them. Said that he didn't send it out yet. Two more weeks go by and same thing.

SO here it is six weeks after I agreed to buy it if they replace the fork and he tells me that he will give me 75 bucks credit if I get an upgraded fork. Apparently he never sent it back to RM.

So in other words, I have to BUY a new upgraded fork to tune of around $400 after selling the damaged one back to him. That does not seem fair to me at all. I just wanted the same fork but not damaged. He said he doesn't have one and I can either buy the upgrade or take the bike as is, with a $75 deduction.

I just stood there and looked at him.

After about 2 mins of us staring at each other, I said..."If this was your bike and you spent this much, would YOU take it with a gouged and leaking fork?" He smirked and said "To be honest, hell no. But that's what my boss said." So I stared at him again. He began to feel uncomfortable so I said no thank you and went to Kona.

i'm a newbie but from personal experience - i recommend the specialized rockhopper. its retail value was like $700 but we got it for <$400 - $500 (don't remember exactly). no more than $500 (if that much). i recommend it because it is very light weight (double butted aluminum frame & fork) but has full suspension and large rugged tires for mountain bikes. the deore components provide smooth shifting too. this bike really has the best of both worlds - light weight like a fast road bike but has the bells and whistles of a mountain bike.

Don't necessarily count out all Schwinns and Mongooses. They both make some really nice bikes in addition to their lines of imitation mountain bikes.

The Schwinn PDG 90 is one of my favorite MTB frames of all time (http://hartford.craigslist.org/bik/1306313836.html) Too bad it's too big for you and the dude is asking too much money for it. $350 for such an old rig is crazy, unless it's pristine.

Brodie also makes an outstanding mountain bike and they have to be ridden to be appreciated.

Mmm...Brodie. I want a Holeshot. I hate my hardtail's frame and would love to move over the components. Would need to buy a bigger fork too though, which is the main thing stopping me.

*gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt* *gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt* *gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt* *gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt* *gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt**gt*

WTB: Rear derailleur (Sora, Tiagra, 105, Deore or Deore LX)....anything 8 speed compatible.

For what?

i'm a newbie but from personal experience - i recommend the specialized rockhopper. its retail value was like $700 but we got it for <$400 - $500 (don't remember exactly). no more than $500 (if that much). i recommend it because it is very light weight (double butted aluminum frame & fork) but has full suspension and large rugged tires for mountain bikes. the deore components provide smooth shifting too. this bike really has the best of both worlds - light weight like a fast road bike but has the bells and whistles of a mountain bike.

Wow.....thast some awesome stuff right there. Classic!

i'm a newbie but from personal experience - i recommend the specialized rockhopper. its retail value was like $700 but we got it for <$400 - $500 (don't remember exactly). no more than $500 (if that much). i recommend it because it is very light weight (double butted aluminum frame & fork) but has full suspension and large rugged tires for mountain bikes. the deore components provide smooth shifting too. this bike really has the best of both worlds - light weight like a fast road bike but has the bells and whistles of a mountain bike.

One of these guys? http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2003&Brand=Specialized&Model=Rockhopper+FSR+Disc&Type=bike
I saw one of them at a garage sale not too long ago. At first glance, I assumed it was an older FSR XC. Did a double take when I saw it said Rockhopper!

Wow.....thast some awesome stuff right there. Classic!

*flicks '66 in forehead* :notamused: