Mountain Biking - Upgrading to a full suspension bike

Hi,

I've been riding a Trek 7000 hard tail for a couple of years and it's getting time to upgrade, I think, to a full suspension bike. I've ridden a few friends' fs bikes and found them more to my liking.

I've been visiting the local shops and trying some different bikes (other than Trek) - like Giant, Specialized, etc.... But I think I like the Fuel series by Trek the best so far. The Fuel 95 I test rode was very slick!

Any thoughts or opinions on the Treks? I certainly got my money's worth from the 7000 (rode it like it was a tiny yz250 ;) ) so I may be unnecessarily patial to the Treks for that reason and not fully recognizing the merits of the other brands.

Thanks for any helpful comments.

Daf

I can't really comment...much.

I tried the fuel bike when I was bike shopping for my first dually...I hated it. Felt like crap. But really...its a personal preference...if you liked it...all hte power to ya. Buy it and ride it like a yz450 (do those even exist..I just added a number) :D

well he's right. whenever getting a new bike make sure you like it and you find it confortable. (personal reference)

I can't really comment...much.

I tried the fuel bike ...I hated it. Felt like crap.

Thanks for the replies - I wish you had elaborated (Maelstron) on the above statement a little - crap has many definitions ;) What part of the ride didn't you like and what bike did you end up with that felt "better" ... and for what reason?

And I certainly agree with the "comfortable" reasoning. My worry is that since I have only riden a Trek I may have become a bit biased - and that bias may be based in ignorance of what a good bike "should" feel like. The other bikes I tried didn't feel "bad" so to speak. But if the demo bike's seat was too high, or not setup well it may have given me a wrong impression....

Doesn't Trek have a decent reputation quality-wise? Bottom line is that the next bike will be in the $1500 to $2000 range and I would like to get both quality and comfortabilty - and the comfortability can be "learned" ;)

Thanks again!
Daf

Hi,


Any thoughts or opinions on the Treks? I certainly got my money's worth from the 7000 (rode it like it was a tiny yz250 ;) ) so I may be unnecessarily patial to the Treks for that reason and not fully recognizing the merits of the other brands.

Thanks for any helpful comments.

Daf

I was shopping for my first full suspension earlier this year and narrowed my search to the Trek Liquid or Gary Fisher Cake. Both are in the "all-mountain" category, with 5" of travel. I tried both, and ended up getting a Cake 2DLX in June. It "felt" better to me. Then I found out Trek and Fisher are the same company.

Trek makes a great, solid product. If you want to read rider reviews of bikes (and reviews of products in general) see www.mtbr.com.

Thanks for the replies - I wish you had elaborated (Maelstron) on the above statement a little - crap has many definitions ;) What part of the ride didn't you like and what bike did you end up with that felt "better" ... and for what reason?

And I certainly agree with the "comfortable" reasoning. My worry is that since I have only riden a Trek I may have become a bit biased - and that bias may be based in ignorance of what a good bike "should" feel like. The other bikes I tried didn't feel "bad" so to speak. But if the demo bike's seat was too high, or not setup well it may have given me a wrong impression....

Doesn't Trek have a decent reputation quality-wise? Bottom line is that the next bike will be in the $1500 to $2000 range and I would like to get both quality and comfortabilty - and the comfortability can be "learned" ;)

Thanks again!
Daf

I felt the suspension was mush even with the proper spring. When I demoed it I took it on a trail and found it tracked everywhere. This is usually caused by a flattened tire OR a flexy rear end. The tire was fully pumped. It also produced a lot of pedal bob (wasted energy) in comparison to the bighit I tested and the Stinky I tested (which is ironic cause I thought the stinky and the fuel would be similar at least) In all cases those were the main 3 things I was trying to avoid when moving to a dually, and the fuel suffered with all of them. :)

I ended up with a bighit. Suited my needs more. Stiffer rear end, very little pedal bob and overbuilt (which I prefer to underbuilt)...I also love the horst linkage. Little pedal bob and brake jack isn't as bad as most of my friends with their bullits :)

Thanks for the link to the reviews Mudpie :)

Thanks for the additional info Maelstrom - I'm going to see if our local Specialized dealer has a bighit model to try out.

Good inof on the "tracking" and the readend flex - these are things I didn't think about when demo-ing the fs bikes earlier.

Thanks!
Daf

Np...Bighits are a little burlier. Maybe try the enduro instead if you are looking for a trail bike. At my size the bighit just suited both my riding and weight. A lot of duallies come with some flex. The Fuel was just worse than....any of the others. But it is really important as it affects the ride itself and the longevity.

I'm not a big fan of Trek bikes. 1) their geometris and my body dimensions are incompatible. (They NEVER feel right)

2) Trek's focus up until recently has been lightweight XC bikes. I prefer burlier FR bikes. Thus, I look elsewhere!

3) I'm a big guy (so is Mael ) so we both want more FR or DH oriented bikes. Bikes like the Trek Fuel (even the Liquid's) are designed with a 165 rider in mind, not our 250 lb arses. So, they "feel" loose and noodly! (is that a word?)

4) Trek's paint scheme's have always put me to sleep!

5) Trek only has 1 sponsored rider that I respect! That's Shandro. O.k. two, but I was talking JUST mountain bikes. That just proves their focus is on lightweight XC type bikes.

6) I like other companies and their bikes better. I DO like Specialized products. I also like Haro bikes and some of the new K2's are pretty sweet. Of course, my favorite is Intense, but do you want to spend $2,000 on a frame only?

Good Luck!

L8R

specalized its a waste don't waste get a kona or sumthin i hate um. (specalized enduro '03). get a kona or K2

all im going to say is first decide what your going to use the bike for, at least most of the time, then deside what bike is right for you, this way you won't end up like me and get a XC bike (giant warp) and use it for freeride, DH, 4-6 foot drops...etc and than have the frame brake, only so you can get mad at yourself.

What are you talking about "its a waste"? why is it a waste, lots of XC race's i have competed in are won on epics and not just S-WORKS, also marathons and pros- its rated the best XC race platform out there. And the Enduro is rated by lots of people i know and recently by mountain bike action magazine as the best trail bike of all time. Why do you even bother posting threads that barely make any sense and have no use in this forum?

about dafs question about the fuel... i dont realy understand the concept of a full suspension xc bike... it might be easier to ride or something but my friend has a fuel 90 and i realy dont like it except for the fact it has better components than my bike. I would stay away from it.

Hi,

Thanks for all the additional replies. :)

I took some of the advice I got here, and read countless posts, and went to the 2 shops here in my area.

The Trek dealer, as I remembered from buying my first bike, was very "hands off" and a bit stuck up - I stood in the shop looking at bikes for 30 minutes before finally having to flag a salesman down. They answered a few questions but basically were uninterested... still the Fuels "looked" good to me. But they don't allow "test" rides unless there is a demo available...and there wasn't. :|

So I head over to the other dealer (Specialized, Giant, Raleigh, etc...) and was floored by the great response. One salesman took me through bikes and catalogs helping me decide and answering questions. He asked about the type of riding I do, etc... then suggested some bikes. I expressed an interest in the Specialized Epic - he grabbed it off of the rack (brand new) and had the tech make a few adjustments - then sent me out back to try it out.

So... to make a long story short (or is it too late! ha! ) I have narrowed down the search for a new bike to the Epic or the Epic Comp. They feel (and look) good to me. That and the attitude of the guys at bike shop #2 really made the sale! Since I'm new to clipless pedals they are going to throw in a pair of Specialized Sonomas for free. :)

I'm going down there in the next couple of days to plunk down the cash and get the bike odered. I'll let everyone know how it goes once I get it and ride for a time.

Thanks again!
Daf

thats sounds alot like my bike shop. they helped me look at bikes that fit my rideing style and they suggested a few models that werent in the store and they showed them to me in the catalog. they also had great deals on 04 bikes. my shop is called ie bikes, is that the same shop as ur talking about

I just got into a dualie in the same way I got my 1st MTB- a deal I just could not pass up. I did not plan on going to a DS right now ,but fate stepped in. I got an IronHorse Hollowpoint "clone" (from Galyan's on close out). The bike is an Hollowpoint frame (delivered in an I box with a lifetime frame warranty by IH's parent co) with Deore/XT/Hayes Mech disc components. I've never seen any dualie of this quality for near the price! I literally could have spent this much on upgrading my entry-level HT to RockShox Duke fork/Hayes discs/XT drivetrain. So far I love the plush DS ride and the sweet smooth XT derailleur!