Mountain Biking - Selling Old bike getting new one

Okay guys & gals...

Similar to kona_roastbika's thread about his fork being sold, I'm trying to sell my bike (no comments please) with upgrades to other people for about 200 USD or 270, considering around here (EAST YORK, Toronto) you can't get anything near the price range of my bike-going-to-be-sold other than components or equipment and not to mention the total amount of money spent on it excluding all sales, discounts, and parts. The reason I haven't checked the $500 MTB thread is that I think it's 500 USD, which is like 600+ CDN.

Anyways,

If I do get the money, my dad understands that I have to add more money to the bike if I'm going to attempt some of the "crazy" things I do and I will put the bike through. Remember I guess you could call me a newbie.

Here are my choices

-Kona Lana'i
-Trek 4100 and plus until 500 CDN (which is my limit) which is about 360 - 370 USD.
-Ironhorse things
-Specialized Hardrock (Don't know which models are within my price range)
-Suggest some more because I haven't researched much.

I'm never going to department store bikes again!

I want this to be a durable bike, with things I can upgrade. This is not going to be my bike for more than 7 -9 years so remember that.

I want to-have a hardtail, and my price isn't going to let anything more than a hardtail.

What am I going to do? Drops 1-3 foot. Small dirt ramps/wood ramps. Urban, mainly like stairs and stuff.

Whatever other info you want me to add, reply please. I will periodically check this thread and update it.

The people at bikeforums are asleep...

WAKE UP GUYS...I need help!

Well, I'd have to say Hardrock because it would hold up the best out of them all for what you plan on doing.

Sorry I was RIDING :D...

HArdrock or ironhorse porter....my choices (since you live in TO you are near a sportcheck I assume)

Well, if you guys have any more suggestions, I could probably even hit the $700 CDN line. Depends on how much good it will do me. Like a huge change in level of compenents, from $500 to $700.

What hardrocks are there and whch one is the most "bang for the buck" one? Xpert, sport, or Pro (I think).

Okay guys...
Based on what I've seen from my cheapest bike storee (they're really friendly and nice). They have kona shreds for 800CDN with no tax. I might want that, I know it's overkill for my skills but they said it would serve my purpose well. Also, I saw fire mountains for 540 CDN plus tax (already reduced by 10%) and some other stuff. A blue marin, for I believe like 540 or something.

The shred is awesome. Even if it is over your skill..practice. You will get better.

Is 800 a good price for it? I mean like, shouldn't a fire mountain also hold up to 1-2 ft drops? I think they all have the same fork, an MZ Comp

i'd say go for the shred. i'd also suggest you take mael's other suggestion and contact sportchek to see if they got any ironhorse porters in stock (either the 24" or the 26", and not the 20" advertised on the sportchek site) - just to see and compare prices, specs and whatnot.

good luck with the new bike.

800 sounds right.

Fire mountain will hold up to 1 or 2 ft. But the geometry is very different. 1 is a xc bike and the other is a fr ht.

The porter? I checked mtbr and it's WAAAY tooo expensive...

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/2004singlespeed/product_123803.shtml

and

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/2004singlespeed/product_123802.shtml

I don't know really. 800 seems a bit much.

you gotta remember though, those are all msrp figures. it's mid-late august already and bike shops around toronto are gonna start dropping prices on 04 bikes to make way for the 05's. i got my fisher last year around this time on sale. so i'm sure there should be some bike shops that are already dropping prices. it wouldn't hurt to call up sportchek to see how much they're going for.

and then there's always the fall bike show/blow out sale:
http://www.telsec.net/bicycleshow/html_pages/fallshow.html

Well, it's still a bit high. I want a strong bike that isn't too hard to pedal to go long distances (rules out bmx) but can also handle drops. I don't have any reviews on the porter. I'm looking toward the Fire Mountain or the Shred. I'm going to check the 500 mtb thread now.

Oh yeah, I also so a marin bear valley for about 500-600 CDN. Good deal?

If you're going to be using it for urban, I would go for the Shred.

However, if you'll be doing mainly trails (which included wooden structures), look at the likes of the Specialized hardrock.

At this price point, I would stay away from disc breaks.

ARe bear valleys any good? I mean I want to get a shred, but my parents won't let me get one until next year, and even that is unsure (my school results, good=500 CDN). However, bear valleys are easier to afford.

Bear Valleys are not good.

I have a specialized hardrock sport, it's pretty nice. The pedals squeak, but that's not too hard to fix.

I don't know how good the parts are, I guess the frame is pretty tough, but the fork might not be designed for minor jumps or drops, etc.

Guys,

Is the hardrock sport disc any good? I just realized that they were in stock for about 669 CAD. Things at that bike store are over priced but is it a good deal and will it hold out on stair gaps and like 1-4 ft drops?

I also realized that there are over priced treks. WAY OVER PRICED. It's like 700 CAD for a 4300 I think. IT's only 350 USD on MTBR.

which bike shop are you going to? just curious.

The Cyclepath on Danforth. www.thecyclepath.com. Click on the one on danforth.