Mountain Biking - Best bike under $1500. Help!

Hello everyone, this is a great forum. I could use some input on a new bike purchase. It's time to get rid of my 89 bridgestone mb1. It is a great bike but no suspension. I'm looking at spending $1500 or less. I'm considering 3 bikes so far, Specialized stumpjumper comp, Marin juniper trail, & Giant xtc se2. Any input would be helpful. Thanks.

Specialized stumpjumper comp. I race that one and it's awesome!

the specialized will be the best bet.

Ride them all and see which one feels best to you. Also look at all the components and see which gives you the most for your dollar. FYI, I have a Giant XTC NRS 2 and love it.

Thanks for the info. I rode a xtc se1 today(couldn't find a se2). It's a nice bike but the front end seems to shudder under braking. I tried several bikes and they all did it. Does anyone out there have one and does the problem go away after time? Seems like a bike of that caliber shouldn't do that. The salesman was going to call the factory and see if this is a problem with the fork and wheel combination??!!!

You're not really getting rid of the MB1 are you? That's a quite desirable bike.

i have 2001 xtc nrs1 and i really like it. check out the compoents on the bikes your intrested in , that was how i made my decision. about the shudder, i havent experinced any of that but my bike has a sid xc fork and a new nrs2 has a black comp. good luck

just read in MBA that the specialized rules(provided you change out the tires, handlebars and seatpost... whatever) but they said the giant wasn't very good. know what this proves? diddly squat. find a bike YOU like. (though it was cool to see the fisher come in first. :D )

Originally posted by uhm...yea.
just read in MBA that the specialized rules(provided you change out the tires, handlebars and seatpost... whatever) but they said the giant wasn't very good. know what this proves? diddly squat.
I don't have the latest issue yet. Is it the NRS they are reviewing? Just wondering. I've often wondered about mag reviews of bikes. Think any money is ever passed under the table? :eek: Funny how Mountain Bike Mag voted the NRS 'bike of the year' two years running, and now MBA says it isn't very good. I think diddly squat sums it up quite well. ;)

Hi THBirks, funny you should say that. After riding all these bikes today I went home and jumped on my MB1 and I was thinking the same thing. It's light and climbs great. I just thought that maybe modern technology and front suspension might make for a better ride,but now I'm not so sure! Oh what to do!!!

The bikes reviewed were, in the order they were ranked: Fisher sugar 3+ :D , Trek fuel 90, Specialized Stumpjumper FSRxc, Giant NRS XtC, cannondale jekyll 600. they said the specialized was far and away the winner, provided you make aforementioned modifications. They described the NRS as having a quirky rear suspension, a smaller seatpost than it should, using a reducer to make up, and crappy tubes. but they also said that if you liked the feel of it, you win. they didn't really badmouth any of the bikes, cept maybe the cannondale, just a little bit. as for money under the table? look at the top two bikes. ;)

Check this out...

http://www.cyclesdeoro.com/Refinishing/gradys_bs.htm

Cycles De Oro in North Carolina repainted this mb2. Basic repaints are arount 200 - 250 I beleve.

There is a whole online community devoted to fans of the Bridgestone. Whatever you do, keep that one.
Jamis seem to be a lot of bike for the money.

Originally posted by MichaelW

Jamis seem to be a lot of bike for the money.

I just built a dakar sport from the ground up and i am enjoying. It's a bit heavy but for $399 you can get an expert frame that if built up with lx stuff will be about 28.5 lbs.

Thanks for all the info everyone! What a great forum this is. I never realized there was a following for Bridgestone bikes, I'll post a pic of mine tonight when I get home.

I just bought a 2001 rocky mountain soul. I am in canada and it ran me 1500 or around there after afew little upgrades. I like it alot. Try it out. Try out everything that you may want to buy.

I never realized there was a following for Bridgestone bikes

Yeah, just try to find an old XO for a decent price. Sheesh.

Wanna sell your old bike?

Its already gone. It had no suspension so don't think that it would be anything you are interested in