Mountain Biking - College Student Looking for a Bike

Hello everyone!

I am completely new to the bike scene and am in the market to buy a new bike. The school that I goto is located on a hill and it pretty much snows here for 5 months. I would really appreciate if you guys could help me make a decision! :)

Please note that I understand that I should ride a bike first and buy it but there are NO stores within 25 miles of this place. From my research I have come down to the following three bikes :

2010 GT Aggressor http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1078315_-1_1558000_20000_400308

2010 GT Outpost
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes//Product_10052_10551_1078729_-1___

2010 GT Avalanche
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes//Product_10052_10551_1078378_-1___

Novara Portal BIke

http://www.rei.com/product/788084

Also since i will be riding this during the winter could you please suggest some attachments I should get? Like fenders?

I will be using the bike for commute everyday and also trail biking often.

Any other models/suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance! :cheers:

What are you willing to spend? There's a pretty wide range of prices in those bikes you posted.

For the most part, entry level bikes across a certain pricepoint are equipped with comparable components. Your differences are going to be in the frame's geometry, which will affect the way the bike fits you and how well it rides for your body's proportions. I think it's well worth it to drive outside 25 miles to check out bikes (and I've driven a few hours in some cases), but that's just my opinion.

Any of those bikes will work as a campus commuter. The Avalanche is the nicest of the bikes you've posted.

What are you willing to spend? There's a pretty wide range of prices in those bikes you posted.

For the most part, entry level bikes across a certain pricepoint are equipped with comparable components. Your differences are going to be in the frame's geometry, which will affect the way the bike fits you and how well it rides for your body's proportions. I think it's well worth it to drive outside 25 miles to check out bikes (and I've driven a few hours in some cases), but that's just my opinion.

Any of those bikes will work as a campus commuter. The Avalanche is the nicest of the bikes you've posted.

Zephyr11 I would goto those place if they had good bikes but when I called in they didnt seem to have a good variety.

I am 5'10" 170 pounds. I willing to spend around $500! Don't all the GT bikes that I posted have the same geometry?

What would be the differences between the avalanche and the aggressor for a casual user like me?

I have actually come down to either Outpost or Agressor. I would like to order the bike tomorrow so any input is appreciated. I am just trying to decide if the price difference is worth to a casual rider like me. I will basically be commuting to classes and pretty basic trail biking.

If you look at the specs and regular prices of both bikes you can see that the Outpost although $50 less on sale is actually $50 more expensive than the Aggressor at non-sale price. It has an 8-speed drivetrain as opposed to the Aggressor's 7-speed and it also has fender mounts on the fork. I'd get the Outpost. Well, actually I'd buy something used in this price range but that might not be practical for you.

If you look at the specs and regular prices of both bikes you can see that the Outpost although $50 less on sale is actually $50 more expensive than the Aggressor at non-sale price. It has an 8-speed drivetrain as opposed to the Aggressor's 7-speed and it also has fender mounts on the fork. I'd get the Outpost. Well, actually I'd buy something used in this price range but that might not be practical for you.

I tried to look around for used bikes but can't really find any.

Could you also suggest some fenders for the bike? How bad is the salt going to be for the bike?

I actually found a store an hour away and I think I am going over there! Also I am going to the store that provides bikes from http://www.dicksonnes.com/bikes/

Let me know if your suggestions change!

This is probably a dumb question but when you go buy a bike do you get the one on the floor or do they assemble a new one for you?

You're making this harder than it needs to be. That's something that's easy to do before you actually start looking at bikes. When I went to buy my full-suspension, the first mountain bike I actually bought from a bike shop and not off Craigslist, I went to about six stores, came on here and begged for advice and started a big long involved topic on the relative merits of each bike versus the other ones, spent hours on each company's website comparing component specs and geometry...and you know what? The bike I ended up buying wasn't one of the bikes that I had asked about on BikeForums and wasn't one that I had included in my comparison. It was the one that I got on to test ride and fell in love with. Test ride as many bikes as you can. Buy the one that you don't want to stop riding.

In the bikes I've gotten from shops, I've gotten one floor model and the rest were ordered from the company because they didn't have the component spec or whatever that I wanted.

Just thought I'd let you guys know - I got myself a http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/mountain/talus-30-11/ :)

You're making this harder than it needs to be. That's something that's easy to do before you actually start looking at bikes. When I went to buy my full-suspension, the first mountain bike I actually bought from a bike shop and not off Craigslist, I went to about six stores, came on here and begged for advice and started a big long involved topic on the relative merits of each bike versus the other ones, spent hours on each company's website comparing component specs and geometry...and you know what? The bike I ended up buying wasn't one of the bikes that I had asked about on BikeForums and wasn't one that I had included in my comparison. It was the one that I got on to test ride and fell in love with. Test ride as many bikes as you can. Buy the one that you don't want to stop riding.

In the bikes I've gotten from shops, I've gotten one floor model and the rest were ordered from the company because they didn't have the component spec or whatever that I wanted.

Dito, except I ended up building up a bike rather than buying one new. But when push comes to shove, if you're given a dozen different bikes with no known problems of reliability or QC, pick the one that feels the best. I'm still just hoping my bike will feel good when I finish the build..never had a chance to test ride a complete one.