Mountain Biking - Please help me pick out a hardtail, first bike

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fatboy151
04-09-02, 10:42 PM
I am shopping for my first bike. My budget is $500 American. Can anyone recommend a good hardtail mountain bike. I just want the best bike for my dollar.

I'm looking at new and used bikes. It would be helpful if you could suggest new bikes in my $ range as well as used bikes that might also fall in the range.

Thanks for any advice.

-Drew

Dirtgrinder
04-09-02, 11:10 PM
Welcome to the Forums! If you start mountain biking you may have to change your name though...:D
You might look at the Giant Iguana or the Kona Blast. Trek makes some nice bikes also. I'm not familiar with the names though. Giant usually gives the most bang for your buck. Look at which has the best components and test ride them all before you buy. Bike shopping can be fun but it can also be confusing. Have fun shopping! :)
Rich
04-10-02, 05:04 AM
As Dirty said above,

It can be a bit of a Jungle out there...aswell as Trek and Kona, look at the new Specialized range this year, things are looking up in your price category!

Failing that...keep your eyes peeled on ebay.com as 2nd hand bikes go quiet cheaply on there.

Let us know how you get on :D

Rich

a2psyklnut
04-10-02, 08:28 AM
As stated above, it can be confusing! Especially at this price range! There are a TON of bikes available! Just to name a few: Gary Fisher, Giant, Haro, Jamis, Kona, Rocky Mountain, Trek, Specialized. The big differences are the forks and the level of components. Frames are pretty much going to be the same from one manufacturer to another regarding material. The biggest difference is the geometries and tube lengths that each manuf. thinks is "best"!

What you want to find out, is which bike you feel most comfortable on. This means riding as many different bikes as you can and more than once! See if any shops in town offer Demo bikes or Demo Days where they take 3 or 4 bikes to an actual local trail!

Save some $$$ for a helmet, gloves, perhaps a mini-tool, a mini-pump and a couple of spare tubes!

L8R:beer: