Noob needing help selecting a bike
03-21-09, 06:46 PM
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Noob needing help selecting a bike
Hey everyone,
After years of being off of a bike, with the occasional ride on a box store bike, I'm looking to get serious about riding again. I'm 37, 5'8" and about 240lbs. I'm looking to get in better shape as well as have some fun on trails. I expect my riding to be divided about 75% road and 25% trails. I'd prefer to ride off road in areas where there is a little bit of technical riding and not just hard pack dirt paths. Of course, the difficulty lies in what bike to get for both of these scenarios. My LBS has recommended a Specialized Crosstrail. They carry Trek, Specialized and Giant primarily. Their reasoning is that the 700c wheels are better for the road riding, yet they will be beefy enough for off road as well. The mountain bike-like frame and front suspension are other reasons they give to make it the right choice.
Price, unfortunately, is an issue for me. The opening price point crosstrail is $440 on the website. My LBS carries the crosstrail sport at $540 ($580) on website. The only major difference seems to be that you can lock the suspension on the sport. A different bike shop has a Giant from last year that is a strait up mountain bike that was going for $629 last year and is now $440. Sorry, I don't know exactly what model, but it had disc brakes.
I have searched for opinions on the crosstrail and only found things on the 2007 model when it was introduced and many were bashing it for trying to be a 29'er. Others said it was great. I guess I'm just looking for opinions on it or recommendations for the types of riding I would like to do.
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for the responses.
After years of being off of a bike, with the occasional ride on a box store bike, I'm looking to get serious about riding again. I'm 37, 5'8" and about 240lbs. I'm looking to get in better shape as well as have some fun on trails. I expect my riding to be divided about 75% road and 25% trails. I'd prefer to ride off road in areas where there is a little bit of technical riding and not just hard pack dirt paths. Of course, the difficulty lies in what bike to get for both of these scenarios. My LBS has recommended a Specialized Crosstrail. They carry Trek, Specialized and Giant primarily. Their reasoning is that the 700c wheels are better for the road riding, yet they will be beefy enough for off road as well. The mountain bike-like frame and front suspension are other reasons they give to make it the right choice.
Price, unfortunately, is an issue for me. The opening price point crosstrail is $440 on the website. My LBS carries the crosstrail sport at $540 ($580) on website. The only major difference seems to be that you can lock the suspension on the sport. A different bike shop has a Giant from last year that is a strait up mountain bike that was going for $629 last year and is now $440. Sorry, I don't know exactly what model, but it had disc brakes.
I have searched for opinions on the crosstrail and only found things on the 2007 model when it was introduced and many were bashing it for trying to be a 29'er. Others said it was great. I guess I'm just looking for opinions on it or recommendations for the types of riding I would like to do.
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for the responses.
