globe9

A friend told me to consider a MountainSmith Altitude bike. Dick's Sporting Goods sells these, but not on their website. Apparently they sell for about $379, but according to my friend this is an AWESOME bike for the money. I didn't get a chance to ask about any components, but I hear they are better than average. Has anyone had any experience with this bike? Is it worth the money? I've done a little research, but I can't find too much info on them other than the apparent word of mouth. My friend said that if he needed a new bike he would definitely get one. He says I'd be spending $379 on a bike worth about twice that.

mtn007

Glad to see this post. The Altitude by MountainSmith is an AWESOME bike. Buy it! You'll never hear too much about it on this forum, b/c not many people are familiar with them. They like to stick to the brands they know...Cannondale, Trek, Specialized etc. I own an Altitude and wouldn't trade it for a Specialized Hardrock, Trek 3700, etc. I couldn't be happier with it.
I've seen your various posts on this board and I see your trying to figure out what to get or keep the Trek 800 etc. I'd definitely go with the Altitude and try to sell the Trek to someone for $50.

Happy ridin' dude!

shane45

There's not much I would trade for a Trek 3700.

This is not much of recommendation.

LowCel 

If possible give Dick's a call and ask them what fork it has. Also ask them what shifters, front derailleur and rear derailleur. That will give you and us an idea of the quality of the bike. Without that information it is hard to give an opinion.

globe9

These are some of the components on the bike:
Alum frame
Rock Shox Judy fork
RST 20A Coil Rear Shock
Kenda Tire KT Alloy Rims
F/R Pro Max Disc Brakes
Acera Shifters
Alivio Fr. Der
Deore R Der
Acera Brakes

I'm not sure if these are a good components or not(other than the Deore R Der), but I've been doing my research and it seems like a steal according to some others.

phantomcow2

well its not a terrible deal. Its definantly a very entry level bike. The promax disc brakes are total crap though. Really the best buy for the buck and i think much of this forum can agree on is the specialized hardrock series.

cooper1

I'd get the Altitude over the Hardrock. Yes, the disc brakes may not be that good, but if I remember correctly, Globe is not going to be riding any hard trails. Those brakes should be just fine for his type of riding and other than that, the components on the Altitude are better than the components on the Hardrock. The Hardrock uses Shimano Acera on both front and rear derailleurs and the other components are Altus. Same stuff you can find on Wal-Mart junk. I KNOW that the Hardrock's frame is awesome, but Altus components can be found on Mongoose and Schwinn. I'd go with the Deore comps. and MountainSmith is a very reputable company. Save some bucks and get the Altitude. I may start looking into one myself. Sounds pretty decent to me.

cooper1

Oh, I just found a pic of this bike:

https://www.angelfire.com/electronic2...Bike_Pics.html

It looks pretty sweet too.

LowCel 

Well after seeing the bike is dual suspension I would say stay far away from it. The bike probably bobs like crazy. If it were a hard tail in this price range it would probably be a pretty decent bike but at this price I would be willing to bet that a dual suspension is going to be incredibly inefficient. If it were my money I would opt for the Hardrock or a Giant hardtail in the same price range. You would get a much more reliable bike plus you will be able to get the bike serviced by people that know what they are doing.

As stated above, this is just an opinion. Without ever riding the bike there is no way to know for sure but I sure wouldn't chance it.

Drunken Chicken

That's what I'd say, too.

globe9

Thanks for the advice and opinions. I am about 95% sure that I will be getting the Altitude however. It's got better than average components on it and I've read about it on some of the other boards and everyone who actually owns one and has ridden it likes it a lot. It also got good reviews on some board I was reading. I can actually get this bike for about $270 with a coupon I have, which will put it at my perfect price point.
I know, full suspension is supposed to be crappy in this price range, but I've gotta go with the people who have actually ridden this bike. Some of them own Gary Fisher's and Specialized's and say they think the Altitude is comparable. Cobra makes the frame for MountainSmith supposedly. The components can't be beat IMO for this price range and yes, the disc brakes may not be top of the line, but I'm not doing any downhill stuff. There are no mountains here, not even hills.
I will look around for the remainder of the week and if I don't see anything better. I will purchase the Altitude. I'll definitely let you guys know how it rides!

LowCel 

Good luck with it, I hope it ends up being a great bike.

thrasher911

the components on the Altitude are better than the components on the Hardrock. The Hardrock uses Shimano Acera on both front and rear derailleurs and the other components are Altus. Same stuff you can find on Wal-Mart junk. I KNOW that the Hardrock's frame is awesome, but Altus components can be found on Mongoose and Schwinn. I'd go with the Deore comps. and MountainSmith is a very reputable company. Save some bucks and get the Altitude. I may start looking into one myself. Sounds pretty decent to me.[/QUOTE]

Is that true? I never really looked at a Hardrock, but are the components Acera and Altus? I'd go with the Deore stuff too. As long as the frame doesn't suck, the components are the 2nd most important thing. Better the components = the better bike? Correct? It seems like common sense to me, but I could be wrong.
Other than that, a friend of mine and I went to a Dick's to look at an Altitude and it looks like a great bike man. I know some people are saying to stay away from it cuz its a full suspension, but I think its a great value for the money. sure it's not as good as a $1000 suspension bike, but you can always upgrade the suspension at a later date and the components man! I wish I had known about these when I was looking for a entry-level bike and the price is now $269! You can't tell me thats not a steal for the components that bike has and the frame is made by Cobra.

LowCel 

How are you going to upgrade the suspension without buying a new frame? It is not just the rear shock that makes a cheap full suspension bike bob it is the design. On top of that good rear shock is $250 - $400, if you are going to upgrade that you might as well go ahead and buy a better bike.

thrasher911

My point was that for $269, this is a really decent bike. I'd say it's comparable to the Specialized Hardrock Sport series, which is almost $100 more and has cheaper components. I sat on it and tooled around a bit at Dick's and I gotta say I was impressed. Sure, its no $1000 bike, but for that price its a damn good bike.
Have you seen one up close? Have you sat on one? I know common sense tells you that a $269 bike should be crap, but this one really isn't. Guess there can be an exception to every rule. MountainSmith is an excellent company and it's not just one of those "stick their name on a bike tube for advertising" things. They were involved in the production of these bikes, which are made in America. I have been doing some research on it and emailed someone from their website. I am really impressed with this bike.

I don't mean to negate your opinion and I'm not trying to be a jerk. It just seems that a lot of people on here have opinions on bikes they've never seen or ridden. Sure I can understand making a statement about a Huffy, Murray, etc. without ever ridden one, but this MountainSmith seems legit after seeing the components etc. I used to be the same way, but I'm trying to have an open mind about things. Not everything that is new is always crappy or bad.

LowCel 

Like I said before, hope it turns out to be a great bike. I still wouldn't buy it with the intent to upgrade the suspension though.