The Nati

I'm about to purchase my first mountain bike. I've read positive and negative reviews on both bikes I'm considering.

Trek 4300(2006 model) $349.00

Giant Rincon $329.00

I plan on using it as a an all around bike and a starter to get into the sport. Are these solid choices? Any other suggestions in that price range? I don't wan to have to upgrade items as soon as I buy it.

Thanks

MattP.

My vote goes to the 4300. Its a solid enrty level bike if you plan on just riding it around town/paved/hard packed dirt, w/ some off road. But if you are looking at doing serious trail riding/drops and whatnot, this would not be the bike

Gorsar

I was faced with the same decision/price level as you, and I went with the 4300. I am pretty happy with it and have had no problems. It is comfortable the Trek frame warranty makes it a solid choice. That said, look around and ride several bikes at that price point and see what you like. Coming up in the near future 2005 bikes will be going on sale and other bikes may drop into that price range.

For pics/details/upgrades I've made on my 4300 you can check my page (linked below) for closeups, etc.

harov3

My choice would be the giant, the rincon was my starter bike and it never let me down. But the important thing is to test ride the bikes before you buy, two different bikes may have similar specification and price yet feel completely different to ride and maybe only one will feel right to you. Test Ride, then buy the Rincon

chilly

I considered both the bikes you're looking at, then looked upstream a little bit. I decided to wait a few more weeks and spend a little more than I originally planned on to get the Kona Blast, which was an 04 leftover. I like the Marzocchi fork better than either the Suntour or the RockShox, and the shifters and derailleurs are an upgrade as well. Having said that, if you're not going to ride a lot, you probably won't notice much of a difference. Mine gets about 20 miles a day back and forth to work, which wasn't in the original plan, but it works so well it's a real pleasure to ride. I swapped out the stock Tioga tires for Continental CountryRides, and although the grip is not great offroad, on paths and pavement they are a great tire.
The Blast has Deore LX rear, and Deore front, plus Deore shifters which is a sweet combination for the money.
I tried a Giant Iguana as well, nice but more money than the Blast.
GF has a 4500, which fits her like a glove, and she loves it. She tried mine, and although the bike really impressed her with the way it works, it just didn't fit her as well as the Trek (both bikes are 18 inch).
Take lots of test rides, and make sure before you hand them the cash that it is exactly the way you want it. We spent maybe 3 hours tweaking hers with different components before we finally were ready to buy. Most LBS's will allow you to upgrade at a lesser charge when you buy, but not after it's been used.
Finally, if you do get the Trek, make sure before you buy that the front brake doesn't have a rapid pulsation when you apply it. Hers did, and they swapped out three new wheels from other new 4500s trying to resolve it. Final solution was a new Ditch Witch wheel and hub, free of charge. Trek has some problems with their front rim assemblies, you see it with rim brakes only.

outdoorboy

Either bike is a good starter. The more important thing will be fit. Are both available from the same lbs? If so let them check fit on you for both bikes to see which works better.

My son has a Rincon SE that he loves as a starter bike. I picked it up used for about $200.00 and he is keeping up on the singletrack with no problem.

The Nati

Thanks for the info everyone. just one other question. in terms of the bike "fit" that everyone refers to...is it just a matter of what feels comfortable or is it more complicated than that?

outdoorboy

One thing I found recently was that just about any bike can be made to "fit" by making the appropriate adjustments. After that you get into frame geometry which can differ greatly (It doesn't differ that much in the bikes you are looking at) but when you start getting into full suspension bikes. I've riden bikes like the Santa Cruz Blur and Giant Trance 1 ($3000 to $4000 each) and didn't like them, they feel like they shift my weight back to far even though they "fit" right. I wound up with a Giant NRS since the geometry felt more like my hardtail Gary Fisher which I loved but gave me the smoother ride of the FS.

chilly

When we talk of fit, it is a combination of what feels right, and what SHOULD feel right. Often someone has been riding something for so long, it's what feels "right" for them. A classic example is the old Nishiki I sold when I got the Kona. It was a 22 inch bike, too big for me, but the guy that bought it was shorter than I am by a considerable margin. He loved the way it felt to him, although I did mention it was a touch on the big side.
In reality, there is a discrete formula that your measurements are fed into and it tells the informed vendor (not me) what the ideal bike measurements should be to fit you properly. Having said that, you will probably still want to tweak some adjustments, e.g. the seat height, bar height, stem length and angle, etc so it feels good to you.
The most important things to me were seat height, reach and height of the bars, and top tube height and length. The two you can't change are the last two, those have to be right from the get-go.
We found the Trek fit her better than the Kona, primarily because she has a shorter upper body than I do, although we're nearly the same height she's all legs. The Trek has a shorter top tube, which equates to a shorter reach to the bars.
There's a ton of things to consider before you take the plunge, I'd advise you to look closely at the specs for each bike you're considering, both in terms of component quality and also bike geometry. Some people like the feel of a full-on race position, others want a more relaxed stance. It'll seem like gobbledegook at first, then once you have an informed chat with the sales folk at a GOOD LBS, it'll begin to make sense.
One word of caution, if they look at you with a mystified gaze when you ask about frame geometry specifics, such as tube lengths and angles, unless you know specifically what you want you need to shop elsewhere. Biking can be very enjoyable indeed with suitable gear, and pure misery otherwise.

cyccommute 

A discrete formula! That's rich! Stop it, you're killing me!

Really, there is little science that goes into fitting a bicycle to a person. It's mostly art. I have never been "fit" to a bike by any method other than feel and I have owned and tried scores of bicycles! Just about any shop will have you stand over the bike to make sure you have the proper size frame (you need 3+" for mountain bikes), then sit on the saddle to see if the reach to the handlebars is correct. It takes all of about a minute to fit a bicycle properly unless you have special needs which most of us don't.

If a shop wants to sell you a bike that you don't feel comfortable on, go to another shop. Ride the bike around and if something isn't right, ask them to change it. If they won't, go to another shop. The most important thing about buy a bike is actually the shop. Find one you like and hang onto it for dear life!

I have a couple where I live that I use on a regular basis. One is a nice friendly shop that is helpful and I send all of my friends who want bikes there. The other used to be a nice friendly shop but it got a new manager who was professional racer and it's now a snob shop. I don't go there much anymore because I don't feel comfortable with the shop. They sell great bikes, it's just that they aren't great people anymore.

Aahzz

I was just faced with the same choices - I went with the Rincon. It felt better to me. I've only had it since last night, so I can't comment on much yet, other than so far I love it...didn't like the feel of the Trek at all. Partially because of the atrocious saddle, but also the geometry just didn't feel as good to me - also a case of them not being available in quite the same frame sizes. I'm 6'1", but have short legs - I'm all torso - and the Giant 17" frame fits me better than the Trek 18". So, what I'm trying to say and getting long winded about is, buy the one that feels better.