EvolutionIXMR

Hey everyone.

In the next week i'd like to purchase my first mountain bike so im going to need some opinions and thoughts from you guys here if that's ok.

Now just a little about my backround incase it matters. I use to compete in Aggressive Inline for about 7 years and was really good at it. I then got into Flatland bmx for a bit so you could say I have very good balance when combining my experience from both sports.
Now im 24 and want to get back into the active lifestyle and what better way than to get back to bikes right!?

I've been doing some research on mountain biking for the past week or so and tried to give myself a crash course on the sport with little luck.
Now I noticed MBs are divided into two groups. Hardtail & Suspension. Which brings up the question, what type of riding am I going to be doing?
I DO want to get into some serious offroad riding but want to take it slow at first obviously. Also might be doing some riding on pavement around my neighborhood with the girlfriend at times. So my riding will be mixed.
I kind of ruled out the suspension bikes. I think i'd rather have a stiff/light frame instead of ultimate riding comfort. Also I noticed the hardtails were considerably less expensive which brings me to my Price range: >$500.

I went onto Amazon.com and read some of the user reviews on the "best sellers", but was no help. Besides, i'd rather ask the pros(you guys ).

I picked up the March issue of MountainBike Action since they have a $350-$11,000 buyer's guide with over 80 bikes featured on the cover. Turns out only 3 bikes fit in my budget lol.

Anyway, there was one bike out of the three that caught my eye. It is a Schwinn Mesa for $389.

I went over to the Schwinn site ( https://www.schwinnbike.com/products/...ail.php?id=983 ) and noticed the bike is new for 2008 and comes with alot of nice features like an aluminum frame and available disc brakes.
I pasted the make & model into google and did a quick search owner opinions of previous models years(couldn't find the '08 anywhere maybe because it's too new) and turned up dozens of positive reviews.
This might be the bike for me guys. It's seems that it's a very good value for the money and sounds like a promising introduction to mountain biking.

What do you guys think? Any tips? Any input would greatly be appreciated. Thank you!

kramnnim

It's a lot better than say, any bike from Walmart...but with $400-$500 you could find a nice used bike on craigslist, etc. Or even one from bikesdirect.com would have better components for the price...

Cheeto

For that price you could get a The new trek 3900

I ride one, and its a good solid frame.
I have no complaints yet.
--besides the stock seat isn't the best lol.


and if your budget is >500, you could look into a trek 4300. it's about 430's range

But, You need to get that bike that feels better.
If that bike feels good to you, then get it.
as long as you dont get a department store bike, lol


And as for the disk brake option, you really dont need them unless your Down Hill-ing. What the normally do is put lower end components on the bike to make up for the cost of the disk brakes.

EvolutionIXMR

Wow those look like some nice bikes. If it doesn't trouble you can you give me some advantages from those two over the Schwinn? Also, what's the difference in between them both. They both look so similar to me.

FlatFender

well, for one, The schwinn of today is not the schwinn of years past. schwinn is owned by Pacific, the maker of most department store bikes nowadays. From looking at the picture of Mesa you posted, it has pretty bottom of the barrel components. Sram sx4 is about the lowest gruppo that sram makes.

The Trek 4300 is a fine entry level bike, the components are of a little higher level than the schwinn.
the big difference between the trek 3900, and the 4300 is that the 4300 comes with double wall rims, which make them considerably stronger, and more reliable than a single wall rim.

I would also look into the Specialized HardRock. I am a huge fan of specialized bikes.

The HardRock, and the trek 4300 are both good bikes, and worthy of any upgrades that you may want to make to them as time goes on.

most of all, I would ride as many bikes as possible, and find the one that you like the best.

If you are serious about riding, I would not recommend the schwinn. There are way more trek/specialized/cannondale/giant dealers than there are schwinn. One of the big reasons to buy from a bike shop is the service that comes with the purchase. Most shops offer a 30 day tuneup, and some shops offer a bit more than that.

Cheeto

The 4300 has better components.
I would of gotten it but my dad didn't want to spend the extra.... 30 bucks -_-

The fork is more adjustable and everything is just a step higher.
I ride with someone with a 4300, the frames and tires are the same, seats are the same just his components are 1 step up from mine lol.
but they are both, very solid decent bikes.


The quality will be better than a schwinn.

EvolutionIXMR

Flatfender; Cheeto;
Thanks alot for your help. I check some reviews on this bike from various sites and saw alot of positive things being said about it. It sounds like the Trek 4300 is the best value in my price range. Now I got to figure out the size and where to buy.
Thanks alot for your help guys. It really means alot.

Cheeto

No problem, Glad to help.
Soon you'll be out riding me if you get the 4300 lol.

Let me know how the 100mm fork is =(

(i wish i had 100mm instead of 80mm) lol

EvolutionIXMR

LoL I went to my local shop alittle while ago for a 4300. They had it for like $380 in orange. I wasn't feeling the orange as much as I thought I would. They didn't have the black/chrome one in stock in my size so I was going to settle with the orange. Then, something else caught my eye. It was a green 4500 w/out disc. I asked about the differences and he told me the main difference is the lockable fork(which I think is awesome) and something else. I think the tires or something.
But yeah, I went and got myself a green 4500. It's so awesome. It was like $550 w/ free tuneups as long as I own it.

FlatFender

That sounds like a killer deal. Glad we could help.

Did you buy a helmet?

junkyard

Good for you. While it has been a long standing debate here on BF about if red or blue bikes are faster, it is a known fact that green gets the ladies.

ProFail

Solid black has been proven to make your frame 60% stronger.

EvolutionIXMR

Thanks guys. Green makes me camoflauge like a lizard when needed.
I road it home and it rides really nice and has amazing handling.
I didn't buy a helmet yet. I'll be going back in a couple weeks when the weather gets better and I start riding for the rest of the gear like Helmet, Gloves, cateye computer, & waterbottle.

Here she is...

EvolutionIXMR

BTW, That dumb looking kick stand is coming off soon.

FlatFender

thank god.


and get a helmet!

EthanYQX

I hope you didn't really listen to Cheeto.

Cheeto

Why would he not want to listen to me there buddy?


By the way, NICE bike, your out riding me now.
Just a little hint, instead of a water bottle try looking into a Camel Back.
It holds more water, its more convenient, and some of them can hold some tools and spare things.


I'm surprised your bike came with a stand. All the LBS's around here don't even put them on,

EthanYQX

It is odd that it came with a stand.

And he wouldn't want to listen to you because you have little to no experience with why Trek is better than Schwinn. By your own admission.

Ted Danson

take off the kick stand, reflectors on the wheels, handle bars, and seat stem. then youll be a really mtn biker

Cheeto

Trek is better than Schwinn because Schwinn has gone way down hill.
Not to mention the Treks come with better components.
Its not like your some god at biking either.

I know a little more than it seems about bikes, I'm just not all technical.
When I was a BMX'er my neighbor and I had a little Bike shop between our 4 garages.
(military housing, had 2 car garages per house, but shared same wall)
I usually know what I'm talking about before I try to offer advice as I hate giving wrong information. Excuse me if I don't use the technical terms, but rather my "Garage shop Talk" calling things the " rear shifter, and the "goose neck thing" worked well enough for use.
-_-
Please, don't go around insulting me in every post you get a chance to.

Thank You.

Ted Danson

not to insult you. but. im pretty sure id never take my bike to a 4 car garage, one of which had a redneck in it calling the stem of my bike a "goose neck thing"


edit- thats just me..

EthanYQX

I'm not insulting you. Merely trying to avoid misinformation

Rear shifter is a real term, it refers to the mechanism on the handlebars that controls the derailleur. What the hell is a "goose neck thing"?

EthanYQX

wethepeople

Settle down kids and drink your juice, you both have a lot to learn.

Ted Danson

i like juice boxs. the hi-c ones. them are delicious