Starter bike ?
07-22-08, 04:00 PM
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Starter bike ?
Tell me what you think about this as a starter bike. https://www.gtbicycles.com/usa/eng/Pr...ard-Tail/#5600
07-23-08, 08:36 AM
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The first suggestion you'll hear from anyone is to try it - if it feels comfortable and handles well then go for it.
I cannot tell you anything about how reliable or strong these bikes are, but looks like GT offers a nice components combination. From specs - Avalanche 3.0 has Alivio shifters vs EF-50 on all other bikes, that's a good thing to have. Cons are nylon platform pedals and, probably, front derailleur.
I've just did my own research and my choice was '08 Giant Rincon. Here is the list of the bikes in the same price range:
Gary Fisher Wahoo, Trek 3900/4300, Specialized Hardrock Sport, Norco Scrambler and Marin Bolinas Ridge.
All have basic components (Wahoo is the winner in this category), aluminum frames and nice look. The fork would be a low end anyway, so I'd say just check reviews which one is better. I bought my bike for mostly city riding, so the fork wasn't really important for me.
I also would be careful with disk brakes - for this price you won't get a good brake set, but components' level will be degraded. As per reviews cheap disk brakes are fairly noisy and could lockout, they also have limited tune-up capabilities(I might be wrong though). I decided to go for V-brakes.
As for frame - weight is not a strong side of these bikes, they all will be in the same range. All above mentioned manufacturers offer lifetime warranty on the frame.
I cannot tell you anything about how reliable or strong these bikes are, but looks like GT offers a nice components combination. From specs - Avalanche 3.0 has Alivio shifters vs EF-50 on all other bikes, that's a good thing to have. Cons are nylon platform pedals and, probably, front derailleur.
I've just did my own research and my choice was '08 Giant Rincon. Here is the list of the bikes in the same price range:
Gary Fisher Wahoo, Trek 3900/4300, Specialized Hardrock Sport, Norco Scrambler and Marin Bolinas Ridge.
All have basic components (Wahoo is the winner in this category), aluminum frames and nice look. The fork would be a low end anyway, so I'd say just check reviews which one is better. I bought my bike for mostly city riding, so the fork wasn't really important for me.
I also would be careful with disk brakes - for this price you won't get a good brake set, but components' level will be degraded. As per reviews cheap disk brakes are fairly noisy and could lockout, they also have limited tune-up capabilities(I might be wrong though). I decided to go for V-brakes.
As for frame - weight is not a strong side of these bikes, they all will be in the same range. All above mentioned manufacturers offer lifetime warranty on the frame.
Last edited by sys@dmin; 07-23-08 at 08:41 AM.
