Meepers

well i am looking to get back into mountain biking. i have and old 03' or 04' Fuji Nevada. i got it when i was in college and didn't have much money. i worked great for me then, helped me lose 80+ lbs. and it still works pretty good for me now. i just got a new fixed gear, that i am in love with, and have been splitting my time between the two bikes. now that i have a pretty good job (i still need to save up some cash for a bike though)and i want to get a better mountain bike. nothing too expensive, my girl and i just moved, and i am still feeling the holidays. i am looking in the $600-$800 range (preferably the lower end of that scale. i really like this Motobecane Fantom. https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...om_trail08.htm what are your thoughts on this bike. i am selling some guitars, so in a month or so i will have the money to buy another bike (if the lady will allow another bike, my Bianchi is only 2 months or so old). i was talking to a kid and his dad at work the other day and they told me about a club that meets and does rides and what not. i would like to get active in that when i have time and i want a better bike to show up and ride with. any other suggestions on a bike in my range would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

sirtigersalot

i'd also go to your lbs and just testride stuff in your price range, the motobecane is nice for the price but you have to remember to factor in shop labor fees for assemble and new bike tune up unless you know how to do it yourself (and have the tools) and thats gonna cost you like 100 bucks its also def not a $1300 bike on sale for $600 but its a bit nicer than any brand name $600 bike would be

Meepers

thanks. i've been popping in and out of the LBS by my part time job. they don't have to much in stock right now. the guy keeps trying to sell me an SE single speed because a few months ago i was in the market for my fixed gear, that was the best he could do for me. he isn't grasping that i bought a Bianchi and now i want a mountain bike. the other LBS, the one i like more, closes at like 5 and i work until 5. i want to get there on a weekend, but well they keep putting me on at my part time. but thanks for thin bit of input on the Motobecane. i am still going to shop around. i need to wait about a month until my buddy buys my Martin before i can get anything right now.
anyone have suggestions on any bikes in that price range?

Buckshot77

Do you have to have new or can you go used? You'd probably get a pretty equivalent bike to what you want albeit a few years old for a pretty decent chunk under your current low end of the range. What size bike do you ride?

Meepers

used is not a problem. i have been looking on ebay a bit, and there is nothing on CL in my area. my old Fuji is a 17". there was a Haro i was looking at when i got the Fuji (i forget what model, as it was a long time ago) and i remember it was a 19". someone was asking about a Specialized Rockhopper Comp, so i looked into that. it seems like a good bike for me and in my range. any thoughts on that?

the LBS i have been trying to get to is only a mile from my house, so this Saturday i finally have a day off from work and i am going to take a ride down there and see what they have to offer me. They sell Haro, Gary Fisher, Giant, Treck, GT and i think Cannondale. does anyone have any suggestions on a model by any of those companies to look for when i am there?

Buckshot77

Most of the base models are going to be similarly equipped in that price range so it boils down to appearance and how they feel when you ride them. Basically, ride it, if you like it, buy it. If you're looking to spend less, I've got a 17" Giant that I'm getting ready to part with. Shoot me a PM.

Rick

zlr101

sicklers has a store now in Abington i believe and one in Exter they usually have some big inventories and 08s discounted. There is also a nice older trek 8000 (linked) and old 2000 rocky mountain blizzard near philly for 500 on CL. Also check www.thepapershop.com it has a old jekyll and scalpel in your price range.
https://pennstate.craigslist.org/bik/979908363.html That with the cash saved you could make what you want.

Meepers

wow i was off. i don't know why i thought my old bike was a 17" it is a 20.5" i must have been thinking of my dads bike. he is a little shorter than i am, and i bought his bike for him for X-mas a few years back.

i work about a half a mile from the Sicklers in Exeter. they are never open. they i called last week and they said they were open until 6, but then when i drove past after work they were closed. i work part time down the road at Keefer's Army and Navy, so i drive past Sicklers 2 times a week and their lights are always off. i go to Main Bike World when i need something, but they didn't have anything that interested me. a few road bikes, a lot of BMX. but the guy keeps trying to get me to buy a SE single speed. maybe next week i will spend a little more time in Main Bike Worls, i will be down that way for work, so i mine-as-well get paid to go look at bikes. i like Cedar Bike, and they are only a mile from my house, but i always end up working weekends. Cedar is pretty good, they usually work with me, i bought a lot of bikes there in the past, though it has been years sense i bought one from them. i went to high school with the one guy's daughter.

kenkayak

Hi Meepers/rideing is rideing/you like the fixed gear/ride that more /let the money feeling pass I would look at more than a few of the new bikes.feeling stronger on the old bike wont hurt for a while./Kenkayak

Meepers

thank yoy for the advice. i like my old bike, and i feel comfortable on it. but i think it is time for an upgrade. it is showing it's age. i need new rims, all new cables, tires, and i think my derailleur is mesed up from when i biffed last on it (ice suck when you go through it). so i wanted to upgrade to a better bike, instead of tossing money into my old one. unless the Fuji Nevada frame is better than i thought. i also want to upgrade to disc brakes. i've been riding in a lot of mudd/snow and well my brakes aren't cutting it. i really love riding around the city after work, but i want to get back into the woods on the weekends. my part time job will be comeing to an end for the season soon, so i will have lots more time to ride on the weekends. and i found out about a lot more trails up the line from me that i want to try out.
i would like to try and do a S/S conversion on my old Fuji when/if i get a new bike. there are some fun quad/dirtbike trails by my parents house i could have some fun with.

zlr101

When i was in high school sicklers was on the square in wilkes barre, Main bike world was a good place i got my first bike there. Im spoiled here at state college now there is like 4-5 good bike shops in town, I would see the ones in the paper shop i got my second used out of there.

Meepers

i love state college. i miss going to school there. great town. how is the bike shop in Calder Way? i think it is called Freeze Thaw. i think it is new. well at least it wasn't there when i went to PSU Main. i think i remember Sicklers on the squad as a kid. i use to take the bus down to wilk-barre to skate the half pip at the Happy House. there use to be a Main Bike world in Taylor about 20 years ago. it was right on Main Ave, where Gahanns Auto is now. it burned down and they never opened another one up this way. just their WB/Kingston store.

anywho. i went to another LBS today, the place i always bought bikes at. they had a few Rockhoppers there, and i wasn't sure about it after looking at it. but they had a Trek 4300 disc in mat orange, and i really liked it. but it was snowing real bad and the kid said he would let me test ride both, but it was really crappy out. so hopefully next weekend i won't have work and it won't be snowing and i can test ride both of the bikes. any thoughts on the 4300? i really like the color, and the price tag was nice, $550. and i can probably get it a little lower.

Meepers

well i am still looking around, got a little side tracked. i was looking at an '08 Trek 4300 without disc breaks and an '09 with. i like the '09 better, color scheme and brakes, but the '08 is like $200 cheaper. now i was down at this LBS a little over a week ago, so i am not even sure that the '08 is still there or not, but if it is.... is there any real difference in the bike besides the brakes? i would like to try single track riding so i think the disc brakes would be better, but will i be able to get away with out them? as i said i like color of the '09 better, but that is not a deciding factor, as the bike will be covered in mud/dirt/other sorts of earth/possibly blood, and get chip and scratched up. the guy at the shop was nice, but couldn't answer all my questions. my main question being, is there any other differences. he really only knew that the 08 didn't have disks and the 09 did. i told him i what i had, and asked about the shocks, if the 09 was better, what kind did the 08 have, and asked if this bike would be ok for a beginner to single track and and to do some all purpose mountain bike riding. he didn't know about single track at all. either way it will be a step up from my old Fuji.

lucky for me i get this weekend off and it is going to snow again, so i will probably not be able to test ride the bikes again this weekend. but if i go with an 09 i am not in a real hurry. i won't be picking the bike up for at least another month (i was planning on tossing a few bones down on a lay-a-way if i found one i wanted. my buddy still owes me a few bucks for a guitar i sold him).

ed 

If the '08's hubs are disc ready...buy the '08 and get some Avid BB5's.

If color is your guiding light...then get whatever you wanna pimp at the trail head.

If the '08's hubs are not disc ready...buy the '09, sell some plasma a few times and get some Avid BB5's.


2009:

Frameset
Sizes 13, 16, 18, 19.5, 21, 22.5"
Frame Alpha Black Aluminum w/externally relieved head tube, hydroformed bi-axial down tube, monostay seatstays, forged disc ready dropouts
Front Suspension RST Gila T8 w/preload, 100mm
Wheels
Wheels Shimano M65 disc hubs; Bontrager Ranger rims w/eyelets
Tires Bontrager Jones ACX, 26x2.1"; 27 tpi
Drivetrain
Shifters Shimano EF50, 8 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano C050
Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio
Crank SR Suntour XCC-T102 42/34/24
Cassette SRAM PG830 11-32, 8 speed
Pedals Alloy ATB
Components
Saddle Bontrager Race Lux Basic
Seat Post Bontrager SSR, 20mm offset
Handlebars Bontrager SSR, 25mm rise
Stem Bontrager SSR, 10 degree
Headset VP-A76C-TK, 1 1/8" semi-cartridge, sealed
Brakeset Shimano M415, mechanical disc w/Shimano EF50 levers



2008:

Frame Construction TIG-welded
Frame Tubing Material Alpha Black Aluminum
Fork Brand & Model RST Gila T8, 100mm travel
Fork Material Alloy, single crown
Rear Shock Not applicable
Components
Component Group Mountain Mix
Brakeset Tektro Alloy V-brake brakes, Shimano EF-50 levers
Shift Levers Shimano EF50
Front Derailleur Shimano C050
Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio
Crankset SR Suntour XCC-T102, 24/34/42 teeth
Pedals Alloy Platform
Bottom Bracket Unspecified
BB Shell Width Unspecified
Rear Cogs 8-speed, 11 - 32 teeth
Chain Unspecified
Seatpost Bontrager Sport
Saddle Bontrager Select Basic
Handlebar Bontrager Crowbar Sport
Handlebar Extensions Not included
Handlebar Stem Bontrager Sport
Headset Aheadset Slimstak
Wheels
Hubs Front: Alloy, Rear: Shimano RM30
Rims Bontrager Camino
Tires 26 x 2.00" Bontrager Connection Trail
Spoke Brand Unspecified
Spoke Nipples Unspecified

born2bahick

If they had a few Rockhoppers, Try a Hardrock sport disc. Similar bike (to the 4300) with a different feel.

Meepers

thanks guys. i am going to run down there tomrrow and find out if the 08 is still there and test ride them if we don't get this 7" of snow today.