Spawne32

like shocks, disc brakes, knobby tires, helmets, bike shorts, etc. I went on an actual mountain bike trail today for the first time, not just an off road trail, and i nearly killed myself, the rigid fork SUCKED in the rough parts and the hard pack innova tires i have sucked equally in the wet stuff. The completely lack of a helmet kept me from doing even the not so narly stuff for fear that i would crash in a spot that would cause injury. And now i also understand why kickstands are a no no lol twice my kickstand flew out landing after hard jumps. My friends 400 dollar forge hardtail handled so much better lol

Hot Rod Lincoln

Rigids aren't that bad, you just have to work up to that point in your skillz. As far as the rest, if I were you I would scour craigslist and buy a used bike in good condition for the money you would spend on a Forge. IMHO, a used Stumpjumper would be light years ahead of that Forge. (Or look for a used Trek, Giant, Cannondale) For what you might spend on that Forge, I bought a mint Cannondale Super V a couple of years ago. I have given it to a buddy since, but it is still being ridden and beaten. It had XTR front and rear with XTR V-Brakes and RaceFace cranks. Man, sometimes, I wish it was still mine

Spawne32

well the bike im using is brand spankin new with 75 bucks worth of upgrades, i just wasnt ready for the difference between off road trail riding, and out and out mud slinging mountain biking. The dips and roots and bumps and drops in the path caused me to almost flip a couple times because of the way the rigid fork handled them. Where as when i tried my friends forge the suspension in the front would all travel in the wheel to roll right over these obstacles while maintaining stability. Often times with mine it would cause me to fall or throw forward lol i would have attacked it more aggressively if i had brought my helmet, i just wasnt expecting it to be so hardcore.

artimus

Use your arms to help soften those bumps. As a buddy of mine used to say, "I have 12" of float in my front end"

Spawne32

lol yeh im gona have to get used to poppin some of these rough spots

kenhill3

I don't get it. Just last week you were telling us how you and your buds were riding Ray's, doing gaps, and generally shredding the gnar on your Huffys.

Spawne32

we were, but this was more knar that i think a huffy can handle lol, but we will see, it was just me and my one friend today, team huffy will be out in force hopefully sunday.

santiago

Good to see you having fun. I have just one bit of advice. If you truly ride a Wal-mart bike and decide to go mountain biking it will slowly start falling apart. This is normal and don't get too alarmed.

What I do recommend is that you do NOT put money to keep it afloat. Start saving your money and look for a used mountain bike (Trek, Kona, Gary Fischer, Giant, etc.). Any money you put in repairing your Wal-Mart bike is money wasted.

Enjoy the riding!

Spawne32

this is my bike..

2008 Olpran Patriot 18"

* Frame: 6061 Aluminum With Replaceable Dropout
* Fork: Spinner Rigid
* Wheels: Alloy Quick Release Front and Rear
* Freewheel: Shimano MF-T07, 14/28T 7 Speed
* Shifters: Shimano RevoShift 21 Speed
* Brakes: Avid Single Digit 5 (Front/Rear)
* Levers: Avid FR-5
* Front Derailleur: Shimano FD-TZ30
* Rear Derailleur: Shimano Tourney
* Cranks: Prowheel Black 170mm, 42/34/24T
* Pedals: 9/16 with Boron axle/Steel cage
* Bottom Bracket: Cartridge
* Saddle: WTB Speed V Comp Red w/ 243 T6 Seatpost
* Tires: Innova 26"x1.95"




its valued at about 300 bucks now

Siu Blue Wind

Zephyr11

It's not about whether the bike has suspension and disc brakes. Here are two bikes...tell me which one you think would better handle drops, jumps, and general gnar.


NS Holy, complete with rigid fork and V's


Mongoose DH Team, fully suspended with discs

onetwentyeight 

Id rather have the NS, but its more of a street/park/jump bike than a mountain bike. The mongoose... its just a piece.

jjbod1

IMHO The only thing worth a Sh@t on that bike is the Saddle: WTB Speed V Comp Red, and maby the brakes,as far as V's go.

yellowjeep

Hell yes Forge. I told you all so.

Pocko

Morpheus: Aaahhh, you've swallowed the red pill Neo! Welcome to wonderland! The question is, "How deep does the rabbit warren really go?"

Trinity: Relax Neo, you're being unplugged from the Wallmart-Matrix. Don't be afraid, we will find you, we're coming to get you! You are the one, Neo... you are the one! See you on the other side...




.

Spawne32

lol you wil never convince me to spend more then 500 on a bike ever though, if i do go for a fully suspension ive already decided its gona be a forge 7xx

Spawne32

see my sig

santiago

Listen to our advice. We told you about the kickstand and you learned that we were right.

Here is our advice if you don't want to spend more than $500. Do not get a full suspension that costs $500. For $500 you would get a great, brand new hard tail bike or a really awesome used one. A $500 full suspension bike (brand new, I suppose) would be no better than what you ride now and you would basically be slowly destroying it to eventually spend more money on a bike.

At that point you would have spent $300 on your current bike and $500 on the full suspension one. Those $800 would have got you a really nice bike for mountain biking.

Spawne32

im curious as to what everyone expects to fall apart on my bike i ride now or a 500 dollar full suspension bike? if you crash into a tree on a 1500 dollar bike vs a 300 dollar bike does it make that big of a difference?

Pocko

I don't have to...


When the time is right, the Oracle will send for you... then you will know, if you are the one!

santiago

No one is advocating spending $3000 on a bike. The truth of the matter is that if you take your bike mountain biking it will fall apart. Your bike is great for riding around campus with but is not suited for mountain biking. What's funny is that I also came away liking the saddle and the brakes but thought little of everything else.

Spawne32

the design of the bike is probably better suited for flat ground yes ill agree with you on that point, this bike was definitely not engineered around knarly mountain biking terrain, but i dont understand why its going to fall apart, the parts on the forge my friend is riding are virtually identical to what i have, and ive compared them side by side, the only difference is his are name brand shimano parts. In fact he prefers my shifters better then he does the deore lever shifters, he has very little control over how the derailleur moves.

santiago

Don't worry about it. Just use your bike and when the time comes that you feel you would like a new one come back for advice.

Spawne32

i really wish i had a front shock on this thing though

bbgobie

You sound like a 12 yr old that doesn't know how to ride a bike.
When you learn a little, than come back and tell us all about you're great wealth of knowledge.
Until than, telling us what you know is just a waste of bandwidth.