Bluejayonline

Hey all,

I'm currently living in Whistler, BC, Canada. I have just finished off the winter season of snowboarding and now the place is transforming into a mountain biking meka. I haven't ridden bike's since I was a kid, but this place is fanatical about it. From what I know, which is very limited, there is a lot of wicked trails and some of the best down hilling in the world here. I am looking at getting into it, however I have no idea where to start.

As it's my first time I don't want to rush out there and buy a hugely expensive bike, I also don't know if I want to line myself up with a guaranteed injury straight away. I think my plan at this stage is to just focus on the valley trails, with a cross country/all mountain style bike. I think maybe during the season I will look at doing some down hilling, but if required I will hire a proper bike and give it a go.

I know the sport is an expensive one, however I'm really hoping I can find an entry level bike for somewhere between $500-$1000 that will serve the purpose I'm looking for. After this season I think I'll really be able to decide whether I want to step it up a gear and fork out some proper cash.

I would love you guys to advise me on anything you know about Whistler biking, what kind of bikes I should be looking at etc etc. Any help is appreciated!

Cheers

hybridbkrdr

According to my research, Rockshox forks may be easier to service and easier to find replacement parts. The Rockshox XC30 is considered by some as the cheapest bearable fork but a lot of people say the Recon Silver is the minimum they'd buy. And apparently you may not need to service it as often as the cheaper ones.

As far as shifters go, some people go minimum Deore or even Alivio. There are groupsets at sites like bike24 or ribble if you want to upgrade later. I might go for any well known brand like GT, Giant, Norco, whatever. (A lot of them may use the same subcontractors in China anyway...)

Ldosorio

You can find good bikes that fit your budget in well known brands such as Trek, Specialized, Giant and Cannondale among others. Bear in mind that besides bike you need to buy helmet, gloves, glasses, jerseys, pants/shorts, shoes and pedals... So if your budget is 1000, you might spend 150 in accessories and 850 for your bike.
We are talking about XC bikes, DH bikes are much more expensive. DH accessories are more expensive too.

WestPablo

DH is more expensive, because it's not only more risky, it's also more exciting!
All mtbiking after DH, is just a vacation

HT mtbikes have more of a universal appeal. You can commute to work or school, just before a nice XC run.

You most probably wouldn't wanna do that on a FS mtb. However, you can do just about anything on a MTN with a FS mtb. It just starts looking weird, the further away from the MTN you get

Most guys start with a HT mtb and eventually work up to a FS mtb for DHilling. Riding uphill on a FS mtb is less fun than on a HT mtb. The bigger the MTN, the less fun it is!

If I had it to do all over again, I'd start with a bonafide FS mtb for DHilling and that's all I'd do!

Of course, it would be great to have a nice pickup truck for going up those really high hills too!

Canker

The way it seems to go around here is
1. buy a hard tail
2. replace that with a full suspension
3. add a rigid to the stable and usually a single speed at that

I just did #3 myself though I haven't gone to the single speed part yet. Don't know how those guys do that around here and are still faster than me lol.

On-One 45650B Shimano Deore Mountain Bike | On - One
Something like a longer travel hardtail would be good for the OP. It would work well on the XC stuff and still allow you to do some down hill things later. Probably have to get lucky and find one used though to fit in your price range.