Originally Posted by
mgarikiparithi
Ok, so suspension fork is a bad thing in a budget bike. Can you do much trailing without a suspension though? and if I do decide to go in for a suspension, I would still need to find some good models before I go to my LBS.
How do I decide if the components are "cheap" or not?
Thanks for all the responses guys.
All mountain bikes used to be hardtail and rigid fork. That's fine for trail riding. Suspension came in to enable riders to do crazy stuff like bomb down rough hills and hop around on rocks.
Aluminum frames do give you a stiffer ride than steel, but a front suspension doesn't really address that. Really, you wind up using your legs for suspension.
As for components, do a Google search on the term
bike component hierarchy. Very helpful stuff there.
The GT Zum City Bike in my signature costs $350 at Performance Bike right now. I take trails on it all the time. Solid bike, nothing fancy.