Originally Posted by
Maelochs
I just finished this search about a month ago. I found that BikesDirect had a decent but not really good in the *850 range, but I ended up spending a little less and getting an awesome deal on a used F/S Cannondale .... I got lucky that the spring and fork still had some life in them (though the guy said the shock might be needing a rebuild in the no-to-distant future.)
The deal with F/S is that cheap F/S is going to cost a lot of money for nothing ... it won't work real well and it won;'t last really long. That said, there are people who have bought the $700-$800 F/S Motobecanes from BikesDirect who liked them ... but I doubt they were demanding a lot.
I used to have a budget F/S/ Univega back about 15 years ago and I loved it (after I replaced the fork) but after the initial $850 and the fork and all the other stuff I added it was probably a$1200 bike, which is where I should have started.
And really, rear suspension isn't going to do much for you unless you ride a lot of roots or small rocks, or do a lot of fast downhill. For what yuo are describing as what you plan to ride, rear suspension will mostly just be weighing you down and sucking up pedaling power.
Thank you very much for this. I figured I would need to spend quite a bit of cash to get a great bike, I just do not have the funds right now. I understand that I should really just buy the expensive bike and not do upgrades. Which is probably what I will end up doing, just not right now as I am broke. The only reason I want the full suspension is because I have it now on my current bike, Roadmaster from Walmart, which I can't really complain about. For how much it sat, it surely did its job, it was a gift given to me many years ago. I guess for me, its the same as HD, once I was spoiled with it, every electronic device I have MUST support full HD if not greater..
Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
(ALWAYS) Get the bike that doesn't come from Walmart.
I know this, but what the heart wants and the wallet can afford don't always play nicely together! :/
Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
I don't know what crazy means or what kind of trails there are where you live, but the rest of this doesn't sound like anything you need a suspension for. Big tires are real comfy, plenty enough for commuting on pavement.
By crazy, I mean 3+ foot drops, bunny hopping onto picknick tables, riding down steps, etc etc. I did about a 2 foot drop off a boulder with my current walmart bike and spent like 20 minutes getting the derailure back together and shifting properly.
Originally Posted by
MRT2
Or occasionally. A couple of times a year? Twice a week during the summer and fall?
Occasionally means whenever I feel like it. I could be pedaling home from work/school, and decide to get crazy. It really isn't going to be a 'planned' occurrence. lol.
I may end up just getting the one from Walmart for the time being and going easy on it until I can afford a nicer bike. I am still contemplating that 26er from Craigslist, but my teacher at school swears by 29ers, he does marathons, 5ks, you name it he is there. He is also 45+ years old, not quite sure of his exact age. And in my mind, a 29er would fair better in the city for getting over curbs, steps and the like, then again I can just hop up them with the 26er..
Thanks everyone for the conversation and tips! Never really made an expense quite like this on a bike, feels like I am buying a car again!!
Also, by "big tires" do you mean a fat bike?