I'm down to 329 lbs from 380 lbs and ready to get cycling. I'm trying to stay around $899. I'll be doing street, path, greenway and light trail riding. I do plan to get some hybrid or less knobby tires. Suggestions welcomed! These are the bikes I have in mind:

Storm Comp 29

Talon 29er 2 (2014) | Giant Bicycles | United States

Late wildcard: $599 but have to travel 1 hr 15 minutes to pickup at Performance

https://www.performancebike.com/bike...400327__400327

Congratulations on the weight loss!

I don't know much about MTBs but as I'm sure you've read here, fit is everything.

I just purchased the Raleigh Talus 29er on 08 March of this year and I love it. I might put street tires on it, but it rides nice and I am 6 foot 3 and 380 pounds.

This is a Giant Talon 29er tho.

In all reality, the bikes from all mfgrs look very similar component wise, as every company builds bikes to meet a price point. Some companies like Giant make (or rebrand) all the parts, so a wheelset will be a house brand instead of a 3rd party, just to keep costs down. It's not bad. When I was shopping for a new bike, the single greatest advice I heard was "Find your price point, then find what fits, then decided on a color" since components will be similar across the bikes.

That said, the breezer has some better componentry than the giant, but I'm not too sold on breezer as a brand (or a name as whole), Just haven't seen too many of them running around.

I regret buying a Mtn bike for everyday, if I had it to do over I'd get a cyclecross bike. I ride more on the dirt roads, local MU trail etc, my bike hasnt seen a mountain bike trail. Currently I'm trying to update it to do local gravel grinds which the CX would be better for.

of those two, Giant Talon hands down plus it looks better so you HAVE to ride it more often

This is information worth weighing, and weighing rather heavily.

There's really no reason a large clyde can't ride a CX bike, and unless you're riding LOTS of singletrack, IMHO a CX bike would serve the OP better based on their post at the outset. I have three bikes, a roadie, a CX and an MTB .. and while the MTB is old, and is at a disadvantage because of that, for everyday riding and commuting my go-to bike is my CX bike. I have urban tires on it for commuting, and the knobbys it came with are in the garage ready to be swapped out for light trail riding and CX season.

2014 Jamis Nova Sport - MSRP in your price range ... AL bike, with an AL fork ... I'd consider swapping out the fork down the road to Carbon but that can wait.

Shop around ... you may be able to still find a 2013 bike on close out

I switched out the knobbys on mine for some Conti CX tires and they made a big difference. If I choose to modify it further it would cost a lot more i.e. crank or cassette.

Get the Storm Comp 29er thru Performance for $800. Find Bikes, Cycling Clothing, Bike Parts & Bike Shoes Or Your Local Bike Store at Performance.

May as well invoke the N+1 rule at that point

or excuse to get another wheelset for different tire option. I'm guilty of this.....

Budgetary constraints prevent me from doing the same ... but I would in a heartbeat!

I started cycling again when I found a lost MTB, realized it wasn't what I wanted or should be using, so I bought a "hybrid" but then realized it wasn't what I wanted or should be using either. wound up many years and many dollars and much time reburbishing transforming bikes before now riding road bikes. just a word of caution ...

Joe Breeze pretty much invented the mountain bike in the late 70's and all modern MTB's are descended from those first "Breezers". One is in the Smithsonian and one is in the MTB Hall of Fame. My understanding is that Joe sold his company on the basis of him remaining as an employee to do the designs. He has also focused very tightly on urban commuter bikes, a very specialized field, which probably accounts for them not being to well known by the average bike rider.

+1

Besides...

If Performance stands behind the brand, the brand must be trustworthy!

That's cool, thanks! I've seen a few of the city bikes around, but I just figured it was more of a "linus" style, focusing on the urban riding.

Nothing against PB, but I feel like the brands at PB have less of a dealer restriction that the other brands require. You have to buy them in store. From my understanding, most of the big manufacturers want you to patronize the LBS, so there is no online sales allowed. For a company like PB, the dealer restriction would hamper the online/mail order business dramatically, so they carry brands such as GT and FUJI that allow online sales, not necessarily because of trustworthiness or quality. My 0.02 cents.

I’d most definitely pull the trigger on the Storm Comp 29er, as it has better overall components and I prefer its appearance over the Talon. The Storm also has mounts for 2 bottle cages whereas the Talon doesn’t. They can be very useful on long distance rides.

Additionally, Performance Bikes has the Storm Comp 29er on sale for $799.99 (see link below)…

Product: Breezer Storm Comp 29er Cross Country Mountain Bike - 2014

In my opinion, the Talon is way overpriced for what little you’re actually getting for $900.

In any case, enjoy whichever you chose, gman214!

Mountain bikes, ie bikes intended for trail use with suspension, should only be used on trail. They really aren't suited for street use.

I am a firm believer there is no one bike that does everything. Really assess what type of riding you plan to do. If just starting out I assume it will mostly be road, paved trail etc. Get a road or cyclecross bike, without suspension. For your price point, suspension will be bad and prong to failure. Look for a good hardy material, such as steel or aluminum, the best components possible for your price point and consider spending some money getting wheels relaced to support your weight. If you do get a mountain bike, switch out the knobbies to road slicks (25 - 28 width) unless of course, you actually plan to do dirt trails only. At your weight, you need ot be very careful about how you use full suspension. Most mountain bikes have a weight limit - generally 200 or less. You can still ride one but cautiously...

I think if you step away from purchasing a mountain bike, you will have alot better options in that price point...

+1

but also, how many of us, in truth, have more than one bike! right? I mean N+1 rules around here! so if the OP goes for the MTB there's no shame in buying more bikes in the future. in fact, on these forums you'll often get encouragement!

i'm a MTBer at heart... riding some nice flowing singletrack is prob the best place in the world for me... but the last time I hit the trail I was so out of shape I didn't bother going back... it took me over a week to recuperate... that was largely my fault... mid summer in TX, even drinking plenty I managed to get dehydrated... I ended up turning the bike into something more road oriented... and then selling the frame and swapping the parts onto a touring bike... I wanted something that was decent on the road, that I could putz along on greenways and that sort of things... in the back of my mind I also loved the idea of touring so I went with a surly disc trucker (allowed me to use my MTB parts with minimal parts swapping)... it is a great bike for solo rides on poor roads but a few months later I built up a road bike... if it wasn't for me wanting to tour (have a nice 450 mile loaded tour coming up soon I think a CX bike would have been the best compromise for me... a change of tires and possible raise the stem a bit for hitting mild trails yet near the speed and comfort/hand positions of a road bike while on the road

for MTB... I like giant... they make good solid MTBs... but in your price range the forks are pretty crap especially for bigger clyds like us... if you really want to hit REAL MTB trails go with a MTB... but get a better fork or a rigid fork... large volume front tire run at lower pressure and learning to navigate the trail rigid will make yo a better rider when/if you add suspension down the road.

but be realistic with yourself... if real trail riding isn't in your future i'd seriously consider a CX bike... while it is a compromise it's not as large of a compromise as the MTB

Thanks Gnosis! Leaning toward the Breezer

Thanks everyone for the input. I'll be making a decision in the next few days...gotta get rolling!!!

I'm assuming that "200" was supposed to be 300.

https://static.specialized.com/media/...0037057_r1.pdf

Specialized lists total as 300

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/backo...nual-v10-0.pdf

in 2007, giant lists it as 355 lbs total. (p 17)