Marvin

All in my price range, but can not decide which would fit my projected riding habit. I will definately be riding trails hard, but do not see myself going into any type of competition or anything. No crazy jumping, but the will jump some eventually. I have experience riding road bikes and also Dirt Bikes, but not much on Mountain Bikes. I am new to my area and their are great trails all over. I have not had this in the past, but look forward to getting into this sport. I am usually pretty aggresive with other sports like Skiing and Snow Boarding. In order to get in good shape,(I am in the worst shape of my life, although better shape than most), I will be riding mostly road and trails in the begining and then moving on. I will get in shape fast and do not want to buy something I will want to replace next year. The salesman said the XC would be nice because the trails have woods and the FS would work better their. I live in Eastern CT if that makes any difference. Any help or opinions would be greatly appreciated, in the mean time I will keep reading and test riding.
Thanks

zx108

the fsr xc comp is nice if you want a full-suspension(i just bought one and i absolutaly love it, but there are lots of rocks and stuff on my trails), not the fsr xc. you will not get a good fork, and so-so rear shock. the rockhopper has a 130mm fork which is pretty long, this is a more all mountain type bike rather than xc. the stumpjumper is really nice, i was thinking of getting this bike and spent a lot of time looking at it, and test riding it. the fork is nice(fox ) it has 80mm up front so it that is not enought for you, dont get it. the shifting is nice and smooth, it is light, an all-around great *xc* bike. i wouldnt take this on anything but purely xc trails.

Marvin

What was your deciding factor to get the FSR XC COMP over the Stumpjumper, was it just the FSR? What is the difference between XC trails and the rest of the trails?

zx108

well the whole xc, all-mountain thing is a rather hard topic to get straight

https://www.bikeforums.net/mountain-biking/113985-xc.html

oh i didnt get a fsr xc comp, i ment a full suspension

Marvin

Thanks for the thread, sounds like you were in the same boat I am in now, I could not tell between XC and all-mountain. It appears xc will be fine for me. What exact bike did you end up getting and what else did you consider?
Thanks

zx108

i ended up getting a kona kikapu. it is pretty good.

the more you look the higher your standards will be for what bike you want. i started with the rockhopper comp, then wanted to go big with a stumpy fsr, then i was thinking of the of the stumpy ht, i decided to stay around that price range. but i wanted a full suspension, i figured i would get a fs frame and upgrade the heck out of it as i go along rather than by a nice ht then spend over 1500 on a good fs. so i got the kikapu.