Sincitycycler

Any good dual supsension bikes out there for under $1500? I'm a big-ish guy (6'2" 189 lbs)and use a 60cm road frame, I'm guessing an XL MTB.

Thanks for any help.

bruiser2

The general rule is not to buy FS under 1000. Since you're use to arough ride however (depending on the types of roads you ride on) you would probably fine with a hardtail.

Sincitycycler

OK. Good hardtails then ?

Maelstrom 

Correct.

I would also seriously play on some bikes. You might find sizing isn't going to match road bikes as you want something a little smaller. You sacrifice some pedal efficiency to protect the boys

1000$ dually will get you an ok frame and crappy parts
1000$ ht will get you a good frame and parts and send you on your merry way with the big J in hand

DylanTremblay

For $700 (I'm guessing CND?) you can buy yourself a Norco Wolverine its a strong sturdy bike with decent parks. I ride a 18" and I'm 6 feet and 160lbs so that should be good for you if not you can get 20" if you want...best thing to do is just go to your LBS and test out some bikes see which ones you like and fit you good.

santiago

Look at the Specialized line. I would look at the Rockhoppers and possibly the Stumpjumpers. Not sure at what price the Stumpjumpers are ate, but those are the two I would look at from Specialized.

I'm a fan of Kona and would look at the XC line. If you re looking to get a bike right now then go look at the 2005 models. You will get a double bang for the buck. The end-of-year pricing applies but also because in the 2006 model line it looks like they've lightened the component quality on the XC hardtail line meaning you'll have to spend more next year to get the same components you got this year.

Some people swear by the Gary Fischer Genesis geometry. You'll have to try it out and see if it's for you.

Killer B

Check out HARO.... Great bikes & very good components...... $1000 - 1500
'05 model's even less this time of year!

WTF is a "Fattie"?

A Double-Duece maybe? Actually most are going to 24 oz.

valbowski1980

Check out the Iron Horse Rogue. I have yet to find anything that will touch it for that kind of money.

I've been riding mine for a couple of weeks now and I couldn't be happier with it.

http://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?LPROD_ID=25875&lsubcat_id=7&lcat_id=7604&referpage=

skyfish

May I suggest a used FS with dated good frame and high level parts?

bmph8ter

A large joint.

Maelstrom 

Big ole joint...fat and round. Smelling like...well...a joint haha

Sincitycycler

Keep em coming!

Raiyn

Too many expensive things go wrong with used FS frames

C Law

Are you talking about hucking off of stuff or lokking to ride xc?

Check out the big names at that pricepoint.

Giant, Trek, Kona, Specialized.

Maybe Jamis,

Also check out the around $500 bike thread for ideas.

Stay away from used FS in my opinion, unless you know and trust the guy who used it. Like Raiyn said, there are about 15 things that can go wrong with it, and that is just with the rear triangle.

A cheap FS bike is just about the worst thing you can get.

dirtyamerican

Ya, figure out what you want to do as a mountain bike rider. If it's trail riding, go with a trailbike. If you think you might want to spin and ride fast like when you were road riding then get a xc bike. Don't just tell a salesman that you want a hardtail. You'll be happier if you are more specific in finding what you want than just fs or hardtail. I also used to be a roadie and switched to mtb 7 years ago. Ton's o fun! Good luck, I hope you find a good ride!!!

nos

I say, try and buy a used bike. There are a lot of them on ebay etc. You can, if you want build up some frames as well. If your looking at doing some cross counrty riding, with no huge jumps etc then, I would recommend a cannondale super v. I have been riding mine since 1996, and I still love the ride and durability. Kona and Yeti have some pretty good frames out too.

shane45

Second the motion to look at Specialized Rockhoppers and Stumpjumpers.

pinkrobe

Carry the motion. Stumjumper hardtail- great neutral geometry. You should easily be able to find a 2005 model on sale. The geometry is classic 71/73 and they are a great bike to start with. They should not be used as a DJ bike.

J-McKech

Def. look at Haro or Iron Horse. I think they make some of the best bikes for what you pay.

Sincitycycler

Please translate? Thanks

harov3

71 to 73 degrees. Its the head angle of the frame from horizontal. makes for a stable bike while still being quick steering. Look at a Haro.

santiago

The second part that wasn't translated was, "They should not be used as a DJ bike."

Bikes with a 71 to 73 degree head angle should not be used as a Dirt Jump bike.

Although it was alluded to in a few posts, what you have to specify is what kind of riding you plan to do. Given that you're a roadie, I assumed it would be Cross Country (XC).

The other general types, with my spin on things:

XC - Cross Country. Riding along some sweet single-tracks with some obstacles like rock gardens, a few small drops (3'), some climbs, some descents.

DJ/UA - Dirt Jumping. Urban Assault. Trick riding. Think of BMX riders that have grown up and want a bike with shocks and more than one gear but still want to do what they did on their BMX bikes.

FR - Free Ride. XC with more of everything. Bigger drops, jumps, etc. Beefier bikes than XC.

DH - Downhill. Take a ski lift or a ride in a vehicle to the top of a mountain and let gravity be your friend. These are big hefty bikes with long suspension travel and with little need of pedaling efficiency. Climbing a hill with this bike is just plain tough.

There are other terms that may or may not be just some company's marketing terms. "All Mountain" comes to mind. In this case I think All Mountain is similar to Free Ride.

Anyway, of these classifications, what is it you want to do?

Sincitycycler

Proablay XC - I'm friggin' 45 years old man! Hardtail would be good for that? Thanks for the info

TroyLeeRacer199

In my opinion a hardtail would be great for that since (in my area at least) there is lots of uphills, so you dont always want the bob from a FS. It's a trade off. FS better for on the downhills of xc but its harder to go uphills. On hardails, It is way better up hill but not as great going downhill. All you have to do is use your legs on a hardtail to soke up the bumps more and your set.

Hope this helped.

pinkrobe

Yeah, what santiago said. 71 head angle/ 73 seat angle is classic olde-skool xc race geometry and works for darn near everything. It's stable at speed, nimble in singletrack, etc. I used to have a xc fs bike, but bought a hard tail last year. I found that I was letting the rear suspension do all the work for me when I got into the technical stuff, and I was losing basic riding skills. I might go back to FS someday, but for now I'm really happy to be challenged again by the old trails I know so well. I don't think that's super-relevant to your question, but if you want to get mad skillz, hardtail is the bishizzo for you. Werd.