I did a lot of mountain biking in the 90's, until I blew out my knee. I had surgery several years ago & got back into road riding pretty heavily. I just got back on my old trusty mountain bike (a hard tail steel) & had a blast, it's time to make that part of life again.

Unfortunately I've been out of the game for 7+ years and I haven't followed the sport like I used to. I want to buy or build a new full suspension XC bike but I'm not sure what are some of the frames I should be looking at. What I'm interested in is:

- Full Suspension
- XC. Most of my riding doesn't involved monster jumps or downhills, a few hours of riding ususally include hills, rocks, etc. Favorite rides are in the Gambril/watershed area in the Frederick, MD area.
- Relatively light. I don't want to go over 30 lbs.
- Probably mid-level pricing - under 2k is my target.

Now I'm somewhat interested in building the bike up so frames interest me. If I went that route, I'd probably be looking at XT level components. Forks have changed so much & I have no clue regarding rear shocks so I'll start reading up.

I guess a few pointers on good frames that meet my criteria would be a great place to start. I have a friend who rides a FSR, it seems nice. I saw a Jamis Dakar the other day, that also had a nice look. But I'd appreciate some basic pointers - something may look good but be a bad design, etc.

Thanks for any pointers!
Bob

unless you have some 'in' at a lbs or can buy parts wholesale, building a bike instead of buying a complete bike would be ill advised at your budget. It would be next to impossible to build a full XT dually for less than 2k unless you plan on skimping on the suspension or wheels.

I would consider less than 2,000 low level pricing for a dually,2,000-3,500 mid level and 3,500 plus higher level

Check out the Kona Kikapu Line
Spec. FSR XC line
Giant TRance line
Trek Fuel Series
Cannondale Scalpel Series
Rocky Mountain etsx series
Gary Fisher Caliber Series
Marin East Peak

Those are good places to start to look from the biggest brands. Enjoy looking and ride as many bikes as you can.

hey, jamis usually has good bang for the buck from what i have seen. and if you think you could use a little more travel then check out transition's new bike. 5.5" front and rear. it is called the covert. https://www.transitionbikes.com/2007/Covert.cfm you could get that bike for around 2400-2500. not bad at all! otherwise, for less travel, you could also check out commencal. their 2006 meta 4 can be had for 2500 odd at some online stores i think. google them. their website is https://www.commencal.com/news/index_en.htm

also, check for iron horse azure. or even the mkIII. there are good deals happening for their 2006 models. good stuff! anyway. if you sort of "up" your budget by 500 dollars, you could get a pretty decent bike. happy hunting!

A great all around bike that rides like a bike that is 5 lbs lighter is a Santa Cruz Heckler. Entry level is about $1,600 and you can custom pick components to get a decent build for $2,000.

Check out the Santa Cruz Blur XC as well. Damn near everyone I know is on them.

it's going to be real tough to build a Blur for less than 2g's

Just to add another flavor:

I rode with a guy last night who has a Motobecane dually he bought for under $2K, and it's spec'd very well... I didn't think handled as well as my 6 year old GF Sugar. This is the one....

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...om_team07x.htm

You could also watch your local ad's(paper, craigslist, or mtbr.com) and find a great deal on a used bike. I just helped a friend find a practically new Trek 8000 $300. There are good deals out there....

Heckler is a good bet, as is Transition. Jamis or Iron Horse also. The Santa Cruz Superlite would fit the bill if your not on real rough stuff. Under 30 lbs and under $2000 kinda limits ya a bit. If ya can go a bit more, Id suggest a Yeti 575 or Specialized Stuntjumper.

I'd add the Giant Anthem line as well if you're mostly XC rider. I have one, do nearly XC exclusively, and love it!

I recently found myself in the same situation as yourself. Being old school, I ended up staying with a hardtail and steel. That makes me run with a very small crowd but I am currently building up a Kelly Deluxe. I intend to build it with XT/XTR parts and Juicy sevens for under $2500 while keeping it under 25 pounds. I figure that will give me something to do before next spring.

If you can go a bit over, then take a look at the Kona King Supreme frame. I think it is the best deal for a race XC dually. If you want to go with a hartail then look at the Kula Supreme frame, only 599$, i'm sure you could manage to keep that under 2k.

If you are set on building up the bike and can up your budget a little I would go for the Titus Racer X. It is an awesome xc frame and right now Speedgoat has it for a great price. They have the 2006 for $1299. That is one heck of a good price!

Oo, I thought lowcel will promote his Ells Truth ^^, well for me i will get a Anthem!!!!!