Ive been riding mtb's for over 10yrs now and Ive had the same bike ever since. Its time for me to get a new one and I dont know much about the new bikes. I know that I want a hardtail mainly because I want to keep the price under $600 and I want good quality. I do about 90% aggressive trail riding and about 10% jumps and drops. I want a bike thats going to hold up and last a while. The thing that sucks is where I live the lbs dont have a good selection of mtb's so its hard for me to test ride anything. My dad has a 05 rockhopper which I rode and like. Ive been pretty much set on the rockhopper just because it seems to be a popular bike on here and that is the only bike ive ridden but im a little worried if it will hold up to my kind of riding. I just started looking at some iron horse bikes and they seem to be nice bikes. I was looking at the 06 yakuza bakuto on rscycle.com for $600 which seems like a very solid bike but how would that be on the trails? It looks kind of heavy. The 06 warrior race looked nice as did the maverick SE and 5.0. I really hate to have to order a new bike without riding one but thats what Im going to have to do unless I get a rockhopper. What are your opinions for a good bike for me? Thanks for the help in advance.

bump anyone?

I am not an expert but if you have to do it blind (like most new buyers) you might want to try what I did. I used www.mtbr.com and read reviews to find good components then found a bike with those on it. Probably the two biggest components groups are the shifting and the suspension. You'll need to understand what type of riding you want to do which will determine if you need a full suspension or just suspension on the front.

On component hunting, I read a lot of good things about sram so I wanted a bike them (after trying them, I think they are pretty good). There are a lot of good forks in your price range like rockshox. Just really know how all the components stack up against each other than find a bike the has the most good parts and you like the style for the money.

Happy hunting!

Hal

It's going to be tough for you to find something perfect in that price range. But... The Rockhopper seem to be consistantly THE bike to buy in that price range for the value and capability. The other bikes that you mention I don't have any experience with. In this range, Trek and Cannondale make some good bikes, but I think Specialized does the best at this price point.

Good Luck

Chris

The Trek 6000 is in your price range. I just bought min about 3 months ago on sale for $500 and love it so far. I do mostly trail riding as well and it does great on that. I'm very happy with it.

Cannondale F5

Motobecane Fantom Comp (should be here Thursday, let the BD thrashing begin... )

Ive been reading a lot and I pretty much know what to look for as far as decent components. My main concern is getting a bike that will hold up. Like I said, I do mostly aggressive XC and some drops, some pretty big but with smooth landings. Im almost 6' and about 175lb. I just want a decent bike that is going to hold up and last a while. Weight is not that big of an issue, however I dont want something thats 40lb. Also remember Id like to keep it under $600.

I'm 6'1" 190lbs and my Trek 6000 holds up fine.

I will look for the closest trek dealer and try to ride a 6000. I was also looking at a kona scrap online and that seems like a pretty strong bike. Does anyone have any thoughts on this bike?

I'd be carefull buying a bike without sitting on it...a test ride is recommended

You never know the meaning of pain until you ride a bike that doesn't fit...1" is HUGE on a bike

The most critical measurement on a bike is the top tube length, and all manufacturers have unique specs...also the seat tube length that most quote doesn't reflect the true size.

My wife rides a 17" bike, yet the seat on my 17"(medium) MTB comes up to her shoulder

Just a "heads up"

Well I just talked to a bike shop in KY on Land Between the Lakes about 2 hrs from me and he recommended the gary fisher pirrana. A few people I talked to recommended this shop and he seemed very knowledgeable about bikes. He said he could get it in 2 days for $525. He said I could ride it on the trails there and if I didn't like it he would help me get another one. What do you all think about this bike? Do you think it would hold up and is this a good deal?

Gary Fisher is better. Try the Wahoo or the Marlin.

Oh, my bad I meant to say Gary Fisher Pirrana, not Trek, Sorry fixed it now.

Have you ridden LBL yet?? how do you like it? I've been there at least 5 times!

Yeah Ive ridden there probably 4 or 5 times. The trails there are awesome. I havent been down there in a couple years so Im going to go there for sure this summer. They are probably my favorite trails around here.