massive89

I just wanted to say hello, introduce myself,and ask for good advice. I am a very athletic guy and jus picked up mountain biking/biking for fitness as a new sport. Im 17 and live in new york city i like mountain bikng becuz of the good speed adrenaline and jumps.I am loking to get a bike to commute to the gym which is 4 miles away but i also want a sporty fast bike that could be used for rugged terrain and jumps. yes i ve done my research as i have seen other poor newbies get flamed for asking "which bike to get" but u guys r prolly way more experienced than me so please help. Ive narrowed down my choices to so far sme of tha best bikes for my price range 400 to 550 bux. the ones ive looked at are...

1.trek 4500
2.ironhorse maverick 3.0
3.specialized rockhopper
4.specialized hardrock sport disc
5.cannondale f5

thanx in advance guys

Ricardo

I'd go for option #4 but whatever feels good is the best option.

Ricardo

migoythepinoy

Just because no one else will probably recommend this ill go ahead and say the F5 (only if it feels right thats the most important thing test ride them all) i find that the headshok/lefty forks (although look odd) are just absolutely amazing its lighter and smoother then most other forks...

BTW TEST RIDE around this price its all the same and its all based on phisical/visual preference
Im getting the '08 F4

mcoine

My wife got an F3 last summer and she crashes about 4-5 times per ride and nothing has broken yet, so its a pretty good bike.

WannaGetGood

If you wanna do jumps. #4 would be the best way to go.

iwantakona

Man she wrecks alot.

massive89

ok thanx any toher suggestions

DevilsGT2

Proof-reading your post before clicking "Submit Reply".

junkyard

Then you want something red. Don't listen to mtnbiker66 who says blue bikes are fastest. Or santiago who says silver bikes are fastest. Red is clearly fastest.

mtnbiker66

You should also be aware that Junyard gives the worst advice on the forums.Any of the bikes you listed are nice bikes,just remember a nice bike can still be broken. If you want it sporty and fast, you will want it in BLUE. Silver and black are fast as well but red is sluggish and heavy feeling.

junkyard

Green, well, green is just plain slow. I wish someone had warned me before buying it. I'm just looking out for the noobs.

santiago

Green may be slow, but it's a signal that you're horny. I know it's true because Wikipedia said so.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_(disambiguation)

junkyard

Funny you say that. Back when I bought the bike it was just another nail in the coffin of a relationship I'd been in.

mtnbiker66

Should I go into the bluegrass song "drivin' nails in my coffin"?

2slo2run

I went through a similar decision. I personally did not like the Trek 4500 (even though I'm pretty hardcore Trek roadie) and ended up with the Hardrock Sport Disk.
Great bike but Im not too sure about the commuting aspect. My MTB gets all its riding on dirt because I have the road for the road...
I love it, but one quote I found in my research was "It seems that every person on here who recomends the Hardrock OWNS ONE!" Maybe there is a reason...
Trek has nice components but I walked out the door at one shop with Bike, cages, spare tube, pedals and bottle for the listed sticker on the Trek 4500 at the Trek dealer... And it feels to me like a more solid bike.

junkyard

That would be swell.

mcoine

I'm not sure he's actually here to give advice.. just witty humor.


Oh, how often does your wife/girlfriend crash?

ed 

So your lbs bribes you with all that crap so you'll by their bike? What shop charges anywhere close to the listed sticker anyway ?

ed 

Black is the new black. (ask angus)

massive89

ok cool so now its pretty close to the hardrock and the trek 4500..buti dont know because i thought that ironhorse bike co. and the rockhopper had some pretty good reviews ok ....so wat is it that seperates tha hardrock and trek from tha others technically..or theoretically or is there anyone witta a different opinion.=)

santiago

If it was my choice I would opt for the Rockhopper as I consider it to be a pretty nice XC bike. The HardRock is more of a do-all bike. A little XC, a little jumping, a little urban, etc. You did mention you wanted to jump so between those two, I'd opt for the Hard Rock. Not familiar with the 4500 but there are plenty that have them here and they do appear to be nice.

Podolak

This is so true. I had a black and silver bike, it was pretty fast. However, I upgraded to a red bike and my speed increased exponentially. I am living proof that red is most definitely faster. I wonder if the brighter the red the faster the bike? I think black is the slickest though. If you want to do covert missions go black for sure.

junkyard

I'm here for entertainment only.

Bike Lover

Yeah, mostly because the people in this catagory have only one bike and happen to recommend/fall in love with the bike they own.

Taking the above into consideration, my first bike was a Cannondale hard tail ('01) and I loved it. I still have it but don't ride it much any longer since I have other bikes now. I highly recommend C-dales, with the added bonus they're made in the US.

migoythepinoy

Cannondale is making their lower end 08's (F7 and F6 and maybe the F5 and F4) in taiwan or something just visited my LBS and they told me that these bikes (well at least the F7 and F6) are going to have shimano parts...