nrose

The $1,499 MSRP is not for the bike I linked to. It's for the Devinci Desperado 1M that's advertised under "New Products"

2008 Devinci Desperado 1 M
CDN$1,499.99

cranky1

I have had good luck with Fisher and Specialized in that price range. I have a Fish Wa Hoo and my son has a Specialized Rock hopper Both great bikes. Ask if the shop has any noncurrent last years models. This has saved me some cash. Pick out a bike that fits and feel good.

Captain Jake

I really like the Eastern Mountain bikes, I'm partial to the Blizzard as I'm a huge fan of Steel but those are both good bikes to get you on the trails.

jjbod1

I did not even know Columbia still even made bikes. And back in the 70's and 80's when I do remember seeing them in the bargain stores of the time, they where cheapo crap kids bikes.

nrose

Thanks everyone for their help. I went into www.silentsports.com yesterday and picked up the Rocky Mountain Trailhead (https://www.bikes.com/main+en+01_102+...E=180&Y=2008#2)

My Fiance picked up the Norco Pinnacle.


Thanks again for the guidance!

Lets_roll

Man,








Enjoy the bike.

Ka_Jun

That's your starter rig? Heh...nice job. Ride the hell out of it. *thumbs up* It's begging to taste the singletrack.

nrose

Thanks.
I'm definitely enjoying it.
Can't wait for it to get warmer (and dryer) so I can start scouting out some trails here in Toronto.

It got hella muddy the first time I took it out. Took me an hour just to clean it.

nrose

I noticed the suspension can be adjusted (+) and (-). How do I properly tune this? When do I make it stiffer\softer? And how do I know what it's currently set at?

cyclezen

Nice bike, should be great fun!
Not being detail familiar with the MZ Comp fork, but generally the first adjustment given on models is ability to set 'sag', that would be explained in the fork manual (usually availabel online also in PDF froom the manu. site).
'Sag' set on a coil spring setup doesn;t usually change the 'stiffness' much, since good coil springs usually are very linear until they get to either extreme of their travel range. Depending on fork design, oil level changes can alter 'stiffness'. So iff'n you wanna play, you can tear in there and make oil level changes; but likely the differences will be very small.
Air forks do change those characteristics, since lower and higher pressures do change how easily air compresses and so how the fork reacts to shocks.

Usually the next adjustment given on many forks is 'rebound', which controls how the fork reacts after the bump/shock/jolt. Usually found at the bottom of one of the lower stanchions, sometimes layered on top of one tube. That one can really screw up how a fork works, iff'n you don;t know what you;re doin.
Best to read up on the manual, they often give an elementary explanation of 'sag', rebound (and depending if the manual covers shocks with compression damping) compression.
My KHS came with an older Marzoochi 70mm air fork with rebound, and I really like how even and smooth it works. Comparing it to the newer Fox100RL on the Epic, it feels just as smooth and even. I really like that Marzooch, even though it doesn't have any of the fancy modern features like lockout or 'U-turn' type adjustment. Noted that I'm pretty high on the 'Wimp-Out' scale when it comes to air-time and other body/bike bashin feats.

nrose

Thanks for that explanation.
It seems more complicated than I initially thought.
I will leave it at what it is until I get a better understanding of how it works and how it adjusts.

jrussell10

Also, have a look at Cheap Bicycles for some pretty good deals on bikes, worth a look anyway