Dear members,

When I got my drivers licence, my bike has been rotting in my garage ever since. In the last few weeks, I've started cycling again which reminded me how much I loved it in the first place. However, my current bike has a 16-17" frame which is way too small for me, as I am 6 feet tall.

So I was looking at some new bikes with a little help from my friends, and the conclusion was that I'll buy a 19" frame 29" wheels hardtail MTB, and my price range is quite limited (I'm still on college).

Most of them have suggested Trek, Kona, Specialized and Fuji bikes up to $700, but the one that caught my eye is a Breezer Storm 29. In my country, it retails for $1000, which is way over my budget, but there is a special sales event where they are available for $650 if you pay cash. Here are the specs Breezer Bikes - Storm Sport 29 - Bike Details

Most of my bike loving friends have said that the price is okay, since most bikes from established brands have exactly the same components, but that they would never buy one because it is such an obscure brand. Still, the retailer is offering 5-year warranty and free servicing costs for $50 added to the price.

Breezers are very rare in Europe (specially Serbia) and I've never heard of them, but my friend from the States says that I should buy it because it's a legendary name and the bike has really good handling, something that I might enjoy.

Should I buy it? I really like the fact that it's so rare, but it also scares me a bit.

Thank you for your help!

I wouldn't worry about the frame: aluminum hardtail frames are a very mature technology, not much to go wrong there. And the rest is just parts that will be on any frame in that price range. Go for it!

Thanks! But is Breezer a good brand? I mean, nowadays, most bikes are made in China anyway.

Just me, but I wouldn't buy a bike made in China (again). Most "good" bikes today are made in Taiwan.

I can't tell you there's something wrong with a bike made in China, I'm just telling you I wouldn't buy another one.

My wife had an Avalanche 3.0 Disc that was made in China and it took a beating, but we replaced nearly every part on it, save for the wheels and the frame. We owned the bike for about two years and replaced the cassette, front derailleur, brake disc, and a front chain-ring was missing a tooth. The bike met an untimely death in an auto accident before we had a chance to replace that, too. We bought the bike for $360 and it wouldn't surprise me if we sunk just as much into it. The only part that didn't fail was the frame.

FWIW, I realize GT didn't make the parts that failed, but regardless, the parts were cheap and the bike was made in China. Ya get what ya pay for, and we paid $360.

Our LBS carries Breezer bikes. Personally, I didn't like the feel of them, but they seem to be decent bikes. The one I rode felt solid and well put together, but it just wasn't for me. I liked the bike, I just didn't like the "feel." I wouldn't have had any problems bringing the Breezer home, had I liked it.

Don't know much about mountain bikes, but the Breezer Hybrids my wife and I own (purchased 2009 "leftover" Taiwan made models with no suspension in 2011) have been trouble free. After three thousand miles on my bike I have only had to do maintenance (cable adjustments, chain lubes, etc). With me, tool kit and dog in a big Wald basket up front, my Breezer is hauling around about 250 lbs. Oddly enough, a friend of mine said he was pleased with the quality of his Breezer mountain bike ride, and that Joe Breeze made good bikes. His rec was one of the reasons I purchased a Breezer.

So a cheap bike has cheap parts that will wear out faster... of course. That has zero relationship to where the frame was welded up and the bike was assembled.

Quality control has zero relationship to where a frame was welded up and the bike was assembled either, I presume...

There's a reason cheap bikes are produced in China and the more expensive ones are produced in Taiwan. I don't think it's any secret that stuff manufactured in China is garbage.

So, OP buys a bike made in China, and then has to replace all the parts. By the time he replaces everything that's broken, he could have gotten himself a better bike with better parts, which, of course, was made in Taiwan.

Joe Breeze has been my friend for over 40 years. He built my first mountain bike for me in 1978. I am now riding a new Breezer Repack bike.

If Joe Breeze has anything to do with it, it is a great bike. Here we are together with my new bike.

Did he build your first MTB for you, or did his company build your first MTB for you?

And there is a huge difference between their high end bikes and low end. Diamondback is a great example of this. They have their Walmart low end junk and their LBS higher end bikes. Apples and oranges between the two

Joe didn't have a bike company in 1977, when I asked him to build my bike. He delivered it eight months later in 1978. He was a friend who had built a half dozen road bikes for other members of our bike club, and he knew what I wanted. Building the first ten mountain bikes, including mine, #2 , is why he is famous now.

Joe is one of the world's leading bicycle engineers. He can build one from a pile of tubing if he cares to, and that is what he did for me in 1978.

That's pretty cool. Do you still have the bike?

I like my Breezer a lot. Ive had it since 94 or so. Even in North America few people know what it is.

For 20 years or so it has been in the Mountain bike Hall of Fame in Crested Butte. The Hof recently moved to Fairfax, and I saw my bike for the first time in decades.

Here are Joe and myself with Breezer #2 . I'm wearing a t-shirt from the 1979 Crested butte to Aspen Klunker Tour, where I rode this bike.

Fairfax, VA?

There's a Fairfax in Virginia? Who knew?

No, I'm talking about the famous town of Fairfax, in California, where mountain biking was born and where the Marin Museum of Bicycling will soon open.

Fairfax, Virginia? Good one. Is there really such a town?

Quite a large city, pretty much right outside D.C.

I've never heard of Fairfax, CA. Never been to CA. I'm only familiar with one Fairfax, and that's the one in VA.

Tiger, if you haven't watched "Klunkerz", it would be worth your while. Joe Breeze invented the modern mountain bike and Charlie Kelly, aka repack rider, was responsible for the "repack" races that led to modern mountain bikes. Both guys are legends.

Thanks for the tip, I've never heard of that film.

You can buy it on the web or rent it on Amazon video. Well worth it if the history of mountain biking is of any interest to you. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I have the Storm Comp 29! It's a fast and nimble MTB bike! I LOVE IT! VERY RESPONSIVE!!! You will not be be disappointed.

Yeah, I watched a trailer for it and it looked really good.