Zapcod

Hi,
I have been out of the sport for a while now. The bike that I have now is an old Cadex with a mag 21-sl ti shock, mavic wheel set with carbon fiber nuke proof hubs and a mish mash of other parts. Question #1 Should I fix this up to ridable condition and sell it or just throw it away.
I took a trip to a few local shops and they all did a great job of answering my questions. So far I have seen the Trek Liquid 25, Fuel EX7 and EX8 along with Cannondale Jekyll, Prophet 1000 and the 2000. So I am looking at $1500 to $2500 for a new bike. Quesion #2 From a performance stand point of a medium to aggressive all mountain rider who wants to go up as well as go down where should I narrow my focus to. Question #3 Or are there other brands I should look at? Any help would be great and thank you for your time.

CranxOC

Many of us - myself included - in here would point you away from either the Trek or the Canondale brands and have you take a look at Specialized. For the type of semi-aggressive AM riding you're talking about that falls within your price range you would do well to take the Stumpjumper models into consideration. They have both 100mm and 120mm rear travel models and they are incredible bikes (I ride the '04 Stumpy Pro myself.)

These things climb as well as anything out there, they descend better than most, they're exceptionally sturdy and Specialized' customer service is excellent. Take a look at the links below for a better idea as to what I'm talking about:

Stumpjumper Expert Disc 120

Stumpjumper Expert Disc 100

Both are at the upper end of your price range but you should be able to get either of them on sale for a couple hundred less than the MSRP.

swifferman

Sorry if this seems a bit personal but how old are you generally? Because if you're over 40, I would recommend looking at strictly XC bikes instead of aggressive AX/All mountain bikes.

Some examples are the Kona Kikapu Deluxe/King Kikapu, or the Kula or Kula Deluxe

The specialized StumpJUmper FSR series, not sure of specific model MSRP pricing though.

ALso, those Trek Fuels are the kind of bike you could be looking at.

Hope those are good suggestions!

EDIT: damnit, didn't read last 2 lines of post as I went searching for bikes

I don't want to delete the above because I spent 4 minutes looking that stuff up.
So disregard! I really like the Cannondale bikes you've selected there. Nothing wrong with them I don't think, if only slightly over priced for what you get.

Zapcod

ok...so far specialized getting 2 votes. Why the FRS and not the Epic or Enduro lines. They may be out of the budget though. Now I gata find a Specialized dealer and give them a look. Trek and Cannondale 10 or 13 years ago were not that great but I figured time heals all wounds. I will look in the Kona as well. Thanks for all the great help and my road to the perfect fit is well on its way. Keep the advice comming and thanks for your help. )

Zapcod

BTW I am not 40 yet...

clunger

don't want to hijack this thread, but wonder what is wrong with trek or cannondale and if it is true that "most here" would not reccomment those brands. i am also in the market for a new ride. even though i am planning on getting a santa cruz heckler, i would be interested in objective opinions on trek and cannondale.

for the original poster - i am not sure, but i think you could also get a santa cruz blur in your range, and it is definetly a great bike.

camaddy

I'm a big fan of Kona and I think you should check out Yeti. The latter may be pushing the limit of your price range if you buy new, but you can easily get a deal something used. Check out the '03 Yeti Kokopelli. That's what I have and it is pretty much the most amazing XC bike I've ever come across. They're pretty tough to find because they stopped making them in 2003 and I doubt many riders are putting them up for sale. Check the classifieds on www.mtbr.com for some great deals...I wouldn't buy new if I were you.

btadlock

Well, then you certainly don't qualify as a old moutain biker.

kcirtap

sounds like you have the same interests i do, ive got the 03 specialized enduro-love it. i got it for 1350 great value. everyone who owns one says the same.

mtnbiker66

Your not old!!!!!! I have a couple of friends that ride Enduros and they really like them. With your price range you have lots of options in bikes.

jo5iah

Try a 29er. You may love it.

jeff williams

He might need a 39er? Something closer to 40.

When you're 60, you ride these.

mtnbiker66

motomickey

Another vote for looking at YETI, you might add FOES, Turner, Intense, Santa Cruz etc to the group. For the amount you're looking at spending, and some of the sales going on right now, you might be shocked at what you can end up on with some careful set up.

CranxOC

Dude, you have no idea what life is like past puberty so, please, try to refrain from giving anyone who's old enough to drink, vote or go to NC-17 movies advice as to how they should or should not proceed with their lives and activities. Your "advice" is generally confusing and uneducated at best and can be entirely misleading for someone looking for a sound opinion.

You should probably stop posting for a while.

CranxOC

You can immediately cross Foes, Turner, Intense and Santa Cruz off that list for the price he's looking at. I spec'd them out last year and you'd be very lucky to get one of those built out for under $3000. You can find deals on Yeti's once-in-a-while but not that often.

jeff williams

XC is a rougher body position to adopt for long periods IMO, though, the knee\spindle\seat being more towards road or 'correct' riding can be a blessing as your knees erode.

Butt, being old you might want a full squish so your 'roids and prostate don't get outta whack.

Gravity racing might be easier, just throw the bike in the back of the caddy and drive back up the fireroad.

Only thing I notice getting older is it takes longer to heal.

An all mountain would be fine, maybe more than an XC. Doing any 'all mountain' on an XC takes a little skill, you're off the seat. An all mountain can be set up to do flatland O.K. probably.
?

Just in here to argue a bit.

khuon

It seems that no one asked the obvious question. Have you tried riding your current bike the way you want to ride it? You said you were out of the sport for a while but the next question is how long have you been back into the sport. Your body changes over time, your interests changes over time. Instead of immediately heading off to buy a new bike (well, I guess there's really not much wrong with that either if you have the cash) you may want to just take stock with any limitations you might be facing with your current bike. This will allow you to more accurately narrow down the solution space.

Zapcod

well...it's good to see that this is an active forum. By the looks of all the posts there is alot of great info. (stands on soap box) I am a 6'4" 210lb, 30 something . I grew up in New England and spent most of my riding near Kennybunk port ME, I cant spell the mountain so I won't try. We rode an average 10 miles a day on very tough trails and worked a 50 hour per week job. Shocks on both ends of the bike were just coming out. Then I moved to St Louis MO, and rode at Castlewoods and Chub trails, then I hit a tree and broke my collar bone. Now 5 years later looking for a full suspension ride that will go easy on my colon and give me room to grow into the potential the bike has. My old bike won't do(hardtail) and I will be looking at Specialized and Kona...with an eye toward Yeti and those kind...droooooooole . Good advice on the full squish, don't want anything out of wack lol . Thank you all for the info and if I just got too wordy forgive me . Great forum and I will be on often to view more advice because I think I need it.

Kris Flatlander

One humongous vote for C'dale, I'm personally looking at a Prophet as well and have test ridden them and it is a flat out amazing bike. I can't say enough good things about it. Oh ya and "End Lefty discrimination" haha

Raiyn

I can say plenty of bad things about them. Just wait until you need that Lefty serviced

jeff williams

[QUOTE=Zapcod] Now 5 years later looking for a full suspension ride that will go easy on my colon and give me room to grow into the potential the bike has. My old bike won't do(hardtail) and I will be looking at Specialized and Kona...with an eye toward Yeti and those kind...droooooooole . Good advice on the full squish, don't want anything out of wack lol . QUOTE]

Works for me.
Whatever justification you can come up with to buy a $$$$ FS bike, use it.

For the wife, try laying on your stomach on the couch for days moaning about your sore @$$ and not doing any chores.

"I NEEEEED the bike baby! I'm dying out there..."

Raiyn

Oh as for a suggestion DEFINATELY Specialized

Kris Flatlander

*dramatic long yell* NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The discrimination continues!

Akak

My advice:

Build up a new bike from scratch.

As I was browsing the usual bike company pages when I made my return to mountain biking a few months ago, I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. I could find a good frame but I didn't like the fork. Or it had good components but bad brakes, etc. I was also disappointed that I couldn't find a bike with full XT, as each bike had certain parts that were either lower grade Shimano or generic. Even on a $2100 Trek, I found generic parts.

So I decided to part it out myself and am very glad I did. Instead of spending $2100 on a bike and then $300 more to replace the parts I didn't like, I spent $1700 and it's perfect. Of course, I did buy a super-cheap frame.

Hand pick the parts yourself and you will have no regrets. And most of us older guys do have one advantage over the younger guys: money