BudFox

Who better to advise me on my first foray into mountain biking than some fellow Cervelo owners? I'm currently riding 150mi/wk on my R3. Most of my fellow club members do alot of mountain biking here in SF North Bay in the off season. I'd like to join them but don't know a damn thing about mountain bikes. But I do know that I want to look good and have a bike that I can grow into. I subscribe to the idea that a good machine makes you want to live up to it's potential. One caveat is that, unlike most of the guys I ride with, I have a limited budget and will most likely build it up with online/ebay deals like I did with my R3, as opposed to dropping 5K at the local LBS.

eminefes

So you want to look good....hmm.....ok. Buy one of these:



Chicks dig the spinning rims.

grahny

26"? 29'er? Full suspension? Hardtail? What kind of terrain? Technical (roots, rock gardens, drops, etc)? Or just fairly clear trails?

This would probably be better served in the MTB forum though, since the choice of what mtb to get should have nothing to do with the brand of road bike you ride

DrPete 

I think MTBs are sufficiently different in terms of position, etc. that it kinda doesn't matter what kind of road bike you own.

I very rarely ride singletrack anymore, and most of the time I spend on my MTB it's because I'm hanging out with my 4-year-old nephew on his bike. So I just kinda bought whatever and got a Motobecane MTB.

Gambutrol

Go for a 29er hardtail. I wouldn't buy a full-suspension used because the shocks will probably be shot and are costly to replace. But really, it just depends on where you ride and what your riding style is- I'd head over to the mountain biker forums!

tkm

What terrain are you riding? Which leads to the first big question is if you want/need full suspension or a hardtail. Once you make that determination, then you can pic your frame and wheelset, then build with the group of your choice (Shimano/SRAM or a mix of the two).

And $5K would get you a hell of a mountain bike at the LBS. $2.5K would get you a really nice aluminum. Personally, I prefer aluminum over carbon fiber for a mountain bike frame.

bt

sstorkel

I ride a Cervelo RS, live in the same area of the country as you do, and ride around 450 miles/month.

If you've got $2000+ to spend, buy a full-suspension mountain bike with at least 120mm of front- and rear-wheel travel. The DW-Link rear-suspension design is the best I've ridden; there are several companies that license it and their bikes cost a fortune. Giant's Maestro suspension is pretty good, though it does bob a bit when pedaling. Specialized's FSR (a.k.a. Horst link) suspension design is decent and Specialized usually pairs it with high-end shocks that tend to hide its inadequacies.

If your budget is less than $1500, you probably need to look for a hardtail (= suspension fork, rigid rear). I don't know much about hardtails, other than that most complete bikes seem to come with low-end forks. Your best bet for a hardtail is probably to buy a frame and then build it out with decent components. The Santa Cruz Chameleon would be my pick... unless I could afford an Ibis Tranny.

When buying or building a frame, keep in mind that weight is important. Mountain bike climbs tend to be much steeper than most road climbs and traction is often less than ideal. Translation: it's a lot more work than climbing with a 16-17lb road bike. My first mountain bike used a cheap frame, cheap components, cheap wheels and weighed 33lbs. It sucked! My current mountain bike (Specialized Stumpjumper Pro) weighs around 26.5lbs, has better suspension, and is a lot more fun to ride... especially when climbing!

The biggest question is: what's your budget?

BudFox

Thanks sstorkel. I guess my question was intended to help guide me towards certain MTB brands that attract weight weenie, high performance oriented, OCP customers as Cervelo does. Then I can decide how to build a full suspension bike on my budget.

desertrat423

a little out of your budget and way out of mine but if you want a weight weenie fix this is it

https://velonews.com/article/94319/fl...s-country-bike

patentcad

www.bikesdirect.com

DrPete 

I'm kinda partial to the name...

sstorkel

Say no more: you want an Ibis Mojo or Mojo SL. Or an Ibis Tranny if you decide to go hardtail.

If you're willing to pay MSRP for suspension components from your LBS, buy Fox or RockShox. If you're buying over the Internet, buy Fox. I can't begin to tell you how lousy SRAM/RockShox's warranty service is if you didn't buy from an LBS! Avoid Hayes and Avid brakes; I like Magura brakes and have heard good things about Hope and Formula. Test-ride bikes to decide whether you like SRAM or Shimano shifters best, then let that guide your buying decision for drivetrain components. Personally, I like SRAM.

If Ibis doesn't suit, you can look to some of the other DW-Link vendors, specifically Pivot and Turner. I would also consider VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) frames from Santa Cruz or Intense, and maybe S-Works frames from Specialized.

bikeybikebike

Get some knobbies for your R3.

Easy peasy.

topflightpro

Talk with your riding buddies to figure out what kind of bike you need. There are a lot of variations when it comes to mountain bikes, and the trails will dictate what type of mountain bike you want/need.

And if you decide to go with full suspension, you will need to determine what type of suspension you like. I personally, am not a fan of VPP. I ended up with a Specialized Epic because it was cheap - I got a great deal - and because I can set it up so it rides almost like a hardtail, kicking in only when it is really bumpy. I also like shorter travel bikes - 80-100 mm up front, no more than 100 mm on the back - which differs from a previous poster. I don't think 120 mm is necessary for the trails I have ridden living in West Texas and the East Coast.

As for the question you posed, it sounds like you are looking for a boutique frame. If that's the case, you can look to Turner, Ellsworth, Pivot, Intense, Niner, Voodoo, Ibis, Yeti, Ventana, BMC, Orbea, Maverick, Moots, Look, Foes, Independent Fabrication... to get a frame that you are not likely to see too often. All are solid frames.

That said, Cannondale and Specialized also offer some pretty badass mountain bikes.

Good luck.

edbikebabe

From the sounds of it - you want this ^^^

My boyfriend has an Ibis Mojo SL. Plenty o' bling and as an added bonus, it rides well...

guadzilla

Weight weenie, high performance, full suspension and budget... While you are at it, would you like Megan Fox to give you a massage before or after the ride?

Want top end full-sus performance? Turner and Niner are 2 good places to start for 29ers. Santa Cruz and Yeti are good options for 26ers. Plenty of other brands also suggested. These will clock in at $3500-4000 for a top-notch XC/trail/AM bike.

Want a budget full-sus? Salsa El Mariachi probably, or even Astrix Monk and Voodoo Canzo. You can build them up into decent bikes for about $2500 or so.

If you are ok with hardtail, the ultimate weight weenie bike is the Santa Cruz carbon clocking in at 18lb. Not cheap though. No sirreee.

Best option - get a Niner Air9/EMD9 hardtail and build it up into a very nice 25lb bike for <$3k. This will give you a superb XC/trail bike. For a lot of XC/trail riding, you dont really need full-sus, and once you get the added plushness of them 29" wheels, you arent gonna want to go back to midget 26" wheels either.

V.