Mountain bike

[geekbot]

I'm pretty set on buying a low end mountain bike and spending more time in the big room with the blue ceiling. Besides aimless wandering, I'll be riding to work (2 miles).

I'm looking for around $300- probably the Giant Rincon, Trek 3700, or Gary Fisher Advance. It might come down to what the nearby dealers have. It'll be my first bike. Any thoughts?

Giant

Trek

Gary Fisher

[bloodzombie]

I have a friend who bought the Trek last year and is very happy with it.

They're basically the same bike and the only way to know which one is the best for you is to ride all 3 and pick the one that feels right. don't let anyone tell you "<this brand> is the best" unless they can tell you specifically why one of those bikes is better than the other two.

I think for basic recreation and riding to work, you'll be happy with any of them, so just get the one you like best after you ride them.

[IceStorm]

I love biking .. I use to go almost everyday.
I would go with the Trek! mm Reminds me I have to get back into biking :up:

[bloodzombie]

I love biking .. I use to go almost everyday.
I would go with the Trek! mm Reminds me I have to get back into biking :up:

This is exactly what I was saying not to listen to. people who assume trek is somehow better than the others without giving any input on those specific bikes.

[Pearl Jam]

one time while on a desolate mountain biking trail with 2 friends in the mountains of utah:

I hit a large rock with my bike and flew over the handlebars - keep in mind we were pretty deep into the woods and the trail was only about 2 feet wide or so. anyway, i go flying into 5 foot tall grass/trees/etc.that surrounds the trail. I land on my stomach in true swan dive style. This is almost like it's out of a movie (it's not, though) but I lift my head out of the dirt and I'm staring down a raccoon 2-3 feet in front of me. It freaks out, I freak out. I get up and start running like the raccoon is actually lunging for my jugular (i'm pretty sure it was running away). Anyway, I'm form-sprinting through grass and bushes almost as tall as I am and can't see anything - I end up tripping over a rock right before I get back to the trail. I proceed to roll a few times across the trail and into the grass on the other side. My friends maintain to this day that from their perspective it was the funniest thing ever. All they heard was "oh, fuck!" then the rustling of grass as I ran through it....and then I made my appearance by emerging from the grass hands first, then violently rolling across the trail into the grass, disappearing again.

I guess it would've been pretty funny if it wouldn't of hurt so god damn much.

EDIT: Forgot to mention how this sort of tied into the thread - I was riding a trek. I thought it was pretty sweet. Handled real well (when I wasn't wrecking it).

[Malladrin]

If you plan to actually use the mountain bike for what it is "intended" to do (riding with it in woods) you'd probably have to play a little more than 300, maybe more close to $400. This is because you'd want a better and more stable frame and good enough equipment, which won't break as easily as on a low-end bike.

If you will just use it on a plain road to and forth your work you'd want equpiment equal to Shimano Acera/Altus or better. If you go below that "standard" you might get equipment that will fail after some time.

This is quite a good place to read about bicycles:
http://www.mtbreview.com/reviews/2004_hardtail/

I read the reviews of those bikes you mentioned and they all seem like pretty good bikes, but I think I'd go with the Giant Rincon bike if I had to choose between those three.

[code]

I have a Trek, and its always been dependable. But I've never really researched buying a moutain bike. It's really all up to you, on how much you want to pay and what you want to get out of it. But Trek is a good buy imo.

[geekbot]

If you will just use it on a plain road to and forth your work you'd want equpiment equal to Shimano Acera/Altus or better. If you go below that "standard" you might get equipment that will fail after some time.

This is exactly what my buddy said. I didn't know all this crap about components mattered. The three bikes I'm looking at have basically what you said. What components are the most important- rear derailer, front derailer, shocks, shifters, crank in about that order?

I don't really like MTBR.com for new bike reviews because everyone says something like: "I bought the new blah, blah and immediately replaced the derailers, seat, shocks and everything else....and I love the bike!" Well, if I had a bike shop in my living room, that's what I'd do too, thanks.

[bloodzombie]

You have to realize that there's all levels of mountain biking. simply riding in the woods doesn't take much of a bike, the better you get at it, the harder you'll be on your bike. Any of those bikes are great for commuting and recreational use. if you decided you wanted to get into more serious riding, you might want to step up, but buying an entry-level bike would be the way to check that out.

as far as "I have a trek and it's reliable..." all trek does is build the frame, then package the frame with parts made by other companies and try to sell it at a competitive price... and a lot of companies don't even make their own frames. Brand doesn't mean that much in bikes unless you find the geometry of one frame more comfortable than another.

Just be honest with yourself, are you the type of guy that's really gonna hit the trails hard, or do you just wanna ride around for some excercise and fresh air? if it's the first, think about spending more money, if it's the second, ride those three bikes and buy the one that feels best.

[Facetious]

I last bought a mountain bike years ago and I bought a GT. It worked great for years, and then it got stolen. The impression that I got when making that purchase was that the only differences really were the comfort of the bike to you individually, and then the differences in the Shimano components. I'd wait for a sale at the nearest bike shop and then get whatever bike you can within your price range with the best components, I don't really think the brand of bike itself matters all that much.

[Jerome Scuggs]

I have a bike. I dont know what it is. But i beat it into working every time. No complaints here

[arwen_7]

this is mine http://www.whatmtb.co.uk/biketestdetails.asp?id=504
thou i'd rather one a bit more like this http://www.harley-davidson.com/PR/MO...lSection=intro but its a bit more expensive

[geekbot]

I have a motorcycle, I need a bike. I'm adding the Raleigh M50 to my list...now I just need to try them out!

Here's a nice page for comparasons: http://villagecyclesport.com/ It's a local store but their web page has a good amount of info.

[Jeansi]

Pretty much goes like: more expensive = better

If you use it for less demanding stuff like riding to work etc, make sure that the gears and pedals are really good. If you're planning to start riding in bad terrain and make tricks and stuff, I'd recommend putting a few bucks extra to get a good front-fork with suspension and a good frame. Disc brakes are realy good to have in high humidity and they have a better touch also if you wanna do tricks.

[geekbot]

I got a Gary Fisher Wahoo for $360:

Judy TT RockShox, Alivio rear derailleur



Bikes and motorcyles have in common:
* enjoying the journey as much as the destination
* gears, chain lube, adjustable suspension, saddle, handlebars
* travelling light
* some are built for speed, some are built for off-roading
* the curvier the road, the better
* half the fun is riding with your friends and meeting other bikers