Mountain Bikes (again)

[AHTOXA]

Hahaha..the brakes on this used bike cost about what I would like to pay for a new bike:

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/bid/4297012715.html

BTW, who pays $8K for a mountain bike? That's more than some used cars! I guess you'd really have to be into mountain biking to lay out that kind of cash.

Same type of people who buy multiple cars, same people who spends thousands on photography gear. It's easy to spend many thousands with just about any hobby.

$8k isn't even that much. You can easily go 11,12 and 15 grand on a bicycle.

Yeah, but it just seems outrageous to me. I'm sure there are lots of people willing to spend that kind of money on a bicycle, but I'm obviously not one of them. My $600 limit isn't out of necessity....it's more of an arbitrary limit based on what I perceive would be a reasonable amount to spend on a mountain bike. I obviously don't want a department store bike, but rather a decent entry-level bike that will last me a few years without falling apart. The more I research mountain bikes, the more I realize that I may have to move up to $1,000 to get a bike with better components. That extra $400 will give me quite a few more options.

Of course I could always go with the bike I asked about and then upgrade over time. Maybe upgraded brakes and an upgraded fork would transform the bike, but then again I'd end up spending at least $1,000 by the time I was finished with the upgrades.

Your limit certainly makes sense, based on what I perceive your intended use to be. Over a grand, and it's probably overkill for you.

[Shadow]

yeah, i'd go with one of the ~$1000 bikesdirect bikes vs. getting a ~$600 bike and then upgrading. now, if you're okay with sticking with the parts that came on/with the bike, that's a different story.

That's the big question right there. I might be just fine with the stuff that comes on the $600 bike. If everything functions okay, then I'm sure I"d be fine with it. I want brakes that will reliably stop the bike and will feel good doing it. If the brakes stop like crap or feel really crappy, then I'm obviously not going to be happy. But if they do their job, I'm fine with low-end hydraulic brakes.

Here's the other thing---I want a black bike. Actually, I want a flat black bike. With black wheels. It's personal preference, but I really like the way a flat black bike looks. To my eye, this thing looks really sharp:

[Rope-Pusher]

Hahaha..the brakes on this used bike cost about what I would like to pay for a new bike:

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/bid/4297012715.html

BTW, who pays $8K for a mountain bike? That's more than some used cars! I guess you'd really have to be into mountain biking to lay out that kind of cash.

Same type of people who buy multiple cars, same people who spends thousands on photography gear. It's easy to spend many thousands with just about any hobby.

$8k isn't even that much. You can easily go 11,12 and 15 grand on a bicycle.

For that kind of money, I can buy a crappy bike and still be able to afford to pay someone else to ride it instead of me.

[potownrob]

I want a black bike. Actually, I want a flat black bike. With black wheels. It's personal preference, but I really like the way a flat black bike looks. To my eye, this thing looks really sharp:

yeah, i hear you on the color/flat paint preference. just don't settle for the hot red (pink?) bike i did (that's still sitting partially assembled in my garage. i was trying to find a video on that bike you are looking at on youtube, since the reviewers go over the parts and how they like the bike etc. but can't find one on that bike. i always like reading/watching reviews about the custom builds where they get a frame and throw random parts on it, like this:

[AHTOXA]

If you're going to spend a grand on the bike, do NOT go with a full suspension bike at that price, not even from bikesdirect. Your usage doesn't necessitate it, but the biggest issue, is at that price point, you're going to give up nice components to be able to get a FS frame vs going with a hardtail.

I'd always take a hardtail with very nice compnents over an average set up of an FS bike.

[Rope-Pusher]

To my eye, this thing looks really sharp:

Fickset

[Rope-Pusher]

I'd always take a hardtail with very nice components over an average set up.

Fickset

[Shadow]

What about this bike?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... il_xii.htm

No, it's not black...but I do like the silver one. And for the extra couple hundred bucks, I'm guessing that the components are quite a bit better, no?

[potownrob]

looks decent to me (but did you notice the price??). you'll want to try to figure out which size frame will work for you though.

[AHTOXA]

What about this bike?

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... il_xii.htm

No, it's not black...but I do like the silver one. And for the extra couple hundred bucks, I'm guessing that the components are quite a bit better, no?

I like that better.

Sram X9 rear - great unit. I run the X9 on my bike and it's phenomenal with X9 shifters. This bike uses X7 shifters, but I don't think it will make any real difference.

10-speed cassetted vs 8 speed of the previous bike - good
hubs - look generic
pedals - generic clipless/platform combo
fork - not familiar but (strictly by brand) seems better than the previous option
wheels - good. I ride WTB speeddisks and they are very tough. Hard to get out of true, even when you beat on it, and I'm over 200 lbs, which is heavy for cycling.
tires - good tires, but they are a bit on the skinny side. They are listed as 2.1 but physically are skinnier than other 2.1 tires on the market. I have a set of those sitting in my closet now.
brakes - good. i like avid brakes.
ritchey components - good stuff there

So it seems like they got the major parts right on this bike. They skimped a bit on the hubs, spokes and probably some other relatively small things. Not certain about the cranks and no experience with the fork in question. Otherwise, the sram components are above average, the brakes are average (but not bad), wheels are good (aside from hubs and spokes), and a good mix of Richey parts for things like handlebars, posts, stems.

I would ride it.

[AHTOXA]

My only other suggestion, is if you end up with front brakes that are 160 or 165mm, I suggest that you upgrade to 180-185mm right away. It's cheap and goes a long way in very good brake performance. You can leave the pads stock, just get a larger front disk.

Your cost will be about $45-50 for the rotor and if you order it through the local shop, they'll install it for another $10. You'll also need a spacer for the caliper to accommodate the larger rotor.

For a minor investment you get much improved braking power, modulation and feel, as the larger rotor provides more leverage. Since most of your braking is done with the front (much like a car), front brakes on the bike need more stopping power and modulation than the rear.

[Shadow]

Okay....interesting turn of events. I have a buddy from way back in high school that I still hang out with. He also has a mountain bike and we ride the trails together several times each year. He has an older Giant hardtail that he's kept in great condition over the years. He has upgraded quite a few things on that bike and I'm pretty sure he's spent more on upgrades than he originally paid for the bike.

Anyway, I told him that I was going to buy a new bike this year and that I was hoping to find a halfway decent bike at a reasonable price. It turns out that he too wanted to buy a new bike this year. He asked me if I found anything and I sent him a link to the Motobecane 650B that I talked about here. He checked out the bike online and decided to buy it, but he didn't tell me that he was buying it. Well, today he stopped over my house to show me the bike. I'm fairly impressed with the bike. It's feels lighter than I thought it would and it rides great. The fork lockout is nothing but a cheap black plastic lever. The bikes that I checked out at several LBS had aluminum lockout levers. Anyway, I only rode his new bike on smooth surfaces, so I'm not sure how well the fork actually works. The brakes seems really decent and have a nice feel. The thing shifts smoothly. The bike coasts almost silently, with very little clicking from the cassette. Overall, the bike seems to be a pretty good value for the money. It's definitely an upgrade from his old Giant, which admittedly has a ton of miles on it over many, many years.

He also told me that the Motobecane was "on sale" for $550, but when he purchased the bike it came up as $450. For that money, I think he got a great deal. I'm seriously considering buy the bike now.

One question for Tony (or anyone else who may know)--- what's involved in changing out the lockout lever on a fork? Is it a simple swap, or is there disassembly involved? That's the only thing that really felt cheap to me on the bike and I could see it easily breaking. Replacing it with a nice aluminum piece would be something that I'd probably want to do if I end up with any bike that has a plastic lockout lever.

[AHTOXA]

That's a good question, and I don't know whether I have a good answer for it.

My first thought is that it doesn't matter much. Personally, I never use my lockout lever at all. Granted, I don't really ride on the street, but when I did (with the g/f occasionally) ride some crushed gravel flat trails, I never used it either.

Sure, there's some pedaling efficiency lost through the front suspension, but it's quite minimal, compared to the rear suspension, but you don't have to worry about that with a hardtail, obviously.

Secondly, there may not be an easy way to do it. I'm thinking that levers could be fork-specific depending on how they are hinged, and there might not be an easy way to swap. This I'm saying out of my butt, because I've never seen or heard of anyone doing that.

Thirdly, it all depends on the fork. If the fork is a basic fork, which uses an elastomer for the spring with no way to adjust damping, the lockout probably won't work too well and the fork will still sag and pack in, meaning it may sag and compress w/o being able to rebound to prior ride height. If you have a good, adjustable air fork, then just simply up the air pressure in the fork to make it stiffer and adjust the rebound. This way you still have some rebound and shock absorption for bigger hits, anda stiff fork when the riding is smooth for more efficient energy transfer.


TLDR: I wouldn't worry about it, as you probably won't use it as much as you think you will.

[Shadow]

Actually, I'd use the lockout quite often. I did on my last bike that had a fork lockout. The majority of trails that I ride are crushed gravel and/or hardpack dirt. My last bike's lockout still allowed some movement instead of truly locking it out 100%.

Anyway, the bike has a Suntour XCT fork, which seems to be extremely common across all different brands at a similar price point. A friend at work also just got a new Cannondale Trail 7 and I noticed that it too uses the same cheap fork with the same cheap plastic lockout. I dunno....maybe it's fine like that, but it just feels flimsy to me.

[AHTOXA]

I don't really think you need to worry about it that much. It's an entry level fork. It'll be OK if used accordingly.