Mountain Bikes (again)

[Shadow]

For anyone who is up on the latest mountain bikes, please take a look at the bike linked below and tell me if it's a decent bike or not. I definitely need a new bike this year and I really don't want to spend more than $600 for a bike. The one comes in just under my limit, but I really don't know components and what is good or what is crap.

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

AHTOXA, I'm sure you'll be able to give me some feedback....

[Shadow]

BTW, the whole 27.5/650B thing is funny. I realize that it slots nicely between 26er & 29er, but I've never ridden one, so I'm not sure if it's truly a happy medium or not. It makes sense, I guess, but I have no experience with them.

[potownrob]

it looks like a decent lowend to midrange MTB. the reason it's not a solid mid level bike is mainly the specs - cheap suntour cranks, forks, etc. i personally also do not like the non-shimano shifter systems (SRAM mainly), but that all comes down to personal preference; i know tony likes SRAM and he rides a lot (and hard) . you might want to consider one of the 29ers like the motobecane fantom trail, or possibly even a regular 26 inch bike (the fantom ht trail looks to be sold out ) if you're not that big, to get better components. the 27.5s are tempting though. wish they had more higherend models available though (of all the hardtails); the ones for ~700 bucks i saw look to be much better equipped bikes.

here's an example of one of the 700 dollar bikes:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mot ... mp_xii.htm

[AHTOXA]

Shadow,

For starters, I'll tell you what I think is the best environment for this bike. I don't recall what you plan to use it for.

This bike is most suited for light duty use. Park trails, paved or gravel and leisure ride. The geometry of an MTB will give you a comfortable ride with increased capability and stability on loose terrain, such as gravel and dirt. It is suitable for mostly smooth surfaces and would not be ideal for any surfaces, where the rider will enounted high-speed hits, such as riding over large roots or rocks at speed. A ride up and down a curb here and there is just fine.

It's a good bike, as long as you don't use it outside of what it's been made for. The fork looks like a light-duty fork. It doesn't mention that it's an air fork, so I presume that it uses an elastomer (sp?) for the rebound action. This will serve fine on small surface imperfections, but does not work on anything more than that. The elastomer material has very little rebound control and is progressively stiffer, thus offering a fairly unpredictable ride when the going gets rough. Think of it as a car that's got a spring but no shock to control damping - it's going to be quite bouncy. This is why I stated that it's made for mostly smooth riding.

Components are OK. I was pleased to see that the rear derailer is a Sram X4. While it's a very entry-level component, I am a BIG far of Sram, especially when used in the rear. (I run Sram on my bike and absolutely love it) The X4 offers a long cage, which is beneficial. It provides better, more precise shifting on a larger cassette that MTB bikes have. Short cages (as seen on some entry MTB bikes but mostly road bikes) are more suited for a close-range cassette of road bikes. I would suggest seeing if you can find a bike that uses Sram X5, however. It's a step above and in the middle of the pack for Sram's rear derailers.

Wheel size doesn't matter (26 or 27.5 or 29). I know Rob mentioned it, but it will have absolutely zero effect on you, Shadow, unless you're really going to hustle this bike down a trail, which I don't think is your main use for this machine.


My last comment is about the brakes. Tektro brakes are quite low end. I know that the curent trend is for hydro brakes, but I would not run entry-level hydro brakes. They will generally suffer from poor performance, poor tactile feedback and durability issues. I would much rather go with a higher end mechanical disk set for about the same price. For example, Avid BB7's are very, very good. Personally, I run hydro brakes on mine and in the past I've had experience with low end hydro set up. It wasn't worth the pain. A good hydro set up for your brakes will make your day and you'll love it but a bad experience will not even make you want to ride it. How brakes feel is a VERY big part of ride enjoyment, believe me.


To sum it all up, I think it's a fine bike for the usage type I outline in the beginning. My only major concern here is the brakes, because of how important brakes are to the overall satisfaction when riding. If anything, I suggest you do your research on those and make your decision from there.

[AHTOXA]

i know tony likes SRAM and he rides a lot (and hard) .

Yes, I'm a bit of a SRAM fanboy, I admit. I run (gasp) Shimano XT front but SRAM X9 rear with SRAM X9 shifters. The X9 has taken so much beating over the years and it has never, not once, got bent or fell out of adjustment or otherwise skipped a beat when shifting. It's also like clockwork. Bam, and you're in the next gear. Most of the time I don't even hear of feel the shift, I just feel the change in my candence due to gearchange.

That said, I've bent a few derailer hangers over the years, but the X9 stayed in one piece. It's a bit dinged up today but works just as well as it did 5 years ago, with a LOT of hard riding.

[Shadow]

The majority of my riding is rail trails. I also do some single track, but not nearly as often as the rail trails. I do some pavement riding as well, but really only in the city.

Maybe this bike will be good enough for me. I'm not an overly big guy (6' and 180 lbs), so I tend not to be too hard on my bikes.

If I could find a better bike at a local bike shop for $600, I'd probably just buy it. But you don't get much bike at the $600 price point at the LBS. Maybe I look for something on Craigslist instead. If I get lucky, maybe I'll get a better bike at a good price.

[AHTOXA]

Used bike is a very good idea. There are many people who buy more bike than they need, ride it a few times and then it sits in the garage 2-3 years. Bikes also lose value very fast due to 'new' stuff coming out every year.

If you're of standard size (height mostly), you should have no problem buying the size you need. If you're unsure of what size fits you best, sit on a bunch of bikes at a LBS and go from there.

[Shadow]

Used bike is a very good idea. There are many people who buy more bike than they need, ride it a few times and then it sits in the garage 2-3 years. Bikes also lose value very fast due to 'new' stuff coming out every year.

If you're of standard size (height mostly), you should have no problem buying the size you need. If you're unsure of what size fits you best, sit on a bunch of bikes at a LBS and go from there.

Like I said, I'm 6' and 180 lbs, so I don't have a problem finding a bike that fits me.

BTW, I read up on those brakes. I've seen mixed reviews, but I'd say that there were more positive than negative. One guy said that he swapped Shimano pads and it made his Dracos great.

I'm not sure what the difference is between the Draco and the Draco 2. I'm guessing the the Draco 2 is a newer, improved design, but I didn't see anything to support that assumption.

[Shadow]

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.

[potownrob]

i don't know too much about these here modern disc brakes, but i've been told that you're better off riding cheap mechanical brakes than cheap or somewhat cheap hydraulic brakes. probably not totally true, but it gives you a good idea.

[AHTOXA]

Close, Rob. Good mechanical disk brakes cost about the same as cheap hydros. You want to ride good mechanical disks over cheap hydros any day.

Cheap mechanicals are even worse than cheap hydros. At least with cheap hydros you get (somewhat) smooth lever travel, where with cheap hyrdos it feels like you're pulling a saw through wood; it will be gritty, hard and not smooth.

[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.

[Shadow]

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.

[potownrob]

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.

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.

[potownrob]

Close, Rob. Good mechanical disk brakes cost about the same as cheap hydros. You want to ride good mechanical disks over cheap hydros any day.

Cheap mechanicals are even worse than cheap hydros. At least with cheap hydros you get (somewhat) smooth lever travel, where with cheap hyrdos it feels like you're pulling a saw through wood; it will be gritty, hard and not smooth.

haha, i knew i was off on that one...