Mountain Bikes

J

jeepinxj01

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Indianapolis
Hey guys. Just want some opinions good or bad and what some of you would suggest. I'm thinkin' of buying a new mountain bike. Something decent. Prefer a hardtail. Front suspension. Would like disc brakes, but not required. Don't wanna spend an obscene amount of money. I have a '97 Gary Fisher Joshua Z2, and I love it, but it's a little dated and I don't really need a full suspension. What would some of you mountain bikers recommend for a good all around x country hardtail? Thanks

KyS
 
I'd love to help you dude, but I can't...

jitcrunch.aspx
 
What are you looking to spend? Just before upgrading to full suspension I had a Specialized Hard Rock. It had disk breaks, a decent fork and hooked up great. The bike felt very effecient climbing hills. For the decked out Hard Rock you're looking at about $700
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=06Hardrock

Next step up from that would be a Rock Hopper. Never owned one but have heard good things about them. A top of the line Rock Hopper will run you about a grand.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=06Rockhopper

I should mention that I am partial to specialized. I have never had a problem with their bikes with the exception of a crank arm on an early Hard Rock I had about 5 years ago. The bike wasn't a year old so it was replaced for free. They actually upgraded it to a nicer crankset while they were at it.

Good luck. Consider getting a full suspension. Now I have an FSRxc. Great bike, super light and plush ride compared to my hard tail. Runs about $1500with disks.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=06FSRxc

HTH
 
Jeep914x4 said:
What are you looking to spend? Just before upgrading to full suspension I had a Specialized Hard Rock. It had disk breaks, a decent fork and hooked up great. The bike felt very effecient climbing hills. For the decked out Hard Rock you're looking at about $700
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=06Hardrock

Next step up from that would be a Rock Hopper. Never owned one but have heard good things about them. A top of the line Rock Hopper will run you about a grand.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=06Rockhopper

I should mention that I am partial to specialized. I have never had a problem with their bikes with the exception of a crank arm on an early Hard Rock I had about 5 years ago. The bike wasn't a year old so it was replaced for free. They actually upgraded it to a nicer crankset while they were at it.

Good luck. Consider getting a full suspension. Now I have an FSRxc. Great bike, super light and plush ride compared to my hard tail. Runs about $1500with disks.
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=06FSRxc

HTH
Click to expand...


I'm not in any price range at the moment, I just haven't found anything that really trips my trigger so to speak. I've never even ridden a Specialized, so I may have to look harder at them. I have the full suspension now w/ the Fisher, but I don't know. Sometimes I think I may go through and just upgrade everything on that one. Still a good bike.

Thanks for the info.
 
I love my Specialized Hardrock sport disc, picked one up for my nephew this year too. Both times I bought the previous years model and saved a few bucks.
 
I have a p3 that I use for cross country and downhill, the dirt jumper is a heavy fork for anything but dirt jumping but all-n-all a very well built bike, almost over-built if its possible.
The enduro is the downhiller for northstar,downyville and such and is a little weak for what I put it through.
 
I have a P2 that I really like. It's heavy and overbuilt though and I don't even come close to riding it like it should be. Mine's only an 8 speed, which is fine I never use more gears then waht it has to offer anyways. Started to street ride it but having a hard time popping the front end up so I don't nose dive off stuff. First bike with and decent brakes and the disk are pretty dang good.
 
I've always had a preference for hardtails. I'm not a Specialized fan but it's got nothing to do with their actual product...more from a retail standpoint and how they treat their dealers. That said...I'll throw some other brands into the mix. OK...what I've compiled here is a list of a few of my favorites. These are XC bikes not Freeride or Downhill. I kept the price to be what I consider pretty average. I am and will always be a Shimano guy. So...I tend to move others toward them as well. I always had a hard time trying to seem jazzed about selling a customer a bike with Grip Shift or anything non-Shimano.

I really began to like most of the stuff that Felt put out after I had more experience with the company. Good solid 6061 frame with carbon seat stays and a nice mix of parts. LX/XT/Deore bike with a lockout Manitou fork. It does not have discs which is a bummer. I wouldn't buy a bike now that doesn't have discs. They gave you carbon but the trade off is you get v brakes and rims by Alex. About 1100.
http://bigshark.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&sort=brandasc&id=4409

The RXC Pro is 7000 series aluminum with a Manitou Skareb fork. Full XT bike with XTR rear der., Mavic rims. This weighs just over 22lbs. (not sure on the size bike used to measure but IIRC Felt didn't post numbers for size 15's). 2100 bones.
http://bigshark.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&sort=brandasc&id=4407

Scott has some kick ass stuff too. The Scott Scale 50 is a double butted 7000 frame, Manitou Axel (same as the first Felt I posted), mix of XT/LX parts, Shimano discs, cranks, 520 clipless pedals. Same price as the first Felt...1100. Nice bike.
http://bigshark.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&sort=brandasc&id=3250

This is one of my favorites. Scott Scale 40. Rougly same frame as the 40 but with Manitous Elite fork. LX/XT stuff, clipless, Shimano disks, and what I think is the nicest looking paint scheme that I've shown you thus far. About 2200 beans.
http://bigshark.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&sort=brandasc&id=3249

OOOHHHH....then there's the Scott Scale 30. Now you get a full carbon frame. I'll admit Scotts carbon program back in the late 90's was pretty shoddy but they are putting out some amazing stuff now and wait til you see what's coming next year from them. Crazy light. Anyway...Fox F80 fork, LX/XT stuff, Sun rims, clipless. Almost the same parts thrown on a crabon frame and Fox fork. 2200. This one makes me randy.
http://bigshark.com/itemdetails.cfm?catalogId=39&sort=brandasc&id=3248

I get so excited with bikes. I wish I could stay enthused about them and get back into racing. They can be quite fun.

-river
 
I have a Trek 3900 with front suspension, and I believe the 4300 has disk brakes and front suspension. They're around $350 or so I believe, not too bad. I use mine mostly for transportation, but for the few times I've gone mountain biking it's worked great for me. I am a beginner, and you sound more experienced, but try the Trek 4300 series.

Chris
 
I wouldn't take anything less than a Santa Cruz Nomad tricked out with XO :D
 
sorry no link here, but i ride a 04 giant rainier...and i love it..it has been very easy to upgrade..it came with avid disc's and a manitou axle fork up front...i swapped the bottom bracket for a hollowtech 2 crankset. the orig. tires for panaracers fire xc pro's..as well i swapped out the shimano base line clipless pedals for crank bros eggbeaters.

three years later: i am now in the market for a new fork...

...at 800 brand new it is an excellent platform...i got it from a liquidated bike shop in minnesota on ebay for a lil under 500 brand new...keep your eyes open and wait a sweet deal will arise...

i have no experience with specialized but they are supposedly 100% made in the great USA..you cant beat that..

as well due to my original bike shop being bought out recently, i have been in the loop for a new shop and recently ran into REI..our REI bike dept here is top notch and according to their(REI) bike shop guy, their line of bikes are equal to if not better than the current market..for the price...with my experience and knowledge it seems they do have a decent product.. i may look there for my first full susp...just a fellow area mtn bikers thoughts, i hope this helps...

Grifter
 
Last edited:
Mike1331 said:
Just get a Karpiel, you won't look back...unless you want to gaze back and laugh at the people behind you that can't keep up.
Click to expand...

So it's the bike...not the rider?

Not quoting you Mike but....why is anything that's a Trek good? I hate Trek. The GP likes Trek b/c of Armstrong, and Lemond. Fat City and Bontrager all went to hell after the money machine bought them up. I broke numerous Trek frames when I was racing and I am not a big guy nor did I bash things.
 
technology for bikes have come a long way since '97. you'd be surprised how well a fs xc (3" travel) setup perform. take a look at the giant trance line as well as the cannondale rush line. both are excellent platforms. as for a hard tail, anything between the $800 -$1200 range will be more than plenty for Indiana riding as well. take a look into the ibex 650 too. for around $650 direct from the factory, it has a component set that is hard to beat at that price. only downside is, no test ride.

on a side not, BGI will be having their labor day sale soon at the north store in Castleton off of 82nd. if you can hold out until then, you can usually find some good deals. don't be bashful to bargain with them either. i got a couple hundred off a bike for my wife a couple of years ago. they carry giant, cannondale, and trek. Also Gilles fitness on the south side carries specialized and trek. so, between the two stores you can test ride a large array of bikes. unfortunately in Indy, there aren't a whole lot of dealers that carry the higher end bikes like kona, santa cruz, etc.
oh, if you go to the sale at BGI as for Shawn Hawk and tell him Cameron sent you.
 
Dude....Indiana is nothing to shake a stick at with regard to mountain biking. They have an incredibly tough series called the Dino Series at it's brutal. Ski Paoli, Muncie or that b!tch of a course over at Wapehani (I hate that place). We had plenty of Colorado guys roll into town and get smoked.
 
i raced the DINO series for two years. grant it i was in the intermediate class, but i'd take riding here in Colorado any day. much more variety, and not so far to drive.
 
Fuel90 said:
i raced the DINO series for two years. grant it i was in the intermediate class, but i'd take riding here in Colorado any day. much more variety, and not so far to drive.
Click to expand...

Intermediate?

You mean Sport Class?
 
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