[FlipSide]

I posted this in the beginner forum, but it's not so active and I would like to get as much input as possible before saturday. Thanks!

Here's the post:

A good friend of mine is in the market for a first Mountain bike and he's serious about it. He wants to spend from 2000$ to 2500$ CDN. So he came to me to help him out to make the choice.

We narrowed our search to two bikes:

Specialized FSR XC 01 (Pro I think) 2600$

Rocky Mountain Element Race 01, 2300$

What I told him is that the suspension design of the FSR is superior, so it might be a better choice. Also, I own the 2000 model, I love it, and in 2001, Specialized changed all that was wrong with it (Longer top-tube, suspension pivots on bearings, more travel on the rear, etc). I would cut the price a bit by replacing the XTR by XT.

On the other hand, the Element Race is lighter and has much better components (Race-Face everywhere, Z2 Atom, Easton Ultralite tubing, ...), but it has bushing on pivots.

So it's a tough call. I'd like more opinions from my bike-educated monkey friends. Thanks!

What should he buy?

 

[hurricane]

I wouldn't rule out the Element based solely on the bushings. I had a '99 Element and in a year and a half of riding (here in rainy Vancouver) I replaced the bushings once...and that was more of a preventative measure on my part.

The best thing he can do is ride both bikes, back to back if he can, and get whichever one feels right to him. Either one would be a great choice.

 

[Instigator]

Originally posted by hurricane
I wouldn't rule out the Element based solely on the bushings. I had a '99 Element and in a year and a half of riding (here in rainy Vancouver) I replaced the bushings once...and that was more of a preventative measure on my part.

The best thing he can do is ride both bikes, back to back if he can, and get whichever one feels right to him. Either one would be a great choice.

What he said!