Quantcast

Help choosing a bike!

Ok guys, here it is. The ultimate opinon question.....

We are going to buy Baboon a bike this fall....... He's only ridden a Trek, a Marin and a Scott.

What bike do YOU like for someone who is not quite a beginner, but a long way off from professional?

Height 5'11"
Weight 175ish
Frame size between 18-19
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,290
MTB New England
Actually, I'm closer to 185 these days. It's true what they say...once you get married, you let your body go to hell. :p

By the way, something durable would be good. I can ride over most logs, rocks, streams, and other obstacles that get in my way. The only obstacles I can not make it over are those that are very large (say, taller than my front tire).
 

SK6

Turbo Monkey
Jul 10, 2001
7,586
0
Shut up and ride...
My own opinion is Gary Fisher, either the Marlin, or the Hoo koo E Koo.

I like the Genesis geometry frame!!!! They climb great, and for me anyhow just a great bike.

Just my opinion.....
 
R

RideMonkey

Guest
How much you wanna spend and you want a dually or a HT?
 
R

RideMonkey

Guest
Honestly I would go for a HT in the $1000 dolar range. A $1000 dual would be way heavy and a maintenance nightmare in the long run.

I can hardly keep my Hardtail in working order. I think I'd be out of business if I had a dual at this point.
 
Originally posted by ridemonkey
Honestly I would go for a HT in the $1000 dolar range. A $1000 dual would be way heavy and a maintenance nightmare in the long run.

I can hardly keep my Hardtail in working order. I think I'd be out of business if I had a dual at this point.

That's kind of what I thought we'd find - but I want to check out both.

OK THEN - opinions on hard tails, please!
 

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
check all of your local bike shops (lbs) cuz i got a great deal recently on a 2001 specialized stumpjumper comp hard tail. It was a close out and like 500 off the list.
 
Originally posted by The Toninator
check all of your local bike shops (lbs) cuz i got a great deal recently on a 2001 specialized stumpjumper comp hard tail. It was a close out and like 500 off the list.
Funny you mention the Stump Jumper. I was just asking a friend about that one last night. I ride a Rock Hopper and I was asking if that would be good for Baboon.
 

oldfart

Turbo Monkey
Jul 5, 2001
1,206
24
North Van
Honestly I think its getting pretty hard to find a bad bike. At any given price point you'll find component specs to be similar. Some people around here don't like the genesis geometry because the bikes have longer wheelbases and therefore are more of a handful in tight stuff which is common here. Specialized use a lot of their own brand of parts so they can be really good value.

Pay attention to fit and the service the shop gives you. Will they swap tires and stems and saddles on a new bike to make it work for you?

Lots of sales on right now around here. The shops here had a mediocre sales year so they're blowing out now.
 

SK6

Turbo Monkey
Jul 10, 2001
7,586
0
Shut up and ride...
I like the geometry myself. Like anything else though, personal opinion. So far I've been lucky. The bad habit I have is liking the bigger frame. My bike is about 1 size too big for me frame wise, but I just like it like that..

Again, it's personal taste. I like the "Feel" of the bike. It seems to me that the larger frame gives me a kind of security, as it seems more stable to me, a more solid ride.

It just appears that it's what the rider is most comfortable with. Going to the local shops and trying them out is probably the best bet.

Just one mans opinion!!! Hope some of this helped!!:)
 

novice

Chimp
Aug 8, 2001
83
0
Madison, WI
As it was stated, it is hard to find a bad bike today. With component specs being quite similar the main way to decide is on test riding the bike. You have to try as many bikes as you can to get a feel for what you like, and what you don't like. As far as components go, the main decision you have is do you want mech. discs on the bike. If you do, then the rest of the components on the bike will be downgraded. Different bike makers use different geometries. Gary Fisher and GT's have longer than average top tubes. Cannondales have shorter than average toptubes. Specialized is on the shorty side of average, along with Schwinn and Bianchi. And Trek is slightly longer than average.

Because of GT/Schwinn's financial troubles, many places have great discounts on these bikes.

Different strokes for different folks.;)
 

Spud

Monkey
Aug 9, 2001
550
0
Idaho (no really!)
Any idea what will happen with warranties under GT/Schwinn? Definetly a place to look. Don't forget Kona. I really like their long tube geometry.
 

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
Originally posted by MtnBikerChick
Originally posted by Originally posted by Funny you mention the Stump Jumper. I was just asking a friend about that one last night. I ride a Rock Hopper and I was asking if that would be good for Baboon.

I have two gt's and love both of them and was going that way again before I found the deal on the specialized. GT's run kind of heavy but are very durable. I've had one of the bikes since 93 and just gave it to my mom it will probably run for ever.
The specialized is very light, only 23 lbs in the 17in (gt's were 16) model. Its really fast and handles very well. I'm only 140lbs so i don’t know how it will handle with the big boy but if he tightens up the fork a little it will probably be a great bike for him too.
good luck.:)
BTW as far as warrenty i have 3 gt's (2mt 1 road) and i have never had to warrenty any part's. fyi.
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,290
MTB New England
I've been looking at bikes for a few weeks now. I just don't know my head from my ass. Seems like there are a few popular brands, such as GT, Gary Fisher, Specialized, Cannondale, Kona, etc, and which each brand you've got three to five models of bikes, cheaper to more expensive. And of course, each bike has different options, different brands of parts, different tires, etc. What a pain in the ass for the first-time buyer. Sure, I've got a couple of people to shop with who know a thing or two, but it's frustating having to count on someone else's opinion on each bike. Buying my first new car was easier than this!

Just venting.

 

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
I Are Baboon

Vent on. It is a difficult discussion because when you drop a G on a bike (or anything else) you what to be sure you made the right decision. Getting took sucks. If your happy with the brand you ride move up to a nicer model and better outfitted. If you don’t want to limit your self check out the other bikes on the trials. Quiz the owners, down here just about everybody is willing to brag on their bike if asked. Then go to the shops and get on some and have them hook it up to the trainer. Go into this with a plan, buyers remorse sucks. If you find that one bike you cant do with out get the best frame of that model (m4 for specialized) but with a cheaper component set then in a couple of years up grade to a better component set.
That's my advice take it for what it's worth, Its free.
t
 

B-Loco

Chimp
Aug 13, 2001
28
0
South Florida
in the 1K range go with whatever frame fits you the best.

Is the difference between a LX and XT rear derailleur really going to matter? You can buy brand new XT for like 45 bucks....frames cost quite a bit more than that. In the 1K range you should get a mix of LX and XT and decent stuff throughout the bike.

But PLEASE! don't buy your bike based on specs. If it comes down to a few bikes that all feel the same than yah start looking in detail at the parts. But you should place comfort and fit over parts any day. Dropping 1K on a bike is alot of money to spend at one time. Spending 45bucks that you saved over a few weeks for the XT rear derailleur hurts alot less and you'll have a comfortable frame to put it on that you look forward to riding.

You are going to wear your tires out and have to get new ones anyways. The stem and saddle might have to be changed to more comfortable/better fitting ones. So look at wheelsets and forks when you start looking at parts. Those costs the most to upgrade on a bike. Forks are usually over 200 and wheelsets run up in that range and past as well.

Good luck and bounce ideas off the board we're here to help!
 

The Toninator

Muffin
Jul 6, 2001
5,436
17
High(ts) Htown
A couple of days after i bought my bike and riding the heck out of it, i realized the stem was to long becuase my back was hurting a bunch. My lbs traded out stems for free.