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Any recommendations for a freeride/XC bike?

Matt H

Monkey
Aug 8, 2005
119
0
Maryland (Baltimore area)
Wants: something a bit on the lighter/shorter side that I can do some moddest climbs/XC riding, yet won't bust components or my ass if I run off 3' drops on a freeride. My budget is tenatively $1200 or under, yes I will definitely buy used.

I am 5'8" 165lbs w/ decent leg strength so I can hang w/ a bike that some may consider heavy for XC, and I'm not too hard on suspension.

Any thoughts? recommendations? I know my requirements are asking a lot :/

Thanks!
 

adurham

Monkey
Jun 9, 2005
192
0
I would get A Giant Reign, Norco Fluid, or a specialized enduro. The reign would be my first choice
 

bballboy388

Monkey
Dec 4, 2004
812
0
i donno how much they are but i think cannondale came out with a prophet with a coil rear shock and that would probly be good for what u said you want to do.
 

rpk1988

90210
Dec 6, 2004
2,789
0
Maryland
bballboy388 said:
i donno how much they are but i think cannondale came out with a prophet with a coil rear shock and that would probly be good for what u said you want to do.
Its still going to be out of his price range. Right now, any Prophet is out of your price range. If you bump you range up to $1600, go with the Prophet 600. :thumb:
 
Aug 15, 2005
252
0
Berlin, CT
Cannondale Jekyll. That's what I ride. I'll go race it for a day and 2 days later go drop a 7 footer. i'm 150, 5' 10". the '04 600 Disc is my rig, but it might be hard to find.
 

WarEagle2K

Chimp
Feb 28, 2005
92
0
Tucson, AZ
mountainbiker said:
Jamis Dakar XLT
I just bought my son a Jamis Dakar XLT. So far so good. I like to support the LBS when I can...That being said, they were asking $1550 for the bike. So I started internet shopping and found out that (god forbid) Performance sold them. I called the closest shop, about an hour away, and I got the exact same bike for $899. I also joined their "members club" and I got 20% (about 180 dollars) to spend in their store too. I think the bike is a bit on the heavy side, but will be a good free-ride/XC bike.
 

BUCKET

Monkey
Apr 30, 2004
369
0
Rocktown, VA
I use a Heckler for all mountain/xc riding, and I love it. It pedals efficeintly and doesn't weigh a great deal. The one I have has 5" of travel - I think they now have 5.5" on the 05 models with the DHX.
 

gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
go with the prophet, it doesn't really matter which model, they are all pretty durable, and around the 30lbs range. Dont worry about getting the coil over model, the airs are fine, my friend has one on his prophet 1k hes unbelievebly rough on his bike but still manages to get away with like 5 foot drops to flat concrete, and eos plenty of xc.
________
Weed
 
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black noise

Turbo Monkey
Dec 31, 2004
1,032
0
Santa Cruz
I hear only good things about the Dakar, and the Specialized Enduro is a good bike too.

There are tons of options as this is a fairly large part of market. I think it comes down to availability and how you like the feel of the bikes. Go to your lbs and ride the bikes they have.
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,289
MTB New England
My Titus Quasi Moto handles everything I can throw at it....XC, DH, freeride. I've done drops up to 7-8 feet and I have raced it in 24 hour races. I have it built up to 31 pounds.
 
May 24, 2005
331
0
Baltimore
Here's some stuff to consider...

Ride bikes with both single pivot (e.g. Cannondale), four bar (e.g. Specialized), and quasi four bar (e.g. Kona), and decide which you like best out of the types of suspension.

Personally I wouldn't spend good money on a single pivot design considering the technology is so old and survives because shock makers innovate while frame makers don't. Some will say they flex less but unless you're my size I can't imagine it being a problem.

Also want to think about:
Frame warranty and rider experiences getting things replaced...
Upgradability of the shock...
Air shock versus coil shock (coil will handle more abuse)...
Maximum fork travel for later upgrade...
Buying a new bike, but last year's model instead of used to get warranty and discount.

Kona Coiler - Good mid-range of rear travel @ 6", upgradable shock, good wheels, decent fork, hydrolic brakes. Not such a great color though and $1600 price tag might come down to $1200 when the 06 rolls out.

Giant Trance 3/Reign 3 - Reign seems like the better deal since they are the same price but the Reign has 2" more travel and is all around beefier. Decent spec but not as nice as the Kona (brakes and wheels) and it uses air shock that's cramped and probably not replaceable. Not sure what's up with a 5" travel fork on a 6" rear though.

Specialized - FSR XC Comp is $1400 but has a couple of shortcomings in the spec (BB5 brakes being one of them) and only has 4" of travel. Anything longer travel through Spesh is pricey. Best warranty in biking though....break it, get a new one almost no questions asked.

The other more boutique brands are going to be nice but pricey. Transition, Turner, Titan, et al. Sadly, in the <$2000 price range you're looking at a whole bike for what many brands want to charge you for just the frame/shock.
 

Dare2Dream

Chimp
Aug 25, 2005
11
0
Im looking at getting either the Kona Dawg Matic or the Kona Dawg for a freeride/Xc bike. Price range diff is a few hundred. Plus it in Canadian dollars ... the only difference is the marzocchi exr pro 100 mm on the dawg matic and the 120 mm on the dawg and a diff rear suspension.

What ya think's better?
 

zmtber

Turbo Monkey
Aug 13, 2005
2,435
0
the more you go up your paying for components so i don't know how crazy of a rider you are but that going to lead to what bike you should get
 

SXtrailrider

Turbo Monkey
Aug 27, 2005
1,189
0
i would get a coiler air or and endero, but if you do more of the big drops or FR biking but still want to pedal easiley i would go with one of the faiths from giant with the new maiestro suspention
 
Sep 30, 2004
18
0
Prophet is outta your price rang but would be worth it just to save and get one they sure are nice bikes.

Umm there was a dude selling a haro on the classifieds for $900 it was much more of a freeride bike but it's possible you could use it for aggressive Cross Country.
 

tomyboy

Chimp
May 9, 2003
51
0
Irvine
Have you thought about the specialized enduro SX? I had an older model 03 and it was great for what you mentioned. I'm sure the new specialized SX trail would suit your purpose also.