[watjac92]

Hi I know this question gets asked constantly and that there is no right answer but I was wondering what anyone would reccomend for me to get as a first mountain bike in many years. I owned an old trek 850 probably 10 years ago and sold it probably 6 years ago. So i know that I like riding. I will probably do mostly xc riding with a little bit of trail and not much jumping. I want to get something that is going to last, something that isn't going to have slightly bent wheels after a bit of off road riding or just going off of curbs. I now weigh about 180 lbs.

I know that I probably don't need full suspension but I just feel like I want it. I remember when I had that old trek I longed for a full suspension bike and I don't want to get a ht and then be sorry later on. Would a ht with a decent midlevel fork provide a decent experience when I go off road and are the wheels today stronger than those that were on my old trek. I would think that a full suspension would help keep the rear wheels from stressing so much.

I just don't know what to pick, I have been looking at kona's, giant's, specialized's, and trek's. They all have decent midlevel models and I just cant' pick between them. I don't know which one will provide the best experience. I am hoping of course to spend as little as possible but want somethign that will last and that I will like riding. I just dont' feel right about asking a shop to let me take a bike out and test ride it either, incase I would have an accident on it or something and I just would feel weird asking period.


I was thinking of just getting a 400 or so dollar ht and then selling it in a couple of months and getting a nice full suspension when I have more money but I dont' know what kind of value a bike will hold. I don't wan't to lose a whole lot when I sell the first bike to get the second bike, if the loss is going to be great then I might as well just save for the better bike right away but I want to ride as soon as possible. I can afford a more expensive bike right now but I don't think a 7 or 8 hundred dollar full suspension will be of a good enough quality.

Man I think I am rambling I know that this decision is probably pretty subjective but it cant' hurt to ask other people's opinions I think.


and I also don't know where the cutoff point is for weight/reliability. I could care less about saving a few pounds and I know that at some point your paying more for saving weight and many times that weight saving comes at the expense of component reliability. So how do you determine it?

 

[G-Cracker]

Hey there... welcome to the forum!

As for your bike predicament: You're right, there really is no "right" answer. There are much more knowledgable monkeys here than I, but my advice to you would be to go to your local bike shop and test ride the bikes that catch your eye. See what feels best.

I think a mid-level HT with a decent fork will do just fine for what you want to do. I was basically in the same boat. My old Raleigh full-suspension was stolen a month or so back, and I could only afford about $500 including the insurance money. I knew I would not be able to afford a quality double-squishy unless I bought a used one, and I looked around at the local shops and rode a couple hardtails.

I ended up getting a 2003 model but brand new (overstock) KHS Comp ST. It's a softail and I just absolutely love it. It climbs like a solid hardtail but the teeny shock gives enough cushion to soften the larger blows.

If you truly are sold on a double-squishy, I would save up a couple more months and buy one used. I'm not an expert on quality wheels, but I would stay with Deore or better for the components. I wouldn't buy a hardtail and then sell it to buy a better bike... that seems like more trouble than it is worth.

Good luck.

 

[watjac92]

thanks for the reply G-Cracker I think i'm just going to get a good hard tail. I am now just trying to decide between the specialized hardrock comp, haro escape 8.1, and maybe the kona cinder cone or blast. I am leaning towards the specialized hardrock comp because I can get it semi-locally for 450. The bike shops that carry the haro and kona's are closed right now so I can't call for prices but I think they are going to be about a hundred or more, more expensive.

What would you or anyone else reccomend out of those bikes? I'll probably upgrade the rear derailer to a sram x7 or 9 so I'm not worried about that part.

And I couldn't find any info on the marzocchi mZ comp fork only the mX?