[Dethklok]

Alright guys so I know this is a real stupid first post but I dont know a whole lot about bikes and the shops around me as nice as they are arent much help when it comes to freeride.

So what would be a first good bike? Im not rich so Im lookin to only spend 500ish...which from what I can tell limits me to a pretty basic hardtail.

As for my riding style, I guess its kinda Freestyle Motocross on a mt. bike? Really lookin to catch some gnarly air and hit some tricks.

Ive seen some pretty nice Diamond Back HT's for my price range at Dicks (I kno not exactally a pro shop but they offer decent deals) Specifically the DB Response. Looks like its pretty beefy and could take a trashing and also has disk brakes.

My only concern with a HT is what are the general limits of a HT as far as what it can and can not take?

 

[jeff da grom]

i don't know if you will be able to get in on this... but these people seem to have something really good going on up there. Apparently they are not too keen on outsiders until the park is finished and can be a bike-park type of location.

If you managed to weasel your way into work days, then you might have the opportunity to ride it.

http://www.freeridepark.com/

 

[jeff da grom]

Uhmmm... scratch that. Apparently they aren't looking for help building. Just cross your fingers for when they open.

For the time being… The Land is not open to the public for riding, nor are we accepting any new volunteer trail/stunt builders. Legal and insurance issues are being resolved as they are the primary factors for delaying the park's opening date and preventing the addition of new help.

 

[Kenneth Matepi]

i'd go a Hardrock or something like that in its class.

 

[daway]

Look for a used bike because any new bike at $500 is not going to last you very long if you are hitting bigger stuff. There are plenty of used hardtails on the market, but you probably are going to need to spend $600-700 to get a nice solid freeride one. Just scour craigslist, the classifieds on here, mtbr.com, and pinkbike.com (yes all the 15 year old pinkbike punks are terrible however their buysell is very active).

As for the limits of a hard tail, they can take whatever you are willing to give it. Full suspension gives a little more leeway for mistakes and is a lot easier on the body, but then there are always people going huge on hardtails.

 

[steve owens]

you might take a look on Jensonusa. They have several hardtails that would probably fit the bill. (Jamis Komodo and even the scott voltage).I've thought about buying a freeride/dirt jump ht myself. You might check craigslist as well.