[Buincchotourbss]

Anything I should know when looking for a mountain bike? I've been riding street bmx for about 7 years, but my back can't take the abuse anymore

[Mabeavyledlib]

may work best for you.

HEH i made a funny for once.
________
volcano classic

[DoctorTentonyya]

If you're wanting to avoid abusing your back, then down-hill would be best avoided. In that case you'd want a hard-tail for going cross-country.

[Buincchotourbss]

If you're wanting to avoid abusing your back, then down-hill would be best avoided. In that case you'd want a hard-tail for going cross-country.

mostly looking to do trail riding and stuff, nothing insane.


Edit: Nacho: You SUCK

[encumeterz]

there is a word called retiring.. lol

[DoctorTentonyya]

Hard-tail with front shocks is ideal for trail riding. Rear shocks waste too much energy when you're trying to cover distance. You can get lock-outs, but when you're not planning on barelling down-hill there's no point in having it anyway. Front shocks are still nice to smooth things out a bit, and definitely worthwhile on trails.

Disc brakes I can't say for certain. On dirty trails they're going to be a bit more resilient to dirt and mud. Smear up your rims with some mud and grit and you'll scratch up your rims, maybe even have a hard time braking. Discs don't suffer that so much. Plus they look cool. A few years back when I got mine, hydraulics were a nuisance, but done right gave a more solid feel, while cables were reliable.

I know there's some more serious MTB riders on here that should be able to chip in with some more detailed advice.

Do we call you MTBAnt from now on?

[tinamasak]

What you're looking at is XC biking if you're not looking to kill yourself with technical trail features. AM biking gets more technical and DH biking is just pure suicide.

Get a hardtail with a front suspension fork. When you go to pick your bike out, buy the bike first and foremost for the frame, the suspension fork, and the wheelset. Those three components alone are the most significant components on the bike and consequently where most of the difference can be felt between components.

Disc brakes are in. Even budget hydos will be miles above your typical rim brakes. Avid juicy 3's come on most oem bikes and are pretty good for what they cost. Bikes with aluminum frames *typically* weigh less than bikes with steel frames although you'll be hard pressed to find mainstream bikes with steel frames anymore. It seems nowadays quality steel frames are made only on high end bikes. Steel frames are typically stiffer and more robust than aluminum frames. They are also much less prone to fatigue failure/cracks over time.

Most entry level xc bikes have coil spring suspension forks (i.e. RS Dart, Marzocchi MZ comp, etc.) Coil forks are heavier but they're robust and their spring rate does not change during compression. Higher end bikes have air suspension forks and tend to be lighter although their spring rate changes as the fork compresses because the air pressure in the fork increases (i.e. it's not a linear spring.) Air forks can also have their springs adjusted via air pressure changes whereas coil forks need to have the entire coils swapped out if any adjustments are desired (i.e. you're too heavy or light for a given coil, and you want one that's stiffer or plusher.) Quality forks a step above entry level start at the Rockshox Tora line. You'll find them on a lot of bikes. For XC biking you don't want a fork with any more travel than 80-100mm. Only AM or DH biking takes advantage of higher travel forks.

Wheelsets will all ride similarly. Higher end wheelsets tend to be slightly lighter. You may not feel the weight difference picking the bike up but small differences in mass make a lot of difference if it's rotating around the rim. A slightly lighter wheel will accelerate faster and require less energy to keep moving. Consider the wheelset last among other things. It's not immediately obvious to most people what the difference feels like.

Most bikes have 26" wheels although there is a trend towards 29" wheels. They roll over obstacles easier and have more inertia, a bigger tire contact patch, etc. Most people find that they don't handle as quickly as 26" bikes do. It's a tradeoff you'll have to consider. 29" bikes also don't work quite as well for short people. You'll have to test ride them to see how they fit.

Oh and regarding fit, do not buy your bike based on the seat tube length or standover height. Those rules went out the window as soon as bike geometries became more specialized. Buy your bike mainly on its effective top tube length. You do not want to be too stretched out on the bike nor too cramped on it. You can adjust the length of the stem, position of the seat to adjust your cockpit. In general it's easier to make a smaller bike feel bigger than it is to make a bike that's too big feel smaller. Goto a quality bike shop and have them give you suggestions. Test ride the bikes. More than one. Ride the expensive bikes too to know what you're looking for in a good bike. Don't buy a bike from walmart or the like. They're typically not assembled very well and the bikes they sell there just don't hold up under typical trail riding conditions. Good bike shops will also take care of you and your bike as part of their service.

High end bikes with high end components are usually just lighter than entry/mid level bikes. Things like handlbars, seatposts, saddles, chain, crankset, etc. will be 2/3 to 1/2 the weight of entry level components. The weight savings adds up. Functionally, high end bikes don't differ too much from low end bikes. Things like shifting might feel more precise, but functionally it's all similar. An entry level bike and a higher end bike might share the same 4lb. frame, but typically the entry level bike comes with real heavy boat anchorish componentry. On the plus side it makes for good exercise. :P

[Buincchotourbss]

Thanks for the info, I'm looking to spend maybe... 500-700 usd, hopefully that can get me something decent.

[tinamasak]

Thanks for the info, I'm looking to spend maybe... 500-700 usd, hopefully that can get me something decent.

Find out what bike shops you have around and ask what brands they carry. Once you have an idea of what they have in stock, do some research. Then once you narrow the selection down go in for a test ride.

My first bike was $649. My last two bikes were $2800 (with aftermarket wheelset/chris king hubs) and $1500 (built from the frame up). If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought something better to begin with. At that price the frame should be pretty nice as is. You'll always have your chance to upgrade part by part when things break or wear out (and they do if you ride the bike like it was meant to be ridden.)

[Yartonbler]

in that range you should be able to find a fairly decent bike. I bought mine about 4 or 5 years ago now and got a great deal on a specialized hard tail bike, with a quality front suspension fork on it for about $500 on a group buy. The place I was working went in and bought 25 bikes from them and I got mine thrown in on the group cost. Also any reputable shop will let you take out a bike for a weekend to test it out. They usually have several rental models that they will let you take and as long as you end up buying something from them they wont charge the rental fee, but at worst your $30-$50 for the rental. Also bargain with the shop, you can usually get the initial setup for free most places, and the place I got mine from readjusted everything for me after about 3 months when the cables started to stretch out good.

I had a chance to ride a Kona last year. Full suspension with lockable rear, disc brake, and adjustable front suspension and it made my bike feel like a walmart bike. Its amazing what a few years of technology does for prices of stuff on the market. When I bought my bike a disc brake set was going for almost as much as I paid for the bike, these days they are pretty much standard on most bikes. Mine has all the brakets needed for the conversion so I am hoping to swap out sometime. Downhill or even aggressive trail riding just sucks on rubber pads. like somebody else said a little grit does a lot bad stuff when your grinding into your rims with dirty rubber. It also doesnt help you stop too well.

Also with you coming from a bmx background you may feel more comfortable on a smaller frame bike than what most shops might try to set you up with. as long as you can get the seat high enough you should be fine. I think most people say you knee should be near full extension at bottom, you want to be off full extension something like 7-10 degrees if you are riding something where you will be sitting a lot, but when riding hard or downhill stuff, I usually drop my seat almost all the way to the frame.

[ARKLqAZ6]

i recently got a new mountain bike. Lots of what there is to choose from over here is american and i went with a Specialized.

It's a hardtail with front shocks which is ideal. the brakes are disc's which are a step above anything ive used before. they're mechanical rather than hydraulic too so i can kind of keep them good myself.

the bike i got was a specialized P2 AM, which should fit nicely within your budget too.