Mountain Bikes

[Ronin152]

Hey guys I am getting into mountain biking and looking to buy my first bike. I am going to do mostly trails in the woods with alot of hills and rocks. I would probaly be better off with a hardtail right? Do they make any type of front and rear suspension bikes that don't have the tail sagging which causes you to loose power when pedaling? But anyways I am looking at the specialized rockhopper comp disc and also the norco charger. What do you guys think about these bikes? Whats the deal with the 29 in wheels? Better or worse for around here?

[YJBeef]

you could always get a bike with an adjustable rear and tighten it so you don't lose a lot of peddle power, thats how I have my mongoose setup that way the occasional large bump doesn't jar you too much.

[trailerrails]

I am guessing by the bikes you are looking at you are trying to stay around $600. If so then the Rockhopper Comp Disc is a great bike to look at. Do not get a full suspension unless you are going to spend at least $1700. The 29" wheels are sweet but you will have to go up in price to about $750 for a Spec RH 29" or $950 for the Spec RH comp 29. The Cannondale 29er 4 is a sweet bike at $999 also.

[Ronin152]

Yeah I was thinking there was something like that. The only thing is aren't rear suspended bikes usually alot heavier? I like that you get more ground clearance with the 29 in wheels but it is also more mass to turn and less travel so I am torn between the two. Is the only thing with a rear suspension is just a better ride unless your doing like 50 foot drops?

[Ronin152]

Have you guys heard of ironhorse bikes? Are they any good? looking at the warrior 3.0.

[MF Steve!]

Iron Horse is pretty pricy. Badass bikes. Not many local dealers either.

There's a big fat thread on this here somewhere...

[cjw94xk]

ironhorse used to be one of the best, but that was back in the mid 90's. I have no idea now.

[2002wranglerX]

niner bikes for the win

if you're a bigger guy 29r's are the ONLY way to go!

if you're not... people still swear by em! i'll never go back.

[Ronin152]

Alright cool thanks guys for the help. Do you guys know any good websites where you can buy bikes? Also are there any sites which let you pick each individual part for you bike and put it together?

[MF Steve!]

If you buy a bike online, you'll never be happy. I'm not telling you where to go, there are a few good shops around. I refuse to plug any one shop, as you have to deal with the bad to appreciate the good. Please, just don't buy online.

[Ronin152]

No I am not buying online I just wanted to browse around and check out various prices.

[gearhead313]

where you located? Best thing you could do IMO is walk into Dirty Harry's in verona and just start shooting the shiz. They are great guys to talk to and can help point in a direction. Another place you could try is Gatto's or Pittsburgh Pro Bikes. Thats basicly what I did after doing a little internet searching to get my knowledge up. Get out there and talk to the people that live and breath this stuff. I've always delt with dirty harrys, and they have been the most help, w/o being a salesman and trying to push you into something you don't need.


my full-sus experience:
Truth: full sus is heavier generally
Myth: not all full sus will bob under hard pedalling

My Gary Fisher HiFi does not bob at all when in the "pro-pedal". The rear shock has adjustable valving that can be set where your bound will be firmer than the rebound, making the pedal stroke much more responsive. Yes, it'll never be a hardtail, but there are some pretty innovative setups out there, especially in down hill bikes that focus on big travel, but will hold tight on sprints.

...and depending on your budget, weight isnt really a worry factor either. My 5" travel f/r full sus is probably under 27lb now since i've gone with a few carbon pieces and a light seat.

[trailerrails]

Actually, if you are comparing a full sus 26er to a hard tail 29er they are about the same weight.

[plk457]

I ride the Specialized comp disc and couldn't be happier...of course I upgraded from a Giant Iguana that was about 15 (at least) years old. When I worked up at Nemacolin we had a fleet of Specialized that we rented to guests. They held up very nicely to the beating that those people would put on them everyday.

[Ronin152]

Thanks for all the good advice. Do you really need full susepsion in pittsburgh? I will mostly be riding at hardwood acres and deer lakes?

[Effjae]

need....no. I love my Fisher xcal 29er.

[2002wranglerX]

full sus is really nice though.

you could go full sus 29r. i have no personal experience with them, but they look sweet.

[NorthFaceZJ]

brandon, lets hook up soon. you can test my bike out on a run its a full suspenesion Kona. I can alsmost "lock out" the rear shock to avoid BOB. its a great corss country bike.

[Ronin152]

Yeah we deffinatly have to. Did you drive the jeep today to work? I wanna check out those 31's. I talked to jason and he said he would give me a hand with the lift. So I am just waiting till I'm done with work and I am giong to get the lift which should be the begin of august. I just got back from whistler and now addicted to mbing. But yeah we will have to meet up soon.

[jeepxj3]

Brandon, full sus bikes are indeed heavier than 29ers... So that statement before is false. You have more moving parts, more piviot points and they all need reinforcement. I will let you compare the weight of my X-Cal to Joe's Kona any day of the week, and you will see, the full sus. bikes out weight the 29er hard tails 90% of the time. The only way to get a full sus bike to weight less is to throw $$$$ at it. And if your at a limited budget then stay away from full sus, and 29ers, unless you find a deal you cant pass up.

You might also want to take a look at K2 bikes, Cyrus rides one and honestly he has impressed me on it. Granted its a lower end bike but it still rides with the rest of us.

Some places to check out bikes:
Gatto's (Tarentum)
Dirty Harrys (Verona)
REI (South Side Works)
Trek (Penn Circle)

I know Trek has a financing deal going on which you might benefit from. Also a good way to start building credit.

[Sycotik Skier]

I ride a hard tail Fisher HKEK. it's decently light and right aorund 1K iirc. Is dual suspension needed no. It will be heavier unless you dump a lot of cash into it. How much does weight really matter though? If you plan on racing then yes every gram counts but if you are just going out and riding Hartwood and what not then i don't think weight is going to be a big problem. I bought my hard tail because at the time all the full suspension bikes were heavy as hell and had a lot of bob. The link suspension design of now is a lot better. I was playing around on a friend's old specialized enduro and I was actually able to climb better with it. I think the rear suspension helps maintain traction better. If I was to buy a new bike now I'd probably be getting a full suspension.

[trailerrails]

blaaa, blaaa

Don't listen to this guy, he has no idea what he is talking about.

I have been working in the bike industry for 15+ years.

A specialized SJ hardtail 29 weighs within 1/2 lb a comparable speced 26er full squsher.

[Ronin152]

Cool cool thank you all for the help. The only thing I would like about a 29er is that you get more clearance. I hated riding a 26 and always scrapping my pedals and not being able to fit in between rocks like \/. I think I am just going to go with a hardtail because I want to also be able to ride it on the road a little too and the full sus is just a little too much for me just starting out. I think I am going to go with a Iron Horse because I can get a deal on any of them. Sachem 5.0 is what I am looking at. Sorry that I am a newb but could someone explain what cross country, all mountain, and the various other classes of MB means?
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[trailerrails]

29ers don't have more clearance like trucks with big tires do. They build the 29ers so they are almost the identical to their 26er counterparts in bottom bracket height. You could replace your big ring with a bash guard for more clearance but that will not keep you from hitting your pedals. A full suspension bike has more clearance so that the suspension has room to travel.

[jeepxj3]

Don't listen to this guy, he has no idea what he is talking about.

I have been working in the bike industry for 15+ years.

A specialized SJ hardtail 29 weighs within 1/2 lb a comparable speced 26er full squsher.

Wow... For real?!