Mountain biking

[ShawnR]

Not sure if this is the right section to ask this question in, but I'm looking for mountain bike suggestions. I'd like to have a mountain bike I can take with me on trips and ride some trails. Most of my extra money right now is going to finishing (ha, never will be finished) my Jeep. Would I be ok with a bike from Walmart? Or do I really need to spend the money on a Trek, Gary Fisher, etc. I'm sure I'll ride this bike at home as well, but I just don't want to spend a bunch of money. Maybe down the road, but not yet. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[outback97]

If you are using the bike for anything other than flat paved trails, I would avoid a Walmart bike.

What is your budget? I would suggest looking for a good, lightly used bike on craigslist. There's a lot of people that buy a decent bike, hoping they'll ride it, then when it turns out they don't use it, they're looking to get rid of it. A great forum for learning about bikes is mtbr.com.

ETA: Here's a good read on mtbr:
http://forums.mtbr.com/beginners-corner/my-letter-mongoose-803391.html

 

[toxicity_27]

I've got a Gary Fisher Advance, cost $300 when I bought it new. Have had to replace a couple things on it though as I'm a big guy and was hard on it. Picked up a Specialized Rockhopper 29er a few years ago. Absolutely love it, but I need to lose weight and/or get a different fork as it is quite soft and I bottom it out pretty easily.

 

[Steve]

Avoid box store bikes like the plague unless you are riding them around the cul-d-sac once or twice a year.

In 57 years of riding bicycles, I've only had two new bicycles. Most of my latest have come from eBay or Craigslist. Last year I bought a brand new, unused Trek 970 that sold for $850 in 1993 for $350 on eBay. And the year before that, a nearly new KHS Summit X that sold for $700-something in 1997 for $175 locally. You will find much better quality bikes for a given price buying used than new. Trek 830 and 850 models sell all the time for under $100, and you'd have to spend $500+ for a new one as good. My 830 was $65 two years ago on Craigslist.

 

[ShawnR]

Thanks for all the info so far. I will definitely avoid the box stores. I'm not wanting to spend more the 3 or 400. I hope to ride it through the nice months, but we all know how that goes. And thanks for the link to the forum. I'm going to troll Ebay and Craigslist.

 

[ShawnR]

Thanks again for pointing me to look outside the box store. Watching one on Ebay that may suit my needs nicely. And the price is right.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TREK-4900-Mountain-Bike-Alpha-Aluminum-18-Frame-/221984220158?hash=item33af4a63fe:g:khMAAOSwa-dWh~-c

 

[gandrimp]

All I can add to what everyone else has posted is 'fit'. I am 5'11" and ride a 17.5" STACHE. You will not ride a bike that's not comfortable.

 

[Steve]

By the way (and off topic.) Here's what I bought the KHS for. An Xtracycle conversion into a cargo bike.

And here's my touring/road bike (one of two I've ever bought new, and the other was an $88 ten-speed back in the early '70s.)

(Both can be embiggened my clicking on them.)

 

[ShawnR]

Those are cool. I'm having trouble deciding if I really want a mountain bike, but I also want a road bike. Ugh. You're giving me too much to think about.

 

[toxicity_27]

You can get a mountain bike and then get different rims and tires and swap em.

 

[ShawnR]

You can get a mountain bike and then get different rims and tires and swap em.

Lol, see I would have never thought of that. This forum is great!!!

 

[Toyotadirtdevil]

I used to race and ride mtn bikes and have ride all different price ranges. My last was over 6k.
I now ride a 300 dollar fat tire bike that I've put a few upgrades on and have never been happier.

 

[Justin_0237]

I figured this goes hand and hand with overlanding or just as an extra activity. So who out there mountain bikes, what do you ride, and where do you mainly ride! I'll start.. My bike is a specialized camber expert and I mostly ride anything within the San Francisco Bay Area! Been up to Tahoe area a couple times and really enjoy the trails and scenery out there! (This is briones regional park in Martinez, CA)

 

[ShawnR]

Following. I'm in the market for a mountain bike and haven't purchased one yet.

 

[Justin_0237]

Have you ridden in the past and what style of riding are you into?

 

[Wawa Skittletits]

Longstanding Trek guy here. Don't ride nearly as much as I used to and when I do it isn't nearly as aggressive as I once did. I still love to get out when I can though. There are a lot of quality trails in Pennsyltucky and I don't live that far from from the little mecca of Jim Thorpe.

 

[shoredreamer]

Two wheels and four wheels on dirt go hand in hand, at least for me. I rode BMX as a kid and ditched the bike for a 4wd when I got my license in high school. Growing up in the Bay Area, I quickly ran out of mud holes and dirt turnouts to rip thru so I fell back and bought a MTB when I started college. I've been riding mountain bikes for these past 19 years since then. Now with a family I find the need to include them in my adventures and this is where overlanding has fit in and brought me back full circle to 4 wheels again. Exploring, navigating, escaping, progressing, adventuring. That's life. On dirt.

SC Nomad shredder99 SC Superlight aka the wifeyChromag Samurai I ride and dig trails in my local Santa Cruz mtns.

 

[Corey]

After taking a loooooooooooong break from riding, I bought a new Specialized Rockhopper Pro back in July of 2009, a week before a camping trip to Greenwater, WA.
I had the shop take off the stock tires and put some nice Kenda 2.1x26s on it.
They also put a nice Thule T2 on it which can handle rough forest service roads with ease.

Back then Colonial O'Neil looked a little jealous of it :D
The bike now resides in my spare bedroom on the same wall rack along with where I keep my camping gear.
That living room wall now is filled with my other passion I got back into spring of 2012 after taking a thirty year break from it.

I may look into getting a 29" mountain bike in the future.

 

[Wawa Skittletits]

Back then Colonial O'Neil looked a little jealous of it :D

Not ashamed one bit to admit that I loved Stargate haha

 

[Justin_0237]

Nice bikes everyone! @Corey I love that with the 29ers you can damn near roll over everything but for me I feel like it doesn't feel part of me like my 26" tires