Cyclists

[savestheday]

I'm looking for a new mountain bike or a ATB. whats a good bike between 600-850 dollars?

[marmoset]

Your best bet is a two part answer:
1. check your local craigslist
2. bring a knowlegeable cyclist with you to check the bike out

this should get you the best bang for your buck

if you want a new bike then just head to your local bike shop; most of the bikes in that pricerange are roughly the same and are pretty great. I would suggest getting a hardtail (no rear suspension) because this will also get you more bang for your buck. If you are comparing 2 bikes that are the same price, the one that doesn't have rear suspension will almost always be a much more solid bike.

These are traditionally the best bargain brands- not the cheapest, not the most expensive, just great, solid, enjoyable machines:
Jamis
Giant
Iron Horse

What are you hoping to do with this bike? Answering this question should point you in the right direction for choosing the right type of bike.

[chiggins]

I have some ideas about bikes that I'd buy in that price range and how I'd do it, but it would help to know what kind of riding you plan on doing with it. F'rinstance just within the Surly family:

- Commuting and some trail use: I'd probably be lookin' at a Cross-Check
- No no, just singletrack: Hm... then I'm leaning towards an Instigator, but with a rigid fork if I'm keeping it under $850
- I've changed my mind, I'll be on the road a lot, but I still want some good fat tires, and I'm not sure if I'm going to want disc brakes in the future, and I might want to try single-speed mountain biking at some point: now I'm thinking Karate Monkey w/ 29" wheelset.
- I'm gonna bomb downhill runs at the local ski resort: probably not for $850, at least not safely.

And in that price range, I'd also think about setting up a search on eBay for a late 90's Stumpjumper that someone's garaged for most of its life. Might even get a halfway decent shock out of it.

But all that's contingent on what sort of purposes you have in mind. What's the top 3 situations you want this bike to perform in ranked from most frequent/useful to least? (Or more than 3, knock yourself out ).

[savestheday]

one of my friends has a giant yukon that i like, but the one i have been riding on the trails is a fuji slm 2.0 that one of my friends has and that thing is bad-ass but its a $3,400 dollar bike.
top 3:
1. Lots of trail riding
2. Something that rides the road well because i'm going to be riding 10+ miles to get to the trails.
3. And something thats just a fun ride.( last one isn't that important because every bike i have ever ridden has be fun except bombing down a big hill on a fixed gear bike.)

[marmoset]

how much do you weigh?

[savestheday]

Ha I didn't mean to pm you that. I weigh 175.

[chiggins]

1. Lots of trail riding
2. Something that rides the road well because i'm going to be riding 10+ miles to get to the trails.

Hmmm... okay, this is all opinion:

I Totally agree with Marmoset about hardtails, if they're selling you front and rear suspension for less than a couple grand, then you're getting more moving parts, and they're cheap. You aren't gonna wanna abuse 'em. If you want a new bike, I'd even go farther and say put everything into a solid platform that you can add a quality fork to later. And, being a Surly fan, I'd probably start looking on this spectrum:

Code: Select all

Instigator w/ Nanoraptor 2.4's        Karate Monkey 29'er         Cross Check w/ 700x45's
         Dirt/Abuse---------------------Fire Road/Trail------------------Gravel/Road


The Instigator's a tank, the Karate Monkey's comfortable with an array of set-ups, and the Cross Check is an off-road bike disguised as a road bike. All made of steel, well designed, well built, and affordable.

That said, for around $400-800, you can find a really sweet older bike with a good component group on eBay. When I was actually looking for a trail bike, I kept coming back to Trek 950/970/990's, Specialized Stumpjumpers, Kona Explosifs and the odd Paramount Series 70/90. You can do something like that in great shape from the late 90's for $600 easy. I picked up a 1996 Trek 970 with 72 miles on it for $113 one time, the guy hadn't even put enough miles on it for grease to accumulate on the XT rear derailleur.

Another way to go is to get the frame you want, then scour eBay and Craigslist for 16" and 22" mountain bikes that don't have much mileage on 'em. People have a harder time getting rid of very small and very large bikes, but you want to strip them for the components anyway. So, for example, you could pick up a Soma Groove frame brand new for probably less than $400, then pick up someone's 15.5" I'm-moving-this-weekend bike if it's set up with decent wheels and drivetrain and move it over.

Any of that sounding like a good idea?

[savestheday]

i was looking on Craig's list and look what i found! i talked to the guy and he said bike are in really nice condition and both are for 25 dollars i'm going to look at them this afternoon. They arnt the best of bikes but for $25 thats a steal! http://easttexas.craigslist.org/bik/1699187217.html


I've thought about building one but i'm just looking to buy thats put together for right now.

[chiggins]

i was looking on Craig's list and look what i found! i talked to the guy and he said bike are in really nice condition and both are for 25 dollars i'm going to look at them this afternoon. They arnt the best of bikes but for $25 thats a steal! http://easttexas.craigslist.org/bik/1699187217.html

The Bianchi's a 61cm, are you that tall? For reference, I'm 5'11" and ride a 56cm road bike. I just sold a 62cm Trek to a friend of mine who's 6'5" and has ridiculously long arms and legs, and it fits him pretty well.

[savestheday]

i'm 6'2 with at 6'5 wingspan

[chiggins]

I think you win!

[chiggins]

Awesome.

http://www.cyclelicio.us/images/ksvhl.jpg.gif

[cmlasley]

- Commuting and some trail use: I'd probably be lookin' at a Cross-Check

Help me out here: I want to buy "the last bike I'll ever have to buy." I want it for commuting, and light trail use. Must have fenders. I want to run the largest tires possible (at least 2"). I prefer 26" rims for their strength. I want a three-speed internal-geared hub. I want front disc and rear coaster brakes. I'd prefer a steel frame. I like the Surlys:

I'd love to get a LH Trucker, but the vertical dropouts on the tail make an internal geared hub impossible (without a tensioner, which takes away the bullet proof and simple nature of the geared hub).

That takes me to the Cross-Check, which would be fine, but how to get front discs on there? Change forks?

That takes me to the Karate Monkey - but the rear drop outs are at 135mm, not the 130mm of my beloved 3-speed internal-geared hub? Spacers? What do I do?

The next choice would be the Swobo Otis - I'm not sure how I feel about the aluminum frame, and I can't fit the-biggest-freaking-tires-you've-ever-seen-on-a-bike on that.

[Thatdirtykid]

Nice, I hadn't found this thread yet. I tend to cycle a lot (canceled the insurance on the car, and the motorcycle is always waiting on new parts ) lately been around 100+miles a week. Most all of that is on my Bianchi San Jose. If not that bike (since I sold a couple) its my B.A.S.S and I am riding the trails around horsetooth.

I don't know how current the price discussion is, but if you aren't stingy about brands and want new and don't mind fussing a little to get it sized just right for you [url]bikesdirect.com[/url] tend to have amazing prices. Like the 29'r with XT(if I remember) components for 800 or so. About what the component group would cost new. Bikes are well made too, just have to get over the brands.

[chiggins]

- Commuting and some trail use: I'd probably be lookin' at a Cross-Check

Help me out here: I want to buy "the last bike I'll ever have to buy." I want it for commuting, and light trail use. Must have fenders. I want to run the largest tires possible (at least 2"). I prefer 26" rims for their strength. I want a three-speed internal-geared hub. I want front disc and rear coaster brakes. I'd prefer a steel frame. I like the Surlys:

I'd love to get a LH Trucker, but the vertical dropouts on the tail make an internal geared hub impossible (without a tensioner, which takes away the bullet proof and simple nature of the geared hub).

That takes me to the Cross-Check, which would be fine, but how to get front discs on there? Change forks?

That takes me to the Karate Monkey - but the rear drop outs are at 135mm, not the 130mm of my beloved 3-speed internal-geared hub? Spacers? What do I do?

The next choice would be the Swobo Otis - I'm not sure how I feel about the aluminum frame, and I can't fit the-biggest-freaking-tires-you've-ever-seen-on-a-bike on that.

This guy did it with a Karate Monkey and an SRAM Dual Drive, and I think the Dual Drives come in a coaster brake form too. I've got 26" wheels on my KM, which lowers the bottom bracket, but works pretty well with 60+ mm tires. KM's are amazingly versatile platforms.