New mountain bike? Any recommendations for do's and don'ts?

Sounds like you are going to be a serious rider. You have a realistic budget. Your sifting though lots of information to find out what you need. You are the type of customer I always enjoyed helping!

First thing is find out what size frame you need. Know your actual inseam (not your pants length), take a broom stick and yank it up firmly into your crotch and measure from the top of it to the floor, in your bare feet. Its not comfortable, and believe me, you won't forget the measurment! Know your body type; long legs, equal build, or long arms. This will help determine fit.

On the test ride, don't do like everyone does and ride slow circles looking down at the shifting gears, they won't tell you anything. Ride the bike, pedal hard, brake hard, shift while pedaling out of the saddle, brake while turning (gently, this can put you in the dirt quick!), test steering responsiveness, brake dive of the fork, go off curbs. This will tell you how the bike is likely to respond on the trail. If possible try to shift while pedaling up a hill, or while dragging the brake to simulate climbing.

With washboard bumps, baby heads, cobbles and other high frequency conditions, going to a wider tire might be the better choice, you can drop the pressure a bit and really eliminate the bumps. The tire is th first form of suspension, it should be tuned to work with the fork/rear shock and your riding style. That comes after many hours of riding and testing.

The personal choices of bikes are the contact points, feet,hands, butt. Pedals, grips, saddle will all be something different for each of us. I like lock on grips, egg beater pedals, and WTB rocket V saddles.


Check out some brands like Orbea, Scott, fuji, Felt, specialized, Jamis, Santa Cruz for some good offerings in the style your looking for. I'm a huge Orbea fan, but I'm down to just my road bike and downhill bike by them.


Good luck and keep us updated!

-Xander
 
Sid,

I mountain bike about 2-3 times a week here in San Diego and I visited Tucson for a while on business last year and sampled some of your trails.

First, I would avoid on-line stores. You've got some pretty decent shops in your area and there is really no substitute for a good fit to your bike. Let me give you an example. I rode a Klein hard tail happily for a decade or so. When I decided to go full suspension, I fell in love with an Ellsworth Truth based upon the quality of workmanship, the awesome welds, etc. I never really rode one though, just had it built up and bought it. Spent more on it than I did on my first car and I rode it for years.

Now, Ellsworth is a great bike, but the Truth never really fit me. I didn't realize this, because I didn't bother to ride any other full suspension bikes. I just figured "this is how suspension bikes feel." About four years later, I was poking around a new shop that opened next to my office. They sold Titus bikes. The owner tried to sell me on a Titus Motolite, which I thought was the ugliest design I had ever seen. To be polite, I agreed to jump on it and ride it around. It was like magic, the bike fit me like a glove. I shelled out $4,000 there on the spot, put my Truth up for sale and have been happily riding my ugly Motolite ever since. And it really improved my riding. There is no substitute for a good fit.

So, go to your local shops and ride a few bikes. Find the one that actually does a "bike fit" where they will measure you and look at your riding style and swap out basis parts (stem, bars, cranks) to get the fit right. Most shops know they have compete with the online guys and will try to cut you deal to get your business. You will still pay a bit more but, honestly, the relationship you will forge with them will repay you later when you need service, repairs, clothing, gear, etc.

I'd look at bikes in the 5.5-6.5" travel range. 4" is a dying breed because the new shocks and suspension designs can be dialed in so precisely that they offer a great ride even if you're not bombing downhills or tricky obstacles. My Titus is 5.5" inches with a pretty slack geometry and it is a great climber as well a great decender. As far as geometry, a "steep" bike puts you more out over the front of the bike. This good for climbing, as it tends to keep the front wheel on the ground when going steeply uphill. They also turn tightly, good for tight, twisty trails. "Slack" bikes put you more off the back, and more upright, which is good for going down hill. You can see more of the trail and don't feel like you're going to fly over the handle bars.

Since you're looking at Santa Cruz, I'd also look at some of Trek's higher end offerings (i.e., Fuel) as well as Titus, Pivot, Turner, Ellswoth. You can get a great Trek Fuel for between $2-$3k. The others will be more, but they are also semi-custom bikes.

For a good mix of super durability, super efficiency and reasonable light weight, go with Shimano XT components. They just plain work and never break. XTR is lighter, but more race oriented and not quite as durable. There are component manufactures out there, but Shimano sets the standard and everyone follows. This is particularly true with disc brakes. On my Truth, I hand-picked a bunch of super light weight stuff. It was all from different boutique manufactures and it never seemed to work well together. My Motolite came with a full XT package. At first I thought this was boring but, again, it just worked.

You're getting into a great sport. Fantastic exercise; it gets you out onto the trails further than you can hike in the same amount of time and, when you start to conquer more aggressive terrain, it's super fun, like snowboarding fun!

Eric G.
 
I live in BC and I ride a lot both cross country and the parks. Here is what I think;

- Buy Fox shocks they are extremely well designed and cost of ownership is pretty low plus almost any bike shop can service them, as opposed to proprietary shocks which can be great but if something isn't quite right you can be without out your bike for 2 - 3 weeks while your shop ships them to timbuk2 to get fixed

- Don't worry about SRAM or Shimano they are both exceptional but if you can afford it get at least LX in Shimano (better yet XT) X9 in SHRAM is great XO is greater but only if it fits the budget

- don't get fixated on 29ers or 2 X 10 drive trains people have been riding on 26" wheels for ever ( and will continue to) and 2 X 10 is great but there is nothing wrong with 9 speed definitely not a deal breaker

- Watch the rest of the groupo - bike companies tend to put on good quality items that will catch your eye like the rear derailleur or the crank but put on other items that are really heavy or sub par like the BB, Cassette, chain, rims, shifters (you would be surprised at how much cassettes & Bottom brackets can weigh and the last item that you want to be poor quality is rims) If you want to upgrade any of these negotiate it at the time of purchase. An exception IMO is the front derailleur usually a compromise here isn't a huge issue.

- Whatever disc brakes come with the package will probably be great but my favorites are Avid for the money at least.

- spend around $2,000 (more if you want to go a little lighter)

- if your bike can come in around 30 - 32lbs that would be best don't go too much heavier for general trail riding

- get tires that are suited to your terrain

- Get the right frame size and get a geometry for your body. I for instance don't fit Kona's no matter what I adjustments I do, just like skis they could do great in all the tests but feel like crap to you.

- Make sure the shop fits you on the bike, swaps out stems etc until you get the right riding position on the bike

- Some good all rounders in that price range are the Specialized Stump Jumper, Trek Fuel, Rocky Mountain element is also a great bike

- If you haven't been riding aggressive trails and you are planing to maybe leave the clip less pedals at home for a while.

Just my thoughts hope that helps a little.
 
I've had a Giant Rainier mountain bike (29") since about 2002. It's a lot different than the current Rainier, but it's a solid, reliable bike. I don't go too far off the road that often, but when I have, the size of the bike makes windy places difficult. It currently has hybrid tires so I can go a little way off the road but not hardcore off-roading. Mine was a bit over $700 at the time at a bike shop in Florida; I looked, the current ones are over $800 on the website. If Giant bikes are still as good as the 2002 model I have, it will serve you well. Good luck!
 
I got one word for you: "Pivot"
Since I purchased my Mach 5.7, I became a better rider over night.
The bike gets consistently excellent reviews.
Ride as many FS bikes as possible, then ride the 5.7.
Pivot also makes a killer 29'r, the Mach 429.
They're not cheap, but you get what you pay for.
Lenny
 
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