Mountain Bike Opinions

Airborne Goblin 29er - parent company is Huffy, online only - $1149 http://www.airbornebicycles.com/category/55-cross-country-xc.aspx

PHeller wrote: However, plenty of FR/DH bikes have long stays, but its the slack geometry and head tube angles that allow for the bike to wheelie, manual, and feel weighted toward the rear of the bike.

The funny thing is my Jet 9 feels rear-biased. I really have to "get up on the tank" to get the thing to corner to my liking. A friend says it's because i'm running a 100mm travel fork and if i dropped it down to 80mm it would steer faster. It some ways, it's a bit of deja vu as my old M-1 was the same way, but it had a very low BB (under 12" at sag) and a slack HTA (about 65 degrees) and I had the rear FSR pivot in the short position. Provided I kept my weight centered and square to the fall line, the bike had incredible handling.

ultraclyde wrote: If it wasn't 30+ lbs, yes. Closer is the Canfield Yelli Screamy or even better, a By:Stickel custom build. But even those come off heavier than I'd like. Riding a 22lb single speed will spoil ya.

Ain't gonna happen. A 120 or 140mm fork just won't be as light as a carbon fork, and a bike designed around that aggressive geometry will need to be burly.

well, ok maybe it could happen: Kingdom Bikes Brigante CRB...but thats a $1200 frameset.

JAMIS STEEL = the last best bike you need to buy.

I like this one ^ - Jamis are usually cheaper than bigger names, and this one has a stellar components group

My $0.02 on MTB buying in general...

Most bikes are made of the same stuff...proprietary handgrips and resin pedals aside, youre almost always talking about the same 4 suspension companies, the same 2 drivetrain mfrs, the same 3 wheel people etc etc etc...an extruded handlebar is nearly the same on most any complete MTB...so what are you buying when you buy a particular companies wares?

name, marketing, gizmos...thats it. Now, TO BE FAIR, C-dale did break new ground with Lefties, and theyre good forks (tines?), but outside of that, most hardtails share the same DNA...even down to the frame. Most are mass produced in Taiwan or China at the same few factories. So, take away a few degrees of head tube angle, or a gusset or 3, and your Trek is no different than a Diamonback, and your Specialized is a Gary Fisher in Kona colors.

I like steel frames - they are more comfortable, and last longer (dont fatigue as easily). Keep em treated against rust, and theyll last nearly forever (yes, even if you ride across the river with your BB submerged) - keeping it treated will greatly improve the lifespan of your steel frame.

So, find a frame material you like, with a component group you like, at a price point you like, and go with it. Saying company A is "better" than B can be misleading if youre not sure what it is you are really interested in to begin with. Find out what traits you like, and buy those traits - leave names out of it

In reply to PHeller:

Well, that's exactly why I described where I'd park it. It's a unicorn kind of idea.

And did I mention I want the 1x10 drivetrain to be a belt drive, internal shift hub combo? and honestly, 23 lbs would be livable.

I rode a 29er today. It was a Fuji something or another. It was ok, but not it. Thanks for the great tips all.

I'll hit up a few more LBSs and hopefully have a bike this weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Bought a bike today. Spent a lot more than I set out to spend, but got a bike $800 off the list price. Now I have to get in shape fast since I am officially the guy I used to hate 15 years ago when I was on a (relatively) crappy bike and saw old fat guys on dream machines.

Jamis Dakota Pro.

Nice!

VERY nice... enjoy it :)...

and I know what you mean about old farts on "dream bikes"

looks like a good bike. Have fun with it!

Everyone knows old fat white dudes have the nicest bikes.

Myself included.

Nice.

T.J. wrote: Bought a bike today. Spent a lot more than I set out to spend, but got a bike $800 off the list price. Now I have to get in shape fast since I am officially the guy I used to hate 15 years ago when I was on a (relatively) crappy bike and saw old fat guys on dream machines. Jamis Dakota Pro.

My brain: "$800 off huh, if it's that easy to pick up a nice bike cheap maybe I better look into getti...oh god that bike lists for $3400, abort, abort."

Yeah, I can't take it the challenge.

But what the hell. If I have to work overtime I don't have to save it all.

find the right shop and the right bike and you can do that... you can haggle pretty well on a last year bike... I talked to the owner of a small chain of LBS around here and told him what I wanted, he happend to have one across town that one of the shop monkeys got to build up, stripped, and rebuilt but ended up not taking it... I got it with better parts than the OEM build for $500 off... ($1500 MSRP)

when you get into the real high end bikes there is a lot more room to play especially when it's a last year close out... my LBS always has a few demo bikes around and when it's time to sell they give an awesome discount...

that being said... where the shop makes MOST of their money is on the little things which is why many shops will give a killer deal on the accessories when you buy a bike from them but don't give much wiggle room on the bike itself (if it's a low/mid level current year there isn't much wiggle room to be had)

anyway... go ride the piss out of that new bike :)

I will. The owner of the shop said they ordered the bike by mistake. They usually only order the pricey rides special order when someone puts money down. This one is a 2012 version and I figure the 2013's will start coming out sometime soon. Once I rode it I was hooked.

Going riding this weekend. I'm so out of shape it's not funny, but I'll have fun. I'm up to about 205 pounds now - when I used to ride all the time I was 160-165. Gotta get back to something at least reasonable.

I know absolutely less than squat about bikes. But ten years ago, I was offered a very, very good deal on a Bianchi mountain bike, and I love the thing. So lightweight it's easy for me to throw in the trunk. I just started riding it again this week (after two years!) and remembered how much I like it.

even what most cyclists consider "low end" is a world apart from the big box crap... and it does truly make riding much more fun

donalson wrote: even what most cyclists consider "low end" is a world apart from the big box crap... and it does truly make riding much more fun

I saw a rack of bikes in Walmart for $94 each. I paid more for a new set of tires for my big hit earlier that day.

Osterkraut wrote:

T.J. wrote: Bought a bike today. Spent a lot more than I set out to spend, but got a bike $800 off the list price. Now I have to get in shape fast since I am officially the guy I used to hate 15 years ago when I was on a (relatively) crappy bike and saw old fat guys on dream machines. Jamis Dakota Pro.

My brain: "$800 off huh, if it's that easy to pick up a nice bike cheap maybe I better look into getti...oh god that bike lists for $3400, abort, abort."

makes my trek look like a cheap walmart bought bike

akamcfly wrote:

donalson wrote: even what most cyclists consider "low end" is a world apart from the big box crap... and it does truly make riding much more fun

I saw a rack of bikes in Walmart for $94 each. I paid more for a new set of tires for my big hit earlier that day.

Indeed. When I was racing DH, I could almost count on going through at least one set of tires during the event depending on the terrain - at about $100/set. I've joked I started racing cars because it was cheaper... and probably why the price of A6's doesn't seem that bad to me.

T.J. wrote: Bought a bike today. Spent a lot more than I set out to spend, but got a bike $800 off the list price. Now I have to get in shape fast since I am officially the guy I used to hate 15 years ago when I was on a (relatively) crappy bike and saw old fat guys on dream machines.

Nice bike. I've been looking at mountain bikes but haven't reached the point where I'm ready to part with cash.

I ride a Trek 2.1. It looks high end but is really just an aluminum frame with carbon fork. People still look at me like I'm the old guy on an expensive bike. At lease nobody has called me a "Fred" yet!

Jamis is good stuff...Nice work scoring that deal. Congrats!

Now go ride it till your legs fall off!

Wow that is one hell of a nice ride.

I obviously have no horse in this race. Good lord you all have exquisite taste in bikes. I have an old (1993? model) Bianchi Grizzly with correct vintage highend components which I love and will probably never part with even if I don't ride it again. But good lord in 1995 funds it didn't cost more than $2000 to build and I think bought it for 550 in 1995. It's rigid, it's old school, it's steel, and I love it. I have had others come and go but this one has stayed. Now I want to go and ride. I need to lose 50lbs.

Yeah, that's pretty top-end. carbon hardtail and a fox fork, always the way to go if you can.

What's it weigh?