Hardtail: Giant Rincon Disc '06?

Hi,
Im looking at buying a reasoably cheap bike just to play on the trails with my mates and also ride to uni and the like. Ive been into MTB a bit before, and used to ride a wr250. (grew up on a farm, i have to say motorbikes rock...i miss my bike...does anyone feel the loss when you eventually sell your long time companion)

Looking seriosuly at the Giant Rincon Disc 06 model, which i can get for around about $600 AUD. Im about 6ft 3in, and weigh 85kg. The trails i ride on are fairly intense, but no huge dropoffs or anything. Just steep and rough.

Does anyone ride a Rincon, or have any opinions on them as far as how they are for value for money and overall reliability. Im willing to pay to keep it in condition, but would prefer not to have to shell out anything more than nessecary.

Oh, and the brakes are 6in discs, but cable. Ive never owned a Disc brake bike before (besides moto), and was wondering how they go beding in and how often you can expect to replace the pads when riding a few hours a day?

Any opinions would be great, and if anyone knows of any good downhill trails around the illawarra region in NSW Australia, please share...

Thanks Heaps, an see you out there
K.

p.s. looking at a hardtail definitly, but wondering how much i can count on the giants forks (80mm w/ preloaders)
basic specs are here : http://www.riders.com.au/product_inf...e82eedef197350

I bought an 06 giant rincon a couple of months back. I bought the bike for the frame and brakes and I built it up with spare parts at home into a 4X bike.

Anyway I do remember what the bike was like before I modified it. My opinion is that it is an average entry level mountain bike. Most of the parts on it are acceptable and you are really not going to get anything much better for that kind of money. The one thing I didn't like were the forks and I don't think they would have too much life in them.

$600 for the rincon is not a great price, so shop around. I bought mine for $440.

If you plan to use your bike for any trail riding I would recommend forking out a couple of extra hundred dollars and buying a bike with better components on it because it will save you money in the long run. Alternatively buy an older model 04/05 or a good second hand bike.

Hi Mellic,
That sounds cool, what kind of riding do you use it for? 4X? Not sure what that is.

From what youre saying, im still interested in it, and certainly if i can get one for several hundred less. Did you buy you bike online or from a chain store? Just wondering where i might find some similar prices in NSW. Then again, i haven’t looked far outside of Wollongong and the in a few shops.

Oh, another question, was yours the model that comes with the disc brakes? How did you find them? Along with the forks, they are the first things i would see myself paying some attention to. Is there much of a difference between the feel of cable and a decent set of hydraulic ones? That would be a way of in the future though, I think ill need another job : / lol.

Seriously though, something about the bike just grabbed me, I mean, don’t get me wrong, id be one to prefer an iguana or xtc, but money is a rare commodity for leisure at the moment. I wont be riding it overly hard, and there will be a large proportion of time spent on tarmac (a necessity).

I wont be able to spend a bit more on a better bike unfortunately, but the idea of an older model, or if I can find a better quality bike second hand sounds good. Maybe an older bike with some small upgrades. I just really like the idea of discs, having ridden other friends bikes on some of the trails around here, I would like stopping power on tap so to speak.

Basically, I just need something that can take a little bit of a hiding, nothing like the pro’s though, in the bush, some small jumping, and still reliably get me to uni with a minimum of fuss. If I get more time in the future I would look at either buying another bike if I got more into the sport, or maybe upgrading. Oh, would you happen to know what the hubs are made of? Just wondering…

Thanks again,
K.

Hi K.

4X is hard to explain..... picture 4 people charging down a very short and wide downhill course (bit like a bmx track) consisting of jumps, stutters, and berms on mountain bikes. The bikes take a fair hammering from this kind of sport. I chose to buy the rincon because I am not very tall (5'4") and the 14" frame was a perfect geometry for me, plus it was cheap.

I have the model with disc brakes and honestly the brakes are really not that bad. I still have them on the bike and they work fine. I run hydraulic brakes on my xc bike, so I know all too well the difference between cable and hydraulic. It is true that hydraulic brakes are more powerful, sensitive, and have better modulation, but the down side is they cost big $$$ to buy. I really think you can get away with the brakes that come on the rincon.

The forks definetly need to go. I am only 58kg and I was nearly able to bottom them out.

If you are using the rincon for recreational offroad riding then definitely go ahead and buy it. Like I said you cannot get much better for that kind of money unless you buy an old or second hand model. Check out the newspapers, ring large bike stores, and even check out ebay. I got my rincon from my local bike shop, so I am sure you will be able to pick the rincon up from somewhere for under $500 if you know how to bargain with people.

Good luck.

Hey,
Thanks for that, helped heaps. Now all i need it the time to go find the bike (got exams coming up...ahhh!) But yeah, unless something truley spec. comes along, i think ill go the rincon. Bargaining shouldnt be to much of a problem, and i can (when i have the time) go a fair way to lots of stores, so heres to hoping.

As for the forks, as you know, im a little heavier, and taller, so i think ill go for about a 23", but would replacing springs be an option to increase the stiffness, rather than just twising the preload right up? Or maybe better dampners for when the forks compress? Not an expert on fors, so ill have to look into it.

Anyways, thanks heaps,
K.

Hey,
Thanks for that, helped heaps. Now all i need it the time to go find the bike (got exams coming up...ahhh!) But yeah, unless something truley spec. comes along, i think ill go the rincon. Bargaining shouldnt be to much of a problem, and i can (when i have the time) go a fair way to lots of stores, so heres to hoping.

As for the forks, as you know, im a little heavier, and taller, so i think ill go for about a 23", but would replacing springs be an option to increase the stiffness, rather than just twising the preload right up? Or maybe better dampners for when the forks compress? Not an expert on forks, so ill have to look into it.

Anyways, thanks heaps,
K.

Hey.

I got a 2006 Giant rincon a couple of years back (2006), and i have had barley any complaints with it let alone the crank bearings smashing, but they were real crap bearings shimano came out with to save money. Ever scince then, my bike has been ok.
People say its a real bad bike because they use it for downhill/freeride and the frame nor the fork isnt designed for that, the rims on it are pretty bad but a set of replacements will be good..

I have also heard that people are complaining about the forks and i'm not complaining about that. The bike would be better with a set of rock shox dart 2 like the '07 yukon.

To be short, i would give the bike a 5/10 or so, because it is fantastic doin long distance/cross country but the parts on it could have been better for what you pay for.