Schwinn Homegrown turned freeride

I have been thinking a lot lately (thats unusual for me) and when I started mountain biking in 2001 I was totally into xc riding. I used to go out every night rain or shine and ride for a couple hours. Needless to say that got old fast, and after a while I started hitting harder and harder trails until I was riding terrain that was more suited to freeriding and downhilling. This fall after I crashed my bike on a fairly technical trail I started looking into fs free ride bikes. (dont worry there is a point coming) After I went to the LBS and test rided a few I realized that full suspension just wasn't the way to go for me (a combination of geometry and price) so I started checking out free ride hard tails. Those were ok but I realized that I would rather just upgrade my Schwinn Homegrown. So now I am puting together a parts list to make my shwinn the Ultimate" freeride hardtail. I am putting on disc brakes and a freeride wheel set, I am also going to put on a freeride fork, stem handlebars, etc.

So what do you think? Do you think I can pull it off?

P.S. How do I know what size tires are the biggest that will fit in my frame.

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!

Please forget what I just said, My brain does not seem to be functioning correctly today. I am just gonna save up for a "real" freeride bike, the Iron Horse SGS Sport 2003 on supergo looks real good, does anyone have experience with it?

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!

The Iron Horse is really good. Building up a lightweight bike like a weak XC schwinn homegrown as a freeride bike is asking for trouble.

thanks, also what do you think of the Bighit spec, it has better stuff and it costs less.

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!

I'm not familiar with the exact specs of hand but I'm pretty sure the big hit uses a 24" rear wheel. That is supposed to make it a great hucking bike but if you plan on riding for a while before you reach your jumps, it might get very annoying.

The spec actually comes with 26 inchers, but I think one of the other models has a 24 in the rear.

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!

I've rode a Big Hit Spec and have one on order right now, for the money its a hell of a lot o f bike IMHO. Very few parts would need replaced and none are "replace em now parts" with the exception of the pedals .. no replaceable pins on the stock pedals. As they break or wear out I'll replace the fork, rear derailleur, and wheelset. The 24" one you're thinking of is the Grom btw, Same as the spec with the exception of 24" wheels front and rear, 20mm less front travel, and a few other smaller person specific parts. The Big Hit Comp, Pro, and Expert are the ones that come with 26" front and 24" rears.

Oh thanks for clearing that up, do you know where i can find it online I would like to order it online if possible, if not I will check out how much my LBS would ask for it.

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!

Specialized doesn't allow online sales. You'll need to find a local dealer.

Oh, I actually called my LBS just to see and it will run me $880 which is exactly the msrp. Thats pretty good right?

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!

Not bad, check a few other Specialized dealers if you can though, getting mine for $790 here in Houston.

Thanks I will check out some of the other shops around me, one more thing I would like to ask is; I know this is a freeride oriented bike and it weighs a ton, but will it be impossible to get up a hill or just harder then on an XC bike? I am wondering if it would make sense to keep my XC bike (otherwise I would probably sell it or throw some slicks on it) for longer rides. Most of the rides I do are short semi-technical trails with some killer downhills, and I dont mind too much if I have to walk the bike up any particular hill. -Thanks

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!

It won't be impossible to ride up hills, but you won't be enjoying it either. Guy locally rides a Intense Uzzi SLX on the trails, the bike is a tank .. climbs like crap, but he does it cause its what he likes.

It really depends how you set it up and quite simply how good a climber you are. If the bike is set up to do everything all around in a more XC friendly position you will not have such a hard time pushing it up. If you you set it up as a pure drop in bike with very low saddle, short cockpit and very high bars it will be torture.
I used to ride and Uzzi SLX as a trailbike and if I set it up with proper seatpost extension and roomy enough cockpit it really wasn't that hard to pedal uphill. To be quite honest it really didn't feel all that different. The weight isn't really felt unless you try to mount a very fast pace. Sure I wasn't near as fast going up as my 24lb spider but it really wasn't that bad at all. I did have a 5th element which made a whole lot of difference though.

Yeah, I dont know i would probably keep it stock for a while and if need be I would eventually open up the cockpit.

__________________
Getting your ass kicked is part of mountain biking...thats why I ride a hardtail!