Best MTB for commuting under $300?

[rykoala]

I'm on a tight budget but I've decided to ditch the POS wal-mart bike that I've kinda fixed up and get a GOOD bike. Road bikes are out of the question because of my size. I weight just over 300lbs and I ride hard!
My commute is 12miles a day and I just need a good bike! I already have some road tires 26x1.5's that I will put on it. I don't care about suspension, in fact if I could get one without ANY suspension I'd be just as happy. I do NOT want rear suspension, I do NOT care much about brand, etc. LBS was trying to sell me on a Trek 4700 I think it was. Another one says used is the best to go, I could get a better component set for the same price, just used. Going to another LBS to check what they say. Any suggestions?

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Did you decide to take boudreaux's advice?

Honestly, I think you're going to have a difficult time finding a bike that is much better than your current Walmart bike for under $300. At this price range the brand of the bike will mean nothing. All of the frames will be made in China and will be commodity grade so look for the best components. You may want to start off by upgrading your rear wheel due to your weight.

My recommendation for getting the most bang for your bike buck is to try to find:

1) a decent used bike

or

2) a 2003 closeout model (my personal favorite)

You can save a few hundred bucks by doing that. There's a lot of people each year that buy nice bikes with the best intentions to ride them and get some exercise but somehow they end up in their garage collecting dust.

 

[rykoala]

Originally posted by Doctor Morbius
Did you decide to take boudreaux's advice?

boudreaux's advice? No. Common sense? Yes.

Thanks for your helpful advice

 

[meehs]

I'd lean towards trying to find a good used bike. Check-out eBay too. Sometimes you can find pretty good deals on used bikes there. You're not going to get much in the way of a new bike for $300.

 

[daveornee]

Originally posted by rykoala
I'm on a tight budget but I've decided to ditch the POS wal-mart bike that I've kinda fixed up and get a GOOD bike. Road bikes are out of the question because of my size. I weight just over 300lbs and I ride hard!
My commute is 12miles a day and I just need a good bike! I already have some road tires 26x1.5's that I will put on it. I don't care about suspension, in fact if I could get one without ANY suspension I'd be just as happy. I do NOT want rear suspension, I do NOT care much about brand, etc. LBS was trying to sell me on a Trek 4700 I think it was. Another one says used is the best to go, I could get a better component set for the same price, just used. Going to another LBS to check what they say. Any suggestions?

I suggest a used steel old school mountain bicycle... without any suspension
I still ride my old 21 speed XT equipped KHS steel framed bicycle.
It is my main commuter.. with over 25,000 miles on it. The 7 speed 135 mm OLD rear wheel is more durable than the newer 8/9 speed wheels due to higher spoke support angle of the drive side spokes. I use the 26X1.5 tires you are talking about. I also have full Esge fenders and Blackburn rack. I think you can find something similar for around $100 and have money left over to put on fenders and rack. It certainly helps if the bicycle was stored inside and has the frame eyelets for rack and fenders.
Yes, good 7 speed cassettes and hub parts are still available at reasonable prices... if you stay with Shimano. Suntour is also available, but rarity seems to have driven up prices.

If you can check inside the frame to see what the rust situation is.. and check the bottom bracket and headset. Carefully check over the entire frame for rust and cracks.
You will likely need to replace cables, housings, and brake pads.

At your current weight, suspension isn't going to help and it certainly is something else to repair.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

rykoala,

Right now there's an auction on ebay for a GT BACKWOODS 21 SPEED MTB that looks pretty good. I'm not going to put a link here because of any policies the forum may have about that but if you do a search you'll find it easily enough. It is not my auction but I have been keeping an eye on older GTs as that was my first mountain bike in 1993 and I'm kind of nostalgic about them. I already own too many bikes so I'm not going to buy this one but it does look nice. If it were a 20" frame I would have already bought it.

The starting bid is $150 and this is the third time I've seen it listed.

The bike has an 18" frame, candy red paint, STX gears, Mavic rims and Alivio brakes. It looks like a decent condition older GT when that meant something. Gt was purchased by Schwinn in the late 90's and then Schwinn & GT were both gobbled up by a large faceless corporation called Pacific Cycles. It's a horrible company run by suits and lawyers. But the GT of old was a good company and produced a good value bicycle.

If memory serves, from your other thread, you already have some pedals, a saddle and road tires. Just slap those on and you'll be in business for well under $300.

Hope this helps.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

Originally posted by rykoala
boudreaux's advice? No. Common sense? Yes.

Thanks for your helpful advice

Screw that guy. You'll find there are some cycling elitists that will hang out on a forum like this. They'll poo poo a Wally World bike and look down on people who aren't riding 15 hours a week. But that isn't how 99% of the population lives their lives.

I ride for fitness and fun and that can be done on practically anything. Just get a decent heart rate monitor, go to the local library and check out a few books by Sally Edwards, add some cross training and you'll become a healthier and more balanced person.

 

[rykoala]

Again, thanks! You know, I'm considering just using this bike until next time the tax man comes around and gives me my money back, then go get something new and nice.

I just got back from running errands (on my bike ) and other than my gearing being a bit too low at speed, I was having a blast and it was smooth riding the whole way. Managed to ride about 2 miles in 6 minutes that was a first for me. Of course downhill slightly with a tailwind didn't hurt LOL.

This bike has served its purpose so far, and I've been maintaining it, so I might just ride the wee out of it

About the elitists: after bourdreaux's advice to toss my bike (only bike, btw) in the dumpster, I PM'd him and basically told him to STFU or go buy me a new one. He replied with an attack on something else that I said.

I put him on my ignore list. Problem solved!