Howdy, need advice....

[aTmSpectre]

First allow myself to introduce.....myself

My name's Jonathan. I'm a freshman Petroleum Engineering major at Texas A&M. I've been riding recreationaly for as long as I can remember, but now that I'm at college I'm stepping it up a level and joining the A&M cycling team. However, my current bike is trashed beyond comprehension. I've had it for 6 years, what do you expect?

Anyways, I'm into mountain biking mostly, but I do plan on buying a road bike as well as soon as I find myself with a few extra bucks (ha). But for right now I need a new mountain bike for XC competition and weekend riding. My budget for this bike is $700 or less, in the spring I'll probably have about $1500 to devote to a full race rig though.

What would you suggest? Do you need more information?

Thanks and Gig Em

 

[Ted Bennett]

aTmSpectre <[email protected]> wrote:

> First allow myself to introduce.....myself: My name's Jonathan. I'm a
> freshman Petroleum Engineering major at Texas A&M. I've been riding
> recreationaly for as long as I can
remember, but now that I'm at college I'm
> stepping it up a level and joining the A&M cycling team. However, my current
> bike is trashed beyond comprehension.

Beyond comprehension? Do you mean that you don't understand how it came
to be in that state?

> I've had it for 6 years, what do you expect?

Bikes need some maintenance, guy. With the exception of consumable
items, such as tires, chains and cables, bikes can last for decades.
Hope you treat your next one better.

> Anyways, I'm into mountain biking mostly, but I do plan on buying a
> road bike as well as soon as I find myself with a few extra bucks (ha). But
> for right now I need a new mountain bike for XC competition and weekend
> riding. My budget for this bike is $700 or less, in the spring I'll probably
> have about $1500 to devote to a full race rig though. What would you
> suggest? Do you need more information? Thanks and Gig Em -- aTmSpectre

You can find a number of decent bikes for that figure, so I don't have
much in the way of specific recommendations. But I would avoid designs
or parts that are any distance from the mainstream. As others will tell
you, a bike that fits your bod well is the main thing. After that,
proper set up and careful assembly. Many shops do a poor job of that:
inadequately lubricated bearings (you're a Petroleum Engineering major,
right?) and poorly tensioned and relieved spokes are two areas of
weakness.

Let us know your decision and how you got there.

--
Ted Bennett
Portland OR

 

[aTmSpectre]

By trashed I mean major stuff. Stuff that I have no reason to bother paying to replace. It's a cheap bike with cheap parts. The main problem is that the front gears are actually warped and bent so if I apply too much force to the pedels the chain jumps off the wheel and moves to random places. Also the rear wheel is bent slightly, the left side of the handle bar is bent, the front brake is innoperable, etc. Stuff that I really had no control over, everything is clean and well lubricated though. The bike has just been ridden hard for too long and it's showing it. Out of the following bikes what would you recommend?

Specialized Rockhopper Comp
Gary Fisher Tassajara
Trek 6700

All 3 of these bikes I can get good deals on and they were the bikes I was mainly looking at.

 

[winnard]

"aTmSpectre" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
>
> First allow myself to introduce.....myself
>
> My name's Jonathan. I'm a freshman Petroleum Engineering major at
> Texas A&M. I've been riding recreationaly for as long as I can
> remember, but now that I'm at college I'm stepping it up a level and
> joining the A&M cycling team. However, my current bike is trashed
> beyond comprehension. I've had it for 6 years, what do you expect?
>
> Anyways, I'm into mountain biking mostly, but I do plan on buying a
> road bike as well as soon as I find myself with a few extra bucks (ha).
> But for right now I need a new mountain bike for XC competition and
> weekend riding. My budget for this bike is $700 or less, in the spring
> I'll probably have about $1500 to devote to a full race rig though.
>
> What would you suggest? Do you need more information?
>
> Thanks and Gig Em
>
>
> --
> aTmSpectre
>

I just got a new Cannondale, but its in Boomer Sooner colors. 8^)



winnard

 

[Werehatrack]

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 05:51:16 +1000, aTmSpectre
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>First allow myself to introduce.....myself
>
>My name's Jonathan. I'm a freshman Petroleum Engineering major at
>Texas A&M. I've been riding recreationaly for as long as I can
>remember, but now that I'm at college I'm stepping it up a level and
>joining the A&M cycling team. However, my current bike is trashed
>beyond comprehension. I've had it for 6 years, what do you expect?
>
>Anyways, I'm into mountain biking mostly, but I do plan on buying a
>road bike as well as soon as I find myself with a few extra bucks (ha).
>But for right now I need a new mountain bike for XC competition and
>weekend riding. My budget for this bike is $700 or less, in the spring
>I'll probably have about $1500 to devote to a full race rig though.
>
>What would you suggest? Do you need more information?

From what I've seen, you should be sitting in the heart of Used Bike
Bargain City. Shop the dorm bulletin boards and the classified ads,
and check with the campus cops; I don't know if A&M has a cycle
boneyard that students can raid, or if they have an abandoned bike
auction, but as many bikes as I've seen *obviously* abandoned on that
campus, there has to be someplace up there where bargains and/or
outright freebies can be had *legally*.

Beyond that, it's just a matter of shopping; the bargans will largely
depend on who has too much of what in your area.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 06:34:24 +1000, aTmSpectre
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Out of the following bikes what would you recommend?
>
>Specialized Rockhopper Comp
>Gary Fisher Tassajara
>Trek 6700

Personally, I'd latch on to the Specialized, but I don't see any
reason to avoid the other two.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.