Im new and just got a Mongoose XR100.. ive got questions

[neptunefix]

I used to BMX about 10 years ago and since then I have been a couch potato. I had expressed interest in getting back into shape so my mom bought me one of those cheapo Mongoose mountain bikes from Wal-Mart. I think I am going to get started with hobby light trail riding for liesure. Nothing serious. I have no experience or real knowledge of mountain bikes so I have a few questions for you guys:

1) Are the handle bars supposed to be so narrow? I am used to wider bars and it feels like I have less control over this beast. If they are supposed to be narrow then will I get used to it?

2) How high should the seat be? When I put the seat up so that my leg is almost fully extended to the low pedal then the handle bars are very low and I have to hunch over a great deal to access the bars. I am 5'11 so I'm not a freaky tall guy.

3) Are the pro bikes a lot lighter than this bike? This thing is a MONSTER. My girlfriend has a cheapo schwin girl's mountain bike and I like it a lot more. It is much lighter and the handle bars are wider. seems thin and not very tough though.

4) How upgradeable is this bike? Can I use 3rd party parts designed for better bikes on this one? Where are the good online parts stores? Can I replace the handle bars, front shocks? Can I put a 12 speed gear shifting system in it instead of the current 21 or whatever? 21 seems ridiculous to me and only adds weight.

5) where can I find a tutorial on maintaining/installing brake systems?

Thanks guys..

 

[Duckwah]

1. Yes, if you want really wide bars you will need to get DH bars

2. Your leg should be almost straight when its at the bottom of the pedal stroke, if you have to hunch over too much your bike may be too small, check the frame size and let us know what it is

3. good bikes are quite light and cheap ones tend to be heavy unless you are talking DH freeride or jump bikes where the pro ones weigh a ton.

4. your ability to upgrade will be determined by whats allready on the bike, you can do bars pretty easy but things like forks will depend on whether the current set up is 1 inch or 1/18 inch

furthermore by the time you upgrade bars, stem, forks etc you might as well buy a new bike and save some cash.

For the gears, don't bother changing to 12 speed, no one makes decent 6 speed rears these days and the gears aren't going to be the heavy part on a bike like that.

I'd suggest you ride this one for a while until you know enough about mountain biking and then buy something you really like and which suits your needs. In the menatime talk to people, read and ride lots.

5. look for the Park tools website, its got lots of maintainence stuff on it, books on MTB gear get outdated too quickly

 

[bigchina]

as far as online parts stores go ou should check out:

www.nashbar.com
www.jensonusa.com
www.pricepoint.com
www.performancebike.com

although, you would be saving yourself time and money if you just saved up and bought a decent bike then upgrading the 'goose