B
B Yen
Guest
I recently got a "Honda Racing" Trail Pilot fully suspended bike for $99 at K-mart. It works decent.
They are also available at SportMart:
http://www.sportmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1211764&cp=713103.88
7561.1212018&parentPage=family
According to the specs, it has Shimano derailleurs. There is another low-end fully suspended bike by
Huffy, for $20 more:
http://www.sportmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=979078&cp=713103.887
561.886960&parentPage=family
The Huffy seems to have more "structural integrity" in the frame, there is more triangulation.
Would the Huffy be a better bike? Spend $20 more, to get better frame? A local guy at the bike shop
told me he tested a bike at Walmart (stepped on the pedal to check frame flexure), & folded the rear
wheel. This is what I'm afraid of with the "Honda Racing". I can still return it to K-mart, & get
the Huffy.
At the local Sportmart, I saw some other fully suspended bikes for $199 & $299. One of them had the
paddle type shifters. They look like they have better componentry.
The local bike shop was into Trek bikes, so that had a whole selection from $199 & up. (hard tails
with front suspension). No fully suspended bikes for real cheap.
I've been told, "it depends on what you want to do with it". I think the above low-end fully
suspended bikes will suffice for a beginner like
me. I wouldn't do anything extreme enough to break it. I'm an engineer, so I want to kinda study &
experience the geometry/mechanics of suspended bikes. It's actually good to get a machine to
"break". I was watching a show on Air Force Test Flight School, & they were emphasizing on
seeing where the airplane & pilots would "break". Then, you know where the performance curve
is. This would teach me something about bike mechanics. Just take a cheap bike & hammer it.
I got some input from a previous post about the same bike, & everyone was saying it was foolish to
mess with a $99 fully suspended bike -- too many compromises ("you get what you pay for"). Maybe
it is foolish, so if anyone thinks I should do my little test on a $199 or $299 fully-suspended
bike, tell me.
TIA for any help/advice
B Yen
They are also available at SportMart:
http://www.sportmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1211764&cp=713103.88
7561.1212018&parentPage=family
According to the specs, it has Shimano derailleurs. There is another low-end fully suspended bike by
Huffy, for $20 more:
http://www.sportmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=979078&cp=713103.887
561.886960&parentPage=family
The Huffy seems to have more "structural integrity" in the frame, there is more triangulation.
Would the Huffy be a better bike? Spend $20 more, to get better frame? A local guy at the bike shop
told me he tested a bike at Walmart (stepped on the pedal to check frame flexure), & folded the rear
wheel. This is what I'm afraid of with the "Honda Racing". I can still return it to K-mart, & get
the Huffy.
At the local Sportmart, I saw some other fully suspended bikes for $199 & $299. One of them had the
paddle type shifters. They look like they have better componentry.
The local bike shop was into Trek bikes, so that had a whole selection from $199 & up. (hard tails
with front suspension). No fully suspended bikes for real cheap.
I've been told, "it depends on what you want to do with it". I think the above low-end fully
suspended bikes will suffice for a beginner like
me. I wouldn't do anything extreme enough to break it. I'm an engineer, so I want to kinda study &
experience the geometry/mechanics of suspended bikes. It's actually good to get a machine to
"break". I was watching a show on Air Force Test Flight School, & they were emphasizing on
seeing where the airplane & pilots would "break". Then, you know where the performance curve
is. This would teach me something about bike mechanics. Just take a cheap bike & hammer it.
I got some input from a previous post about the same bike, & everyone was saying it was foolish to
mess with a $99 fully suspended bike -- too many compromises ("you get what you pay for"). Maybe
it is foolish, so if anyone thinks I should do my little test on a $199 or $299 fully-suspended
bike, tell me.
TIA for any help/advice
B Yen