New Mountain Bike Recommendation



J

Jeremy

Guest
Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with have
all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will help
for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores recommend
the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all these chain
issues and now I'm a little concerned. In addition 1 of the
guys I ride with has recommended against GF. I'm looking at
spending between 1000-$1600 - Can anyone give me some
advice/recommendations - Is the GF bike not the choice?

Thanks!!
 
Jeremy wrote:
> Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
> brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
> Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
> only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
> have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
> help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
> recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
> these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
> addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
> GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
> anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
> bike not the choice?
>
> Thanks!!

for that amount of $$ you might want to consider a really
sweet hard tail, as compared to a "ok" FS.

penny
 
"Jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
> brakes by the end of this week.

There are a lot of nice bikes and everybody will have
their favorite.

I'd drop the discs and get a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR,
retail 1470.
 
>There are a lot of nice bikes and everybody will have their
>favorite.
>

To prove your first point, I'll disagree with your second.

>I'd drop the discs and get a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR,
>retail 1470.
>
>

Keep the discs, lose the suspension. Bianchi Denali for
$1150. Steel, marzocchi, avid discs, WTB wheels.... What's
not to love?

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
"Andrew Thorne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
> >There are a lot of nice bikes and everybody will have
> >their favorite.
> >
>
> To prove your first point, I'll disagree with your second.
>

Would that make you disagreeably agreeable? To confuse
matters, I wouldn't call the Bianchi a bad choice!
 
"Jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
> brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
> Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
> only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
> have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
> help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
> recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
> these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
> addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
> GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
> anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
> bike not the choice?
>
> Thanks!!

I have a bike similar to the Cake design. It's a miserable
chain sucker when it gets a muddy drive train.

Kept clean and lubed it's fine.

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest I've just wasted.
 
Jeremy <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
> brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
> Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
> only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
> have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
> help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
> recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
> these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
> addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
> GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
> anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
> bike not the choice?
>
> Thanks!!

You'll get 1000 different answers. Do a lot of research and
ride all the ones you're considering...

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)
 
"Jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
> brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
> Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
> only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
> have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
> help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
> recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
> these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
> addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
> GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
> anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
> bike not the choice?

Bikes that tend to chainsuck get worst when riding in mud.
Bikes with high chain stays do a better job against
chainsuck. What FS bikes are your friends riding? I ride in
mud all the time and discs are the bomb.
 
On Tue, 18 May 2004 13:08:09 -1000, "jack" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Bikes with high chain stays do a better job against
> chainsuck.

Please explain.

Barry
 
"Andrew Thorne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
>
> We can just leave it at as an unmodified "diasgreeable"
> Thankyouverymuch.
>

So now you disagree that there are a lot of nice bikes and
that everyone will have their favorite?

I agree that you are disagreeable.
 
"Jeremy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
> brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
> Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
> only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
> have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
> help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
> recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
> these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
> addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
> GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
> anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
> bike not the choice?
>
> Thanks!!

I bought a Jamis Dakar Sport awhile back and have been very
pleased with it. Its at the lower end of your price range.
If you've got the cash you could step up to one of the Dakar
XCs. Like others said, you'll get lots of different answers.
Go to your shops, tell them what you want, and test ride
some bikes.
 
[email protected] (Jeremy) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
> brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
> Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
> only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
> have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
> help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
> recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
> these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
> addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
> GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
> anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
> bike not the choice?

I have never liked how GF bikes fit me. And if you are going
to spend that kind of money, then look at Specialized or
Marin. Heck, as other people have said, a really sweet
hardtail could be had for that kind of money. Sweet like top
of the line components, but still strong and durable. The
Marin Mt. Vision and the Rift Zone are both pretty good
bikes for the money. They are both above your budget, so you
may want to look at the East Peak. I don't like that Axel
fork, but I guess it could serve for a season or two. The
FSR line from Specialized is also pretty good. While GF
might be what the LBS has to sell, I'd stay away only due to
the Bontrager components - they suck pretty bad.

In the end, the bike that fits you best and the best one
that you can afford is the best deal. FS *is* nice, but
adds about $1000 to a similarly-equipped bicycle. Is FS
worth a grand? My old butt thinks so, but when I was
younger, I didn't care. I also have an extra grand to
spend. You really don't.

Still, it's your money - you have to make the call.
--
Jonesy
 
On Tue, 18 May 2004 09:32:47 -0700, Jeremy wrote:

> Can anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
> bike not the choice?

My rule of thumb and general recommendation:

Buy the best frame you can afford. Components (shifters,
derailleurs, etc.) will break/wear out/fail, and you'll end
up replacing them anyway. A good frame will be your friend
for years.

That being said, also look around for good deals. I got a GF
FS; the dealer needed it out the door and sold me a $1600
bike for $1000. That went a long way to convince me to buy
that particular bike.

--Kamus

--
o__ | May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow,
winding and ,>/'_ | only slightly uphill. May the wind
bring rain for the slickrock (_)\(_) | potholes fourteen
miles on the other side of yonder blue ridge.
| May God's dog serenade your campfire, may the
| rattlesnake and
o | the screech owl amuse your reveries, may the Great
Sun dazzle
>[] | your eyes by day and the Great Bear watch over you
>at night.
/\ | \ \ | - Edward Abbey, Beyond the Wall
 
"Bonehenge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 18 May 2004 13:08:09 -1000, "jack"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> > Bikes with high chain stays do a better job against
> > chainsuck.
>
> Please explain.
>
> Barry

Most chainsuck situations has the chain jammed against
the chainstay. A high chainstay usually doesn't have
this problem.

A poorly maintained drive train on any design still can have
the chain trying to wrap around the chainring and stop the
bike. The difference is that on a high chainstay stopping
the bike will automatically unwrap the chain instead of
having to unjam it against the chainstay.
 

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