New Mountain Bike Recommendation

[Jeremy]

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!!

 

[Penny S]

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

 

[TM]

"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.

 

[Andrew Thorne]

>
>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

 

[TM]

"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!

 

[Andrew Thorne]

>
>Would that make you disagreeably agreeable? To confuse matters, I wouldn't
>call the Bianchi a bad choice!
>

We can just leave it at as an unmodified "diasgreeable" Thankyouverymuch.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[D T W .../\\...]

"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.

 

[Zilla]

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)

 

[jack]

"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.

 

[TM]

"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.

 

[Andy Mullins]

"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.

 

[Jonesy]

[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

 

[Kamus of Kadizhar]

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

 

[jack]

"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.