Opinions for the noob

[Andy Mullins]

Hey guys, I've been lurking the group for a couple weeks
now. I'm in the market for another mountain bike. My current
ride is a '94 Schwinn Moab SS. I checked out some shops
today and seem to be drawn toward a Jamis. The folks at the
shop are really nice people and easy to get along with. They
offered me a 2003 Dakar Sport for $700. Any opinions on it?
I know its not the best of anything but it fits my budget.
My riding will be mostly XC stuff with some rails to trails
occasionally thrown in.

 

[Gazzer]

"Andy Mullins" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hey guys, I've been lurking the group for a couple weeks
> now. I'm in the market for another mountain bike. My
> current ride is a '94 Schwinn Moab SS. I checked out some
> shops today and seem to be drawn toward a Jamis. The folks
> at the shop are really nice people and easy to get along
> with. They offered me a 2003 Dakar Sport for $700. Any
> opinions on it? I know its not the best of anything but it
> fits my budget. My riding will be mostly XC stuff with
> some rails to trails occasionally thrown in.

the dakar is normally high on the list of decent entry level
bikes. good choice

g

 

[Westie]

Andy Mullins wrote:
> Hey guys, I've been lurking the group for a couple weeks
> now. I'm in the market for another mountain bike. My
> current ride is a '94 Schwinn Moab SS. I checked out some
> shops today and seem to be drawn toward a Jamis. The folks
> at the shop are really nice people and easy to get along
> with. They offered me a 2003 Dakar Sport for $700. Any
> opinions on it? I know its not the best of anything but it
> fits my budget. My riding will be mostly XC stuff with
> some rails to trails occasionally thrown in.

If it's the model I think it is, my partner has one,
although I've since upgraded it a little with few extra
goodies that I had lying around. I wouldn't say that it's
not the best of anything - Jamis has a good name and I
thought that it was well specc'd at that price point. I
think that you'll have a lot of fun with it and it's a good
choice. Unless you are looking at getting into the sport
more seriously, then there is little good reason to buy a
more expensive bike at this stage. Something like the
Specialised Hardrock Pro Disc might be worth a look too.
--
Westie
(Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

 

[Tbf]

"Andy Mullins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hey guys, I've been lurking the group for a couple weeks
> now. I'm in the market for another mountain bike. My
> current ride is a '94 Schwinn Moab
SS.
> I checked out some shops today and seem to be drawn toward
> a Jamis. The folks at the shop are really nice people and
> easy to get along with. They offered me a 2003 Dakar Sport
> for $700. Any opinions on it? I know its not the best of
> anything but it fits my budget. My riding will be mostly
> XC stuff with some rails to trails occasionally thrown in.
>
>

I have the Dakar Comp, bit up the meter from the Sport
model. Jamis makes rock solid rigs without the costs of
other high end manufacters. The Sport is a good entry level
bike for the money, you really can't dp better. It's
equaivalent to an equal nike charging around the $1200 mark.

First thing I would do is change the pedals and seat. After
that, ride the wheels off the bike until it quits, then by
the "Pro".