bwilliams

Looking to add Either a MTB or 29er hard tail to my bike collection and want to see what you all might ride.

Mr. Beanz

"OR"?....a 29 is an MTB.

lolguy

I'm new to MTB and recently picked up a new Cannondale Scalpel 4 29'er and like it very much. It is full suspension and I believe I'll enjoy it even more the more proficient I become.

c_m_shooter

Redline Monocog 29
Specialized Tricross SS
Salsa Fargo
'56 Schwinn DX Klunker
Shop is building wheels for my new Pugsley right now.

jsigone

here's my main beater..... GF rumblefish


the lung buster



and eyeing a kona honzo for my next rig

Mr. Beanz

I ride a 26 Trek 8000. It has lx/xt components. If I go 29er, to match the components would cost about $3000 in a bike I would want, maybe a Giant or similar.

I don't think it would make that much of a difference to spend $3000 only to say I ride a 29er.

Maybe 29 full suspension but now I'm also not willing to spend $4000.

You know when the wife says buy it and I don't I must really believe what I feel.

FTR, I do more fire roads with steep climbs 24% grades but nothing too technical about downhilling. I usually concentrate on the climbs so a 26ht vs 29ht wouldn't mean much to me.

Potato Mtn


081909G by gulpxtreme, on Flickr


Beanz by gulpxtreme, on Flickr

Skyline




skyline by gulpxtreme, on Flickr

jsigone

sorry beanz but you can get a nice FS 29er for 1/3 of what you're thinking....sorry I twisted your arm

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=3707

or a better all arounder with full fox get up
https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=3707

jdevarie

Canondale Jekyl 1000 is my ride for the forest trails

cyccommute 

A Specialized Stumpjumper Pro hardtail, a Moots YBB soft tail and a Specialized S-works Epic. If, as a large guy, you want a full suspension, an Epic, or any of the Specialized bikes with the Brain technology, is probably the best choice. I had a Specialized FSR but could never get the suspension to do anything but inchworm down the trail. It wasted a lot of energy. That includes having the shock revalved, pumping the shock up to way over the recommended pressure and setting it on the firmest setting. The Epic I have now solved all of those problems.

fatpunk

Gary Fisher "Frankenbike" hard tail with Kenda Kross tires because i've had too many pinch flats from running 40/45 psi tires. I'd love to have a full suspension but the weight has to come down more before i'll even think about full suspension.

cyclokitty 

26" Jamis Durango 1.0 Femme hard tail. I bought her in September 2012 and I'm still very new at trail riding. Enthusiastic but clumsy is my style. My budget was $500 and the bike was a 2011 model on sale and fits my needs perfectly. A full squish bike is nowhere on my horizon.

Mr. Beanz

Dam You!.............

jsigone

^^btw you can still afford to upgrade to XTR shifters and XTR rearD for $400...bypass that XT stuff completely.

Mr. Beanz

Guess being unfamilar with the site, everything you posted is sram such and such. They have an upgrade program?

jsigone

doubt it as those are boxed bikes from Salsa. The sram stuff isn't bad at all. I'm running X7 stuff on the rumblefish and it's been beaten, crashed and abused...still working. But like a roadie, it's just personal preference to what you like and like a roadie you only need to change the shifters and rearD. XTR shifters are $220, XTR rearD is about $190. Srams high end XO is priced as such as well.

All said, that Horsetheif is spec'd out VERY well for a $2k bike. The fork alone is sold for $900

CliftonGK1

2012 Stumpie FSR Comp EVO:
The pic is blurry, but here's an idea of what I do with it on a regular basis.



Here's how she looks mostly clean and pretty.

Mr. Beanz

That's what I thought. But thanks for the info on the components. I wouldn't know what good specs were when it comes to sram. Sram7, sram 9, sram X, what the hey!

If you say it's a good a package I'll trust you on it.

bwilliams

Thanks for all the info..

not sure a full suspension will work for me yet,still a little too big and I don't see a lot of jumps in my future,more forestry type routes with a few MTB routes thrown in.

i love my DS but it is becoming more of a bike path(rails to trails) setup,I have big tires for it but I was wanting something more dedicated to off the path,my time is very limited and there is a trail not far from the house for mtb's that i could use.

dexmax

I have been happy with the Cannondale Trail, so far.

cyccommute 

Dual suspension isn't about jumping. While the suspension does absorb big hits like jumps, it offers much more in terms of traction and hill climbing ability as well as control. The rear suspension lets the rear wheel to track the ground more effectively. Because the rear wheel isn't hopping up as much on bumps and irregularities, traction is enhanced and the bike climbs much more effectively.

On the downhill side, the same tracking of the ground and the ability to absorb the bumps rather than bounce off them, lets the bike stick to lines that a hardtail simply can't. A hardtail's rear end will bounce off bumps and irregularities where a dual suspension will roll over them. With a hardtail, you have to pick your line and make constant adjustments. With a dually, you mostly just point it down a hill and hang on.

LocoCycle

here is what I have been riding as a second bike since last March....love this bike...

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...%3Disch&itbs=1

Have fun!

Chitown_Mike

While we don't have "mountains" in Chicago, we do have some curbs and potholes to ride through.

I have a borrowed old Trek 800. It is a blast to ride in the city, especially when I don't want to get all suited up to ride my old Schwinn roadie. Here is a pic of a ride last fall. I am determined to get out tomorrow, I haven't ridden in months other than a few bouts on a stand in the spare bedroom. Plus get to use all my fancy new cold weather gear I bought for x-mas.

CliftonGK1

This (and the tech details I chopped) pretty much nail it. While I do spent a considerable amount of time airborne, it's less a product of seeking out jumps and more just a happenstance of going fast and the trail drops out from under me, like the photo above. That's not a ramp, it's just a flat trail with a sizable drop. Plus I was moving quicker than usual because that picture was taken during a race.

I spend equal amounts of time churning the pedals in a little gear to get to the top of these downhill segments, and on sections where it's rocky or rooty I see a distinct advantage vs. my friends who roll on 26" hardtail models, but neither of us is usually climbing as well as the guys on 29ers, whether hardtail or FS.

paisan

I've had a bunch of MTB's through the years but this one has been constant. 1997 Ellsworth Truth w/ full M950 XTR.
I'll be getting a new bike when the weather warms and that will be either a Santa Cruz Tallboy LT or Turner 5 spot
.

BamaBulldawg

Love my Trek Superfly 100 AL Elite. Mountain biking is a lot of fun.