grindr82

Hey All, I find myself itching to purchase a mountain bike after not owning one since I was in my early 20's and not truly riding one since my teens. Man I feel old I have visited my local shops, and was able to test ride a few. I am still undecided.

A little history, my last MTB was a 1996 Specialized Rockhopper with front suspension. I beat that bike up....kept it until I over estimated my ability's to jump rocks and cracked the BB.....that being said I currently can not decide if I should go with the Giant Fathom 1 or Fathom 2 in 27.5 or 29....I like the group sets on both....Does anyone have any suggestions or opinions for me? As for my how I would be riding, I would be riding mostly local bike paths and light trail riding until I 'bond' with the bike so to speak....don't initially want to go full bore....I'd like o be able to take the bike just about anywhere within the realm of it's purpose. Thanks in advance.

Darth Lefty 

They are really much the same, with the same frame, fork, wheels and tires. I don't see anything more objectionable about the cheaper one. The Crest fork looks ok (equivalent to a "Gold" level Rock Shox, top of their bottom end before the premium forks) but it doesn't seem to have the home maintenance support that RS and Fox do.

grindr82

I was thinking the same things. What do you mean by Home maintenance support?

c_m_shooter

He is meaning, the low end forks tend be treated as throwaways. The high end forks can be serviced and possibly last longer. I have been riding since your Rockhopper was new and rigid forks still work. The only bike I have with a suspension fork is my jump bike. It hasn't been ridden since the jump park closed.

milesf

for deciding on 27.5 or 29er it's really just personal preference. Generally, 29ers roll over stuff more easily/ faster while 27.5 are lighter and easier to turn. If you are pretty short maybe go with a 27.5 and if you're really tall maybe go with a 29er. If you could go either way, maybe just see if you can borrow or rent a 29er or 27.5 bike and see which you like better. The main problem with 29ers that I've heard is that they can feel a bit big and hard to move around(though they are both great options and I would recommend trying both).

Darth Lefty 

No, that is not what I meant. I mean you can buy a rebuild kit for a Rock Shox Recon Gold and watch a service video and read the service manual, or so could your shop mechanic. Have not been able to find all those things for the Crest, or if it needs any special tools.

grindr82

milesf I am 5'6. I have a longer torso so when I rode both sizes they felt equally comfortable. Although it is tough to definitively say which I would prefer doing a simple ride in the parking lot

Darth Lefty 

On this bike specifically I'd get the 29er. The ride height is pretty low (60mm drop)

milesf

Agreed, I didn't have time to look at the bike before; I was just talking about general wheel sizes

veganbikes

Normally I would say buy the nicest bike you can but if the choice is between these two I would actually go with the 2 only because it has Shimano in particular the new Deore 12 speed. Not really a SRAM fan (aside from their brake levers) though I do have an RS fork and lots of ZIPP stuff so not totally opposed and honestly the SRAM MTB stuff isn't bad at all. However I would say the 1 does have better Shimano brakes (not by a huge margin but decent enough). However personally a press fit bike is not one I would purchase give me threaded or just don't. I know there are plenty of fine Press fit bbs and if the tolerance is right and all that but I still like a good threaded bb and that just won't change for me.

grindr82

veganbikes This may be a noob question but could I change the bb to threaded?

veganbikes

You can't change to threaded. Certainly you can use a thread together BB but no real way to thread a shell like that to fit anything standard and probably won't have enough material to thread it and you would need a custom tap and then a custom made BB and in the end no don't do it that is beyond crazy. There are plenty of bikes that are threaded and plenty of new bikes that aren't that work. If you want threaded the Specialized Chisel is a similar type bike (maybe a little nicer frame wise) and there are also other cool bikes, the Salsa Timberjack is nice, I personally have the Ti frame and love it.

Darth Lefty 

That would not be a deciding factor for me.

This year, anyhow, I think the deciding factor would be what's in stock when you've got the money.

grindr82

veganbikes Thank you for the explanation

grindr82

Thank you everyone for all of the input. The current market is truly tough. I feel fortunate to have found a bike in general. I had hoped to get a FS, but someone bought the last one in my size before I got to the shop I ended up going with a Fathom 1, 29. After picking it up, had a little fun at the park with my 8 year old son, felt like a kid again bunny hopping sometimes unsuccessfully up and down curbs...really impressed my son

I'm looking forward to getting some trail time in soon. With any luck, maybe next year I can get my hands on a FS.