Advice on buying a bike
11-17-16, 11:09 AM
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Advice on buying a bike (UPDATED!)
I really am into this bike, its a good size (Im 6' 6") and I love the look and the one speed honestly. Ive never owned a Mountain bike and want in to the flow. I mainly do long cross bike riding. I dont know anything about mountain bikes and would love advice and thoughts on this bike.
Last edited by sevenisthenumb; 11-21-16 at 10:59 AM.
11-17-16, 04:10 PM
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I don't have much but here is what I have..
FIT is EVERYTHING above all else, sounds like you think the bike will fit you,,are you sure ??
6'6"...I dunno but be sure on this....
The bike, real nice looking scooter,
takes a better man than I to ride a rigid,
I'd have to have a suspension fork.
Mechanical disk brakes work great and are best for cold weather rides, like below 40F
I am a flow seeker, It's where I shine, And just recently moved from a full suspension to a Hard Tail Plus bike.
Am so glad I did but a rigid,, I could not take, would not want to take that kind of a beating..........
My current scooter, 2017 Scott Scale 720 PLUS bike..
,
,
We Flow together well ~~
FIT is EVERYTHING above all else, sounds like you think the bike will fit you,,are you sure ??
6'6"...I dunno but be sure on this....
The bike, real nice looking scooter,
takes a better man than I to ride a rigid,
I'd have to have a suspension fork.
Mechanical disk brakes work great and are best for cold weather rides, like below 40F
I am a flow seeker, It's where I shine, And just recently moved from a full suspension to a Hard Tail Plus bike.
Am so glad I did but a rigid,, I could not take, would not want to take that kind of a beating..........
My current scooter, 2017 Scott Scale 720 PLUS bike..
,
,
We Flow together well ~~
Last edited by osco53; 11-29-16 at 06:33 AM.
11-17-16, 04:14 PM
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I have a friend who rides a rigid cross bike on single tracks, he loves chasing down $5,000 full suspension bikes, especially the riders who tell him this or that trail is too dangerous for a single speed single rear rim brake cross bike.
I've seen him do it,, come off a black diamond trail that's a few miles long still on the back wheel of the fast guys on the dream bikes...
Funny,,His bike, he built for,,,,$700
His reason,, said he was too competitive, would wind up In the hospital,, His bike keeps him In check..
I've seen him do it,, come off a black diamond trail that's a few miles long still on the back wheel of the fast guys on the dream bikes...
Funny,,His bike, he built for,,,,$700
His reason,, said he was too competitive, would wind up In the hospital,, His bike keeps him In check..
11-21-16, 11:01 AM
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So I went shopping and I think I got really lucky... I found this bike on the back rack at a local shop wiht no lables. After research and calling a freind who is experienced, I think I got a killer bike. Can some people help me understand what I have here? Is it a parts bike? How good is this?
All the photos:
https://app.box.com/s/1tjysnmjey4mo3n96dbgellzzrcahhmg
All the photos:
https://app.box.com/s/1tjysnmjey4mo3n96dbgellzzrcahhmg
11-21-16, 12:41 PM
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I have a friend who rides a rigid cross bike on single tracks, he loves chasing down $5,000 full suspension bikes, especially the riders who tell him this or that trail is too dangerous for a single speed single rear rim brake cross bike.
I've seen him do it,, come off a black diamond trail that's a few miles long still on the back wheel of the fast guys on the dream bikes...
Funny,,His bike, he built for,,,,$700
His reason,, said he was too competitive, would wind up In the hospital,, His bike keeps him In check..
I've seen him do it,, come off a black diamond trail that's a few miles long still on the back wheel of the fast guys on the dream bikes...
Funny,,His bike, he built for,,,,$700
His reason,, said he was too competitive, would wind up In the hospital,, His bike keeps him In check..
11-23-16, 05:47 AM
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Motobecane Titanium,, ok cool beans
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._xo_20_xiv.htm
XTR tranny,
Some nice Ritchey bits, bar, stem, seat post,,,nice.
The fork, I'm a Rockshox fan, U got a Reba It looks like. I don't think there is such thing as a bad Rockshox. I ride a Recon 120 travel by 110 wide boost thru axle type, love It.
Had an XC 30, I was overworking that one just a little but It never let me down for 2 1/2 years.
I don't know the geo, the longish stem slows the steering down, gives it some tiller effect but If it fits you thats the key element here...
The wheels,, have them checked, trued, They have tubes in them, the tires look like small block 8's, very popular for hard pack and rocky I'm told.
IF the rims will let you convert to tubeless even with the added cost of new tires IF needed It Is well worth it.
Bike looks very solid and taken care of...
Value,, Who Knows... It's worth what you paid for it.
A rig like that new with those bits, $1500- $2000 wild guesstimate.
Used is often far less than half to one third even down to one quarter the cost of new BUT,,,
That's a Titanium frame, well cared for and some good gear,, good bones, I hope you got it for less than $500 but If that bike spoke to me I'd have paid a bit more, $750 ish...
Don't pay much attention to Bikes Direct mark em up to mark em down pricing, It's mostly a sucker hunt game. All meaningless as the final price Is fairly competitive to what you'd find anywhere In the direct channel sales market.
They don't rip off the customer but they try very hard to make the less experienced feel like they got a great steal of a deal.
Who knows,, Does It fit you ?
Then It's a deal, now go ride it...
Titanium,,sweet, one day you will sell that bike and regret it~
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._xo_20_xiv.htm
XTR tranny,
Some nice Ritchey bits, bar, stem, seat post,,,nice.
The fork, I'm a Rockshox fan, U got a Reba It looks like. I don't think there is such thing as a bad Rockshox. I ride a Recon 120 travel by 110 wide boost thru axle type, love It.
Had an XC 30, I was overworking that one just a little but It never let me down for 2 1/2 years.
I don't know the geo, the longish stem slows the steering down, gives it some tiller effect but If it fits you thats the key element here...
The wheels,, have them checked, trued, They have tubes in them, the tires look like small block 8's, very popular for hard pack and rocky I'm told.
IF the rims will let you convert to tubeless even with the added cost of new tires IF needed It Is well worth it.
Bike looks very solid and taken care of...
Value,, Who Knows... It's worth what you paid for it.
A rig like that new with those bits, $1500- $2000 wild guesstimate.
Used is often far less than half to one third even down to one quarter the cost of new BUT,,,
That's a Titanium frame, well cared for and some good gear,, good bones, I hope you got it for less than $500 but If that bike spoke to me I'd have paid a bit more, $750 ish...
Don't pay much attention to Bikes Direct mark em up to mark em down pricing, It's mostly a sucker hunt game. All meaningless as the final price Is fairly competitive to what you'd find anywhere In the direct channel sales market.
They don't rip off the customer but they try very hard to make the less experienced feel like they got a great steal of a deal.
Who knows,, Does It fit you ?
Then It's a deal, now go ride it...
Titanium,,sweet, one day you will sell that bike and regret it~
Last edited by osco53; 11-23-16 at 06:08 AM.
11-23-16, 06:03 AM
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Remove the pump and mount, bottle cage and light, Get a Camelbak, all your stuff goes In there. Why you ask ?
Because If you go cartwheeling down the mountain and come away from the bike and have to watch It fly over the ledge and Into the pit and your faced with a two day walkout with no chance of recovering the bike, you will
be very glad you got a 100 oz of water and a light on your back
Roadies put stuff on the bike, we don't.
Oh and Clip In,, those pedals will get you hurt..
Because If you go cartwheeling down the mountain and come away from the bike and have to watch It fly over the ledge and Into the pit and your faced with a two day walkout with no chance of recovering the bike, you will
be very glad you got a 100 oz of water and a light on your back
Roadies put stuff on the bike, we don't.
Oh and Clip In,, those pedals will get you hurt..
11-23-16, 09:56 AM
#10
Senior Member
Well I disagree with pretty much all of Osco's last post. Nothing wrong with having tools and water on your bike. Lots of people do that because they would rather have the weight on their bike and not their back. I do a mix. I carry a water bottle on my bike with a sports drink in it and all my tools and some more water on my back. I keep my tools in my bag because I have three mtn bikes and it is just easier to have one set than three. Light on the bars is fine and if you are riding trails at night you will want a second on your helmet anyway. The pedals are just the standard come with every bike to ride around the parking lot style so those do need to go but a good set of flats are fine. You don't have to ride clip in pedals.
11-24-16, 07:12 AM
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I miss flat pedals, had a good pair, but for my kind of riding I had to also wear shin guards because the spikes on the pedals would poke some really nasty holes In my shins. I ride and I crash at times, I'm just not fast enough to ride flats without blood I guess.
I don't just mosey along, I do get after it
Clipping In was safer for my legs and I never could pick the bike up under me with flats.
Could not get up some of my really steep climbs unless I could pull up on the back stroke, only way to do that with my limited skill level was to be clipped in...
My reason for nothing on the bike, A light bike Is more flickable and easier to control when things get a little crazy.
A water bottle is kinda low on the frame, a seat post pack Is not, nor are handlebar or frame packs.
For me a low as possible CG Is very Important.
I've talked to others who have no problem mounting a few pounds on the bike. I've talked to far more riders who will gladly spend a few thousand smackeroos to get a few pounds off a bike for the performance....
Every thing on my back with my Low CG Camelbak Volt feels natural and the weight of my pack means little.
I took 30 pounds off my self so the pack weight Is cancelled out IMO...
There are a few spots In my local haunts where a single track starts near where they end, many riders dump gear there. We often count water bottles as they are the first to go. Back packs sometimes also are left at the trails end. This tells us how many riders we may encounter, how fast we should ride. Lots of bottles, our first run we go easy.
In my Limited experience a light as possible bike Is very Important to most of the riders I meet.
It's simply easier and faster to drop a loaded pack and ride on. If we break down back In there a buddy can ride out and bring your pack In. If not we hike out.
I remember the last time I had a bottle of water on the frame, I remember popping the top with my gloved hand not noticing the mud on the mouthpiece, Noticed It big time when I was spitting dirt
Not Disagreeing with you Canker, Just suggesting a rider that seems new to single track (The OP) ride as light as possible.
I don't just mosey along, I do get after it
Clipping In was safer for my legs and I never could pick the bike up under me with flats.
Could not get up some of my really steep climbs unless I could pull up on the back stroke, only way to do that with my limited skill level was to be clipped in...
My reason for nothing on the bike, A light bike Is more flickable and easier to control when things get a little crazy.
A water bottle is kinda low on the frame, a seat post pack Is not, nor are handlebar or frame packs.
For me a low as possible CG Is very Important.
I've talked to others who have no problem mounting a few pounds on the bike. I've talked to far more riders who will gladly spend a few thousand smackeroos to get a few pounds off a bike for the performance....
Every thing on my back with my Low CG Camelbak Volt feels natural and the weight of my pack means little.
I took 30 pounds off my self so the pack weight Is cancelled out IMO...
There are a few spots In my local haunts where a single track starts near where they end, many riders dump gear there. We often count water bottles as they are the first to go. Back packs sometimes also are left at the trails end. This tells us how many riders we may encounter, how fast we should ride. Lots of bottles, our first run we go easy.
In my Limited experience a light as possible bike Is very Important to most of the riders I meet.
It's simply easier and faster to drop a loaded pack and ride on. If we break down back In there a buddy can ride out and bring your pack In. If not we hike out.
I remember the last time I had a bottle of water on the frame, I remember popping the top with my gloved hand not noticing the mud on the mouthpiece, Noticed It big time when I was spitting dirt
Not Disagreeing with you Canker, Just suggesting a rider that seems new to single track (The OP) ride as light as possible.
Last edited by osco53; 11-24-16 at 07:30 AM.
