Knuts

Hey Guys,

I posted this same thread over on ridemonkey and didn't even get one reply from those monkeys. I'm hoping that this forum is a bit more helpful. I even posted a poll that only had two hits. Anyways enough with the rant.

I have been trying to gather as much info on a handful of bikes to narrow my selection before heading to the city to buy a new bike. I live 2 hours from the nearest bike shop and really would like to have 5 - 10 bikes on my "must check out" list before booking a day off work to drive in to Calgary to some of the bike shops there.

I have been out of the mountain bike scene for the past 5 years and really want to get back into it this year. Interestingly enough I recently turned my old Iron Horse hard tail into a pig roast rotiserrie and it got me wanting a new bike to ride not just turn pigs.

So now comes the hard part. I am willing to spend $2000 but of course I am a cheap son of a _ and would rather spend much less (more like $1500). I live right next to the Canadian Badlands and want a bike that can handle the canyon like terrain as well as frequent trips to the mountains. My research tells me that I should be looking at an All-Mountain type bike. I want to be comfortable peddling this thing up as well as down just about anything I point it at as well some steep descents and the odd huck.

Some of the bikes I have been looking at are the Specialized Camber and StumpJumper, Giant Trance, Trek Fuel EX7, Kona Tanuki, Canondale RZ124, and the Jamis Dakar XamII.

I want to be able to have a list of bikes to go test ride and will have to make sure the shops carry these bikes. It is all about timing for me. Also some things to consider - I am out of shape. 5'6" and pushing 200lbs. Obviously using my bike to cook pork instead of riding it like it was intended has had a negative effect on my waist line. I am still active and expect the bike will help get me back down to the 160lbs that I normally sit at but it will need to withstand my abuse until then.

Any suggestions would be killer.
Thanks,

ed 

As much as I support Jamis, I'd steer clear the XAM. There have just been too many QC issues with their duallies. I'm a firm believer in the Komodo, but that's a different story altogether.

I would look into the Camber for sure. Transition Covert if you can afford it. Specialized Pitch if you can find an OEM closeout. The Stumpy is nice, but is more on the XC side of things.

If you wanna get commercial about it...there are probably 3 "labels" of bike you could look into:
ghey azz roadie
Cyclocross
xc
Trail / Marathon
All Mountain Trail (Enduro)
Aggressive All Mountain
DJ/4x
Slopestyle FR
Freeride (Big Mtn)
DH


The xc "Trail" bike would be more like the Stumpy; Transition Bandit; Tanuki
AM Trail (enduro)...Pitch; Transition Covert; Banshee Spitfire; Kona Cadabra
Aggro AM...SX; Bottlerocket (also SStyle); Banshee Rune; Kona Coilair


I hate the marketing hype, but there is a definite line between the 3.

Knuts

Thanks chelboed! Since posting I have actually red a bunch of reviews of guys complaining that the rear suspension frame is breaking at the axle a lot. Some guys have replaced the section 4 times with the same results. I know that it is probably isolated to one or two models but it speaks volumes about the rest of their product. Also there were many complaints about their customer service dealing with warranty issues. I think I will skip this manufacturer and look at other models. Being from Vancouver, Canada originally I want to support my local bike manufacturer - Norco but I'm not sure how they stack up against the competition.

ed 

Norco = sex

Knuts

Hahaha! Thats awesome but if that is the case is there a specific model that is <$2000 that I should look at?

Knuts

Anybody know much about Fezzari or this model?



I can't seem to find any third party reviews of this bike but looking at some of the components and my limited knowledge of their value it seems that this bike is a great choice for $2000.

I know that a lot of guys will be pissed with my next comment but I like the idea of bying direct from the manufacturer. That is not to say that I dislike dealing with local bike shops but where I live there isn't a bike shop within two hours of my town. Besides, at the end of the day I am cheap and by the time a local bike shop has bought and sold a bike it has usually gone through sever mark up in price.

Another really interesting thing about Fezzari was that before you order your bike they go through a multi step measuring process that measures for a 23 point custom set-up before they ship you the bike. This is basically what a good bike shop is going to do as well but they have placed the responsibility in your hands, saving you a bit of money in the process.

Right now I have (in no particular order) 5 bikes that have gained most of my attention. The Giant Trance X4, Specialized Pitch Comp, Fezzari Cascade Peak, Norco Fluid 2 and the Trek Fuel EX6 are the bikes that really interest me for the $$$.

Bikernator

This is probably not going to help any, but I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking this:

I wanna see the pig rotisserie bike...

ed 

Pitch and Fluid peak my interest.

Knuts

Haha. Yah it is a work of art. Unfortunately I ran out of time building it and didn't go with my original design. All I ended up using from the bike were a few of it's gears and the chain to give me the prober RPM. Instead of using the crank like I originally thought I would, I ended up welding the gears to an 1100lb ATV winch and ran it off a 12V battery. The thing is awesome though. We roasted a 200lb pig last May long weekend (it took 14 hours to cook) in the mountains for a group of 20 people and three dogs. I built a grill into it as well that can cook about 60 good size steaks at a time.

Knuts

Well I decided on a bike. I got this brand new '09 model Reign X1 for $1800 and thought it was a good deal for a bike to start with. Seeing as it has been quite a long time since I have been mountain biking I didn't want to have too big of a budget (read my wife wouldn't allow me to have too big of a budget).


So now that I have the bike I need some gear. Does anyone have suggestions for helmet, shoes and other gear?

Knuts

I was having a hard time finding a close up of the rotisserie but here you go...

Zephyr11

Sounds like you got a great deal. That bike retailed for $2900 back in '09. Enjoy it!

And ditch those reflectors!

Knuts

Don't worry, they were off in the first hour of having it home!haha

Knuts

So now I am shopping for a helmet to go with my new ride. Are there purpose built helmets for each type of riding? I understand that a full face helmet is typically for Down Hill or the more extreme Freeride type riders and that there are also helmets geared to the slick XC racing guys.

I plan on doing typical trail rides that are somewhere between XC and Freeride, hence the reason for an All mountain type bike. I like going fast and I like hitting the odd jump or natural kicker or ledge. I don't live on the North Shore any more so most of the trails I will be riding will be hiking trails with a lack of ladders or mountain bike specific obstacles or exploring the areas around Dinosour Provincial Park in southern Alberta. Late afternoon rides with the kids will fill up the time when I'm not on the trail as well as some work commutes.

I'm not sure if I should buy a regular bike helmet, a skate style lid or a full face or if I should buy two different styles for different occasions. I am really looking for some personal opinions on helmets and what others have tried and liked or disliked.

iRide Africa

Nice new ride Knuts! My personal recommendation is the Giro Xen helmet. I tend to ride XC but nail the Dh's and the odd jump and bit of north shore sections along the way - The Xen has a bit more protection around the back of the head than a full-on XC helmet, so you feel a little more snug and safe when things go pair-shaped.

Cheers

Knuts

Thanks for the recommendation iRide. I like the looks of the Xen, Xar and Hex. Unfortunately there isn't a bike shop less than two hours away so I may have to buy one online which I am not too keen on.

Daspydyr 

The next big question, home made BBQ Sauce or Something off the shelf. How did that pig cook up?

NYCJohn170

Yeah + 1

My friends did this once. Took too long. The party was starting to break up and he ran it into a Pizzaria urgent.

The Pizza oven was indeed faster but by the time they got it back, most of the guests had left.

Knuts

Home made sauce of course. Stuffed the cavity with pineapple and spices and then injected a sauce into the meat as well. I started preping it at 2:30 in the morning and had it on the spit at 4:00. It took 14 hours to cook it and it turned out great. I made pulled pork sandwiches with the left overs the following day. I'm not sure if I would cook one the same way again though. By the end of it I was so tired that I really didn't enjoy the whole experience. I've heard that roasting a whole pig in the ground is a lot easier. Just burry it over the hot rocks and coals and forget about it for the day. On the rotiserrie there was always a concern of the fat catching fire so it was pretty tense at times.

Bikernator

Sticking with my theme of contributing nothing to the OP's requests, I offer kudos for the pig-cooker. That thing is awesome. And a few friends of mine did the pig-in-the-ground technique a couple years back and it was some excellent pork.

Daspydyr 

Decades ago when I was in Boy Scouts we did fund raisers with pigs in the ground. It was great. PLUS. what a kick for 12-16 year olds to be up all night guarding the pit. Ended up being our introduction to hard liquor. What a blast, plus the pigs were awesome.

Great bike BTW. I'm looking forward to pictures of it covered with mud.