THSCC Forums

I may be in the market for a new mountain bike. If you have suggestions, let me know. I'm not opposed to a used one either. Budget is $500, must be 14"/15", NOT full suspension. I'm hard on a bike, so the components can't be crap.

I've been riding a Diamondback Topanga for about 14 years. Everything but the frame was upgraded, but I think it's time to move on and get an aluminum frame with a front shock.

I'm out of touch with the bike world, so any guidance would be helpful. I don't much care about the brand, just looking for a fair deal.

Thanks!

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Phil... Now I miss the ITR and the M3!!!
1990 Honda Civic SI

Phil,

Go visit the Bicycle Chain on 70 near 540 and speak with the manager, Aaron Hoag. You can probably pickup a Specialized Rockhopper in that budget range. If you can't find a bike there, you won't find one!

Good luck!
-Matt

You are welcome to come by my shop(All-Star) at Falls of Neuse and Millbrook. We also sell Specialized, as well as Giant.

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~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
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'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

For that budget, I'd go with a used bike. Shop around on Craigslist...and you might be best off to wait as college kids will be selling off real soon now.


--Donnie

Doesn't your title say "Bad Idea Generator"?

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~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
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'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

Well yeah. Crap. Let me re-answer, then.

Dude, you really need to up your budget to about $5k and get a loaded up Santa Cruz full suspension. You'll be glad you did. Trust me.


--Donnie

I am very pleased with my santa cruz except for the fact that it destroyed my ski budget this season.

Craigslist FTW.

Edit: Be patient and keep an eye on trianglemtb.com's for sale forum.

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Silver Honda
Green Ford
Blue/White Suzuki
Red Triumph
Grey BMW

"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

My bike progression:

Cannondale Killer-V 500 no suspension bike in 1995 that I upgraded to a front shock and then over the course of five years or so upgraded every part on it multiple times (due to wear or breakage) till it was all XT and XTR. Loved this bike.

Bought a new Cannondale full suspension (Jackyl, IIRC) in late 2001 and rode it a few weeks. Thought "eh, full suspension is better, but it's only got a small amount of extra grip over my hardtail." Then had knee surgery due to a problem completely unrelated to biking. Out of biking for several years due to the injury and other things.

Decided to get a new bike and start biking again with a group of friends in the Chapel Hill area. They all ride SC bikes thanks to one of the group having a friend that works there, so I got an SC, too. Had Clean Machine build it with the best of the best. I thought I would be amazed at how much better it would be than what I remembered. But it was even better than that! I have been riding it for a year and am STILL amazed at the things that I can do on it that I could have never done before.

It's so good I've just ordered a second one straight from SC as a backup. It's not a best-of-the-best bike, but it's very good. The only thing I'll change is switch to SRAM grip shift. I started out with that and hated it when they went away and had to go trigger back on the Killer-V. But now that it's back, I'm not switching again unless it goes away again. Triggers are the suck.

Anyway, find a Santa Cruz if you can. Awesome bikes. I'm sold on disc brakes over rim, but if you can't find something in your budget now with disc, then try to at least get something with disk attachment points already on it. They still squeal occasionally, but not at EVERY SINGLE DAMNED LITTLE PUDDLE CROSSING like rim brakes do. I don't think they stop any better, really, but they do seem to last very well. Well, since they don't get gunked as easy they do stop a *little* better, but there's nothing like massive friction to clean gunk pretty quick and start braking.


--Donnie

Dude. You can get a pretty decent bike for $500 with discs. Giant has the Yukon at $520, aluminum frame, adjustable front suspension, 8 speed Shimano and Hayes mechanical discs. Not a bad little package for $500. Now, you're certainly going to be happier with a $5000 bike, but the brand that will be the best fit for you will be different for everybody.

THe difference between bike shop brands is the geometry of the frame. The best geometry is one that fits your body proportions as well as offers good, natural feeling handling. Given a price point, all bike shop bikes are going to have a similar spec, with some companies focusing more on drivetrain and others focusing on the suspension fork/brakes. All of those things are upgradeable and replaceable based on your preference or wear and tear. The frame is the reason to buy a bike. You should focus on comfort and the nature of the handling on your test ride and the "right" bike will call to you.

Do yourself a favor and don't buy used. People come in my shop with high hopes of fixing up some thing they bought that is too big for them and had a worn out drivetrain. You have no warranty coverage when you buy used. You get no free service on a used bike. Most of the time the things that the bike needs fixed exceed the value of the bike (ie what you paid for it), which is why it was being sold in the first place. Caveat empteur.

New bikes come with a warranty, service, a shop that stands behind it and fits the bike to you. If you want to consider financing or extended warranty plans, we offer that too. Even if you don't buy from my shop, buy new. You won't regret it.

_________________
~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

I agree with Ash if you don't know anything about bikes.

But if you do know a decent amount, then I don't see the problem going used, especially if you are the type to wrench on it yourself anyway. Yes, fit is a big deal, but here's where the experience thing comes in...if you can properly fit yourself on a used bike, can tell sh*t from shinola, and wrench yourself anyway, then I don't see the need to go new. You'll easily get what the shop would sell for $1500 for $500 instead, along with a few bruises you will be able to handle yourself anyway.

JMHO. And Ash, I feel your "I bought this hunk of junk used and need your help" pain, believe me. Used to own a retail store selling refurb'ed pinball machines and the like. We'd get VERY interested customers in the store who would then point out they could get the same machine on eBay for 20% less. I'd try to explain that what you actually end up with won't be what you want because it'll basically be misrepresented junk and/or will get damaged in shipping, etc. The smarter ones would get it and buy from us, the rest would inevitably be in contact in a couple months wanting us to come look at their machine. In most cases it wasn't even something I could "fix" at their place, it was something that would need more invested in it than they could have bought my warrantied machine for (and mine would have ultimately been much nicer even if you compared the two both in "refurbished" shape). Usually I'd end up taking their machine in as a partial trade and they'd end up eating $500-1000 in "mistake."


--Donnie

Don't discount the warranty and service that most shops include with a new bike though If your used bike ends up cracking at a weld 5 years after you bought it, you're screwed. The warranty only applies to the original owner of the bike. Also, if you don't wrench on your own bikes or if you do but find your time is better spent doing other things like riding it instead, a year's worth of tune up adjustments can be a very valuable thing indeed.

If you think you have found a fantastic used bike for sale, see if the seller will meet you at a shop to have the bike evaluated. We will look at a bike and give an estimate of what we see that it needs. Then, you have more information to decide if it is a great deal or not. Also, if the seller is not willing to have the shop of your choice evaluate the bike, well that tells you something too.

Man, now I am jonesing for some PINBALL!!!!

_________________
~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

I could swear Cannondale used to warranty all frames for life with no original purchaser requirement, but they definitely don't do that any more. Their FAQ says you have to be the original buyer and it may still cost a little bit to "exchange" the frame, but it can be for ANY reason. Santa Cruz is original buyer only, too. I'm too lazy to check any more, but I'd guess it's that way for pretty much everyone.

Breaking a frame is pretty rare and usually only done by bigger folks. The 180+ crowd is definitely at a disadvantage in the whole mountain biking thing for a lot of reasons...


--Donnie

Well, actually we see frame failures with smaller people too. When it is a manufacturer defect, you don't have to be big to have a failure. And, that's what warranties cover - manufacturer defects in materials and workmanship.

Most companies do offer "Crash Replacement" frames at a reduced cost for those who break their frames and it is not a manufacturer defect that caused the failure, but they still require proof of purchase to get the deal.

_________________
~ RallyX VP 2009 ~
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
'92 Prelude
'76 Celica

I agree about buying used as well.

The only time you should consider a used bike is if it's from a friend and you know the history of it as far as mileage and how tough it's been thrashed.

I just bought a used Stumpy Comp with Avid Juicy's from a friend that rode it on the road mostly. It's been awesome and certain could destroy pre-2000 bikes that I've owned that were exotic race bikes (ie. Merlin and Litespeed ti bikes w/ all XTR).

The technology now is amazing as far as the braking components and front suspension forks.

Basically, $500 will get you way more now than the days of the Topanga, which I've built several of during highschool at my hometown shop.

Good luck and let us know what you go with...

I've got a friend who wants to give away his mid-grade components. I think he has everything except brakes and a fork.

So another thought is to just get a frame. I'm having a very tough time finding small frames. I've found two that are in the price range, I just don't know much about them.

- 2003 Specialized Hard Rock Pro Disc - Used for a season, minor scratches, costing somewhere around $75.
- 2008 Raleigh M80 - I've heard these are really heavy, but well built. This one hasn't been ridden and they want $50.

I've posted to Triangle MTB, but it seems there are others in search of small frames/bikes. We'll see what that, ebay, and craigs list pans out.

Oh, any other frames to look for? Obviously, I'm limited to less than $250 for just a frame, so don't be rediculous and talk about bike parts that cost more than my daily driver!!!

_________________
Phil... Now I miss the ITR and the M3!!!
1990 Honda Civic SI