Recommend a bike please!

[Blown04GT]

I used to race BMX and dirt jump, and then got into some mountain biking after that. I mainly did trail rides (I guess that's called free rides) but I haven't rode in a while.

I am looking for a FS bike with some decent components. I will mainly be jumping, a little downhill, but mostly single track trails. My local bike shops carry Trek, Specialized, Gary Fisher, etc but I want to know some of the "other" companies that make great bikes. I don't want to spend over $2K for a complete bike. I want at least XT components or comparible. Let me know what you guys think.

Also, what are the big online companies (like Dan's Competition was for me in BMX) that sell complete bikes?

Thanks for the help, I've been out of the game for a while :biggrin:

[Netwelle]

I think that if you want xt component group on a full suspension bike you may have to spend more then $2000

I like and ride a kona coilair. They have good tuff bikes you may want to look at. I got lucky and only paid $2700 out the door for my new coilair. It was a leftover.

Look for those kind of deals if you want specific groups. Rocky Mountain makes some nice bikes that would suit you. Look through the "post your ride threads" get an idea from those.

[El Spazmiestro]

if you dont mind buying used you can get a much better bike for 2 grand

[mandown]

used is the way to go.
kona makes a good package. iron horse used to have amazing prices on the "last year's model" sales, but not as much anymore.

look for sram instead of shimano if you can find it. deore is fine, LX is nice, XT equiped bikes are gonna be over 2k in most cases.


kona stinky for $1,999 retail looks to be the business - hard to find online, as most dealers must to in-store sales only.
http://www.konaworld.com/08_stinky_w.htm
http://www.konaworld.com/bikes/2k8/images/625/2K8_STINKY.jpg
note the LX spec.

not the most jump-oriented bike, but it can do the job.

[Blown04GT]

Thanks for the replies! What do you guys think about Fezzari? I clicked on the ad that is on the forum homepage and they have an AM one for $2K with some XT components. The components it has are comparable to a $3.5K Trek I was looking at.

Anyone know any big online sites that sell complete bikes?

[sperkins]

hey if you check out their site www.fezzari.com you can save like 40% sometimes.

[Blown04GT]

hey if you check out their site www.fezzari.com you can save like 40% sometimes.

yeah, I noticed that.

Are they good bikes? Anyone have any personal experience with them? Here's the link the one I am looking at: http://fezzari.com/products/index/Nebo_Peak/9/18

[mandown]

that ain't a bad lookin' bike. my biggest concerns:

rear shock - rear air if you are jumping a bunch may not take the abuse, but if you are smooth, it could be fine.

fork - dj guys get away w/ QR forks for jumping, but i like to have a 20mm for stiffness. i'd like 160mm of travel for more dh trails, but my pike at 140 is plenty on my hardtail, so this may not be an issue.

frame strength - at 6lbs, that is a light frame and i don't know what the long-term life of that frame is or the ability to take DH abuse

Head Angle - 69 is steep for my taste. probably better for dirt jumping, but i like slack for DH. probably solid for trail riding that doesn't have super steep gnar-tech.

cranks - not sure what the firex will hold up to . external bearings are nice. the full suspension won't need the same strength cranks as a hardtail, but stiffness is nice to have.

tires - not sure how they will function in your local dirt.

other than that, the drivetrain looks good. the avids look nice. adjustable travel is nice and bringing the fork down will steep the HA for jumping.

the weigth looks good for a trail bike.

the price is good. for what you get.

btw - the website says it is a "4-bar Link" suspension. this means it is a single pivot that looks like an FSR/Horst. that is not a bad thing, some people just get fussy about it.

[ktown.freeride]

since no one has answered this...
beyondbikes.com
pricepoint.com
cambriabike.com
go-ride.com
theres lots of others too.

[Blown04GT]

Mandown - thanks for taking the time to do that!!!! I may end up getting that one but I will keep looking around.

Ktown - thanks, I'll check them out.

Rep given to both of you!

[jeff da grom]

don't forget wheelworld.com and the ridemonkey classifieds

[kona-ryder]

Personally if I were you, I would look used.
You can get a bike which is only a season or two old for half of its original retail.
For 2g’s you can get a used bike that went for around $4,000 initially
Scour pinkbike.com and the ridemonkey classifieds for a good deal.

[DeafTrance]

Theres also mongoose bikes if you want good components on the bike. They just got a ton of pivots that'll be a mess to maintain. I'd say the mongoose khybers a pretty good deal, or one of the black diamonds.
Khyber
http://www.mongoose.com/mtn/ProductDetails.html?id=2635&enc=mtn|6
Black Diamond
http://www.mongoose.com/mtn/ProductDetails.html?id=2638&enc=mtn|6

I really like the 7point which im riding, i think if you can still find any on sale online or at a performance.

This site has a an iron horse 6point4 going for a pretty good deal, well below your budget. Awesome bike from what i hear.

http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.14396/.f?sc=7&category=531

[FOXROX]

universalcycles.com best prics! a boxxer wc for like 1300