ive been racing and riding motocross my hole life,been taking alittle break and now i wanna get back into riding bikes again,the delima im in is all my buddies have dh bikes,my wife wants a bike also and she is a beg rider that just wants to ride some nice single track trails,nothing to technical,so now my problem is do i just get a free ride bike or try and ride the a dh bike?im kinda torn,also i will be buying used,i have a buddy that has a 2001 moutain cycles shockwave for 1k,what you guys think?also what brands should i stay away from(frames,forks ect) and what would be some good bikes to look at?
getting back into mountain biking,question is freeride or dh bike
- Thread starter mxracer458
- Start date
a good freeride bike capable of mounting a 2-3 ring setup up front or even a Hammerschmidt will be perfect
id also stay away from a 10 year old Mountain Cycle.
id also stay away from a 10 year old Mountain Cycle.
Pick up a 6" trail bike. Most fun you will have on a MTB bike and way more versatile. Something along the lines of a specialized enduro, trek slash etc. You can find older enduros and similar bikes form other brands for sale at good prices.
Are you related to Aaron Gwin? hehe...
And welcome to Ridemonkey
And welcome to Ridemonkey
sorry i dont know aaron,i love to go fast and find some good terrian,i have some good single track trails,and some good shuttle trails so i have the best of both worlds near my house,mamoth is only 5.5 hours away!what are some good forks/bad forks i should stay away from?been about 15 years since i owned a mtb.
i agree,i dont have the funds to afford that,my wife is in nursing school and im a union construction worker,the economy hasent really helped me in the last 6 months lol.
advertising does work apparently
Definitely get a 6" bike. I can do anything but race pro-level DH competitively on mine.
6" is the perfect do-it-all bike.
6" is the perfect do-it-all bike.
best eaten and digested by those who have a facility for repeating things like a parrot without knowing anything about what they're repeating
yeah i know but i also find it very nice that they decided to cater for that niche since they are a bigass ****ing corporation and have the funds to produce many different bike models. the only problem is it's quite expensive, but i don't think you could go wrong with it.
they arent the only ones making a slack 6" bike. they just have moar acronyms (abp, drcv, e2, evo, mino)
From the sounds of it ( cause of your wife ) your going to be held back bike with your riding styles,if you wana ride with your boys they are going to the resort your going to want a full fledge dh bike and you will be all around more happy. If yuor riding strickly with the wifey but rarely going with your boys,then yeah your gona want a all mountain agressive xc bike ( kinda like a intense tracer 2 ) or if thats not aggresive enough maybe a uzzi is more wat your looking for.
and engineers then anyone else.Period.37 earospace engi's from nasa,to the army to the public earospace devisions ( boeing etc. ) 37 people with over 250 years of combiened experience just for carbon road frames.
They are seriously probably the biggest and best compagny in the cycling world. I'd recomend the wife on a DUAL SPORT TREK,I have a nice 8.3 infront of me something she can ride off road and yet keep her big wheel properties and rolling of a hybrid/road bike.
wtf is earospace? the space in your ear drum? i feel like i'm in the moving "airplane!" when i read p-spec's post.
Giant Bicycles is laughing at this.
nah, they're too busy running the factories that make treks frames to laugh.
You are exactly correct,I'll be riding with both equally,if it wasent for the wife dh all the way,but hey I can't complain that she wants to ride.what you guys think of a kona stinky or giant faith?maybe somthing I could ride with the wife but yet still hit the hills?
Honestly, no joke, if you can find a 96, 97, or 98 Specialized Ground Control MAX, you will be more than happy and they are cheap so you can put a nice build kit on it. I recently bought one, because of the way it rides (could have bought a modern bike) this thing is just awesome. I ride all the DH trails on it and even hit 35ft gaps and it just takes it.
Are you the guy in that NW edit on PB with the old school specialized?? Looks like you were hangin in there on some crazy trails on that thing if that was you!
Yeah that was me haha. Everything he hit in that vid I hit.
My vote is 7" freeride bike. Will do all the beginner trails with your wife, no problem, but should still hang in there (and hold up) with your dh buddies when you start shuttling and hitting things harder/faster.
Two-ring or a hammerschmidt is a great idea- helps you putt around with your wife. My wife doesn't like it when I have a single up front because I wind up having to climb faster and ride "like a jerk"
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Two-ring or a hammerschmidt is a great idea- helps you putt around with your wife. My wife doesn't like it when I have a single up front because I wind up having to climb faster and ride "like a jerk"
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I would be skeptical, but I saw the vid- props man! Nice work!
Rode a 2011 kona stinky tl,pretty nice bike,frame was to big but the bike was pretty good.
So your wife is a beginner rider? Has she ridden before? What sort of level do you expect her to get to over the next X years? If I was to go XC riding with my girlfriend, I could probably take a DH bike and still not struggle!
As your friends are seasoned DHers and you know what to expect there, I'd suggest you err towards looking at full blown dh bikes and compromise from there based on your missus' abilities.
As your friends are seasoned DHers and you know what to expect there, I'd suggest you err towards looking at full blown dh bikes and compromise from there based on your missus' abilities.
She has about 3 years riding dirtbikes,none on mountain bikes,I will admit she's a quick Learner,I'd give her 6months to a year to be a aggressive rider,just not sure if I could pedal a dh rig for 10-15 mile ride
I'll echo mr nug. Look at it this way, where would you rather even the playing field? If you ride with your wife, (as a married man) I suggest you are better off giving her the advantage with equipment. It's good for her ego to see you struggle a little bit and that will build her confidence and your conditioning. If you ride with your buddies...you certainly don't want to give them the advantage
I would lean towards a gravity designed rig. Something like a Trek Scratch could certainly be built in the low 30# range, ridden on most XC trails and still be a ripping DH bike...it just wont be perfect for either. Hell, there is a guy on here that built up a really light Intense Socom with Hammersmidt system that he apparently climbs 1-2k' for DH runs. You'll get a lot of oppinions..do your research and decide what the priority is. Personally I'ld stay away from anything over 2-3 yrs old...technology has gotten much better and you can still find deals if you look around.
I would lean towards a gravity designed rig. Something like a Trek Scratch could certainly be built in the low 30# range, ridden on most XC trails and still be a ripping DH bike...it just wont be perfect for either. Hell, there is a guy on here that built up a really light Intense Socom with Hammersmidt system that he apparently climbs 1-2k' for DH runs. You'll get a lot of oppinions..do your research and decide what the priority is. Personally I'ld stay away from anything over 2-3 yrs old...technology has gotten much better and you can still find deals if you look around.
compare a giant top end road bike to a madone 6.9 and come back to me. giant wish's they had the technology and options and patented fun things trek offers over any giant road bike. ( im talking road bikes ) Giant holds its names cause it makes bikes for everyone else.
giant is big cause half their staff is probably kids
and some people dont care,they want a usa made bike,like me.
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Both great bikes to get into the game and have more of a feel for wat type and kind of riding you can do without being held back in terms of riding styles ( Im sure you understand wat I mean ) both 2 bikes that will be perfect for wat your looking at,maybe in the futur you'll make the move to the bigger bike.
compare a giant top end road bike to a madone 6.9 and come back to me. giant wish's they had the technology and options and patented fun things trek offers over any giant road bike. ( im talking road bikes ) Giant holds its names cause it makes bikes for everyone else.
giant is big cause half their staff is probably kids
and some people dont care,they want a usa made bike,like me.
id still gladly take a TCR or Defy or even a Cdale Super Six over anything Trek has despite them not having the "technology and options and patented fun things" as you say
You should consider the Giant Reign-X. Either generation.
End thread.
End thread.
I would never ever get a crackNfail.
id still gladly take a TCR or Defy or even a Cdale Super Six over anything Trek has despite them not having the "technology and options and patented fun things" as you say
assymetric BB90 trek only
the letters OCLV,only trek
trek was the first to do carbon
treks first bike is still under warrenty
trek has a di2 integrated erea for the battery so you dont have zipties all over the bike and wires ( specialized,giant,even PINARELLO dont have dedicated battery point ( wich is fun on your 8000$ bike )
trek offers lifetime warrenty
trek invented the duotrap first ( now giant is trying to make their own copy design )
trek has a ride tuned seat mast ( owns everything )
trek first to use E2 ( now everyone followed their footsteps cause its the best and they started it )
trek SSL models use NATO GRADE carbon,that no one else in the cycling world can
trek still makes bikes in america with adults from america
trek actualy really does have 37 engineers with 250+ years of experience just for carbon road bikes
Trek spent 18 months on the speed concept simply testing tube shapes ( they have the nicest tri bike )
Trek has a sports medicine doctor ( doctor Timmerman who I met ) to give a hole crash corse on anatomy of the body for the fit classes ( ****ing doupt giant does that )
I can go for ever and ever why trek OWNS everything wen it comes to carbon.I can get you the names of the engineers who worked on special projects for nasa,the military etc.
you guys are american you should push your american compagnies.
If you wont admit to your anti trek is a personal thing and has nothing to do with carbon i'll eccept it.
but if your gona tell me a giant TCR ( wich I have people come into my shop and use our trainers ) if you can't realise the plus's and advantages and quality of a madone SSL to a TCR well then your either blind or your just lieing to yourself like a weak hearted boy with his first whore cheating gf wich he doesn't wana beleive.
Back to the OP,either bike will work fine for you.both and most all come with a good grouppo and componentry and suspension,the important thing is you get your legs over a bike and HAVE FUN
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Really great bike for what you want to do, especially if you are looking for a bike that is a little more focused on going downhill. I'm still on the first generation model, which is a bit on the heavy side but does so many things so well. Since you're looking to buy used, the Giant and the Specialized Enduro should be good options, there will be plenty of them on the market at decent price points.
so giant builds some solid rides?
Absolutely, great value too. I'm not saying it's the greatest bike on the planet, i have ridden only a fraction of what's out there, haven't been keeping up on my acronyms and haven't sucked off Trek's entire marketing department recently. But for the riding i do, which is around 60% trail riding with a focus on having fun on the way down, and the rest split between shuttle runs and resorts, it's an ideal bike: capable of getting everywhere with a little effort and incredibly planted when descending. I have ridden it hard since 07 now, and i'm still on my first set of bearings and see absolutely no need to get something new soon.
I guess if trail riding is your priority, you'll probably be even better off with less travel, something like the regular Reign, the Enduros mentioned above or even the Stumpjumper Evo, which i find really intriguing (this one has just come out, so it won't be easy to come by used). These are just my subjective and limited 2 cents, and if you can, you should really see if you can try out some of the bikes mentioned here and see what works best for you. There is so much marketing BS in the bike industry that gets regurgitated in places like this, it can make your head spin if you are new to the sport.
I guess if trail riding is your priority, you'll probably be even better off with less travel, something like the regular Reign, the Enduros mentioned above or even the Stumpjumper Evo, which i find really intriguing (this one has just come out, so it won't be easy to come by used). These are just my subjective and limited 2 cents, and if you can, you should really see if you can try out some of the bikes mentioned here and see what works best for you. There is so much marketing BS in the bike industry that gets regurgitated in places like this, it can make your head spin if you are new to the sport.