Re: Looking for MTB recommendations

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bomba <myarse247@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> Despite what else is going on in the thread, I'll give you the advice that
> we give all newbies. For your budget, and at your level, you'd be best off
> getting a hardtail. This is even more reinforced by where you ride.

I was in a bike buying situation just recently. My background was not
riding a mountain bike for over 5 years, dusting off my ~$400 rigid
rockhopper and hitting the trails a few times. I realized that
mountain biking was something I did want to get into, and the beater
bike wasn't cutting it.

So for me, I gave myself a ~$1000 budget, which was pretty big
considering I hadn't yet commited to the sport. Long story short, I
bought a Bianchi Denali and swapped out the stock handlebar for an
Azonic riser.

It's been several months and many rides later... I'm having a blast on
the hardtail and my technical skills are progressing. I have a
feeling that I've been bitten by the bug and in a year or two I'll be
looking at the latest >$2000 full suspension bikes. But to have gone
there right now, given my riding ability and past experience, would
have been premature.


Another important thing to consider is who you plan to ride with (got
this tip from Mtb-action magazine). Most of my buddies are
recreational hard-tailers, so until I decide I've progressed beyond
that, riding a similar setup to them makes our rides more fun.
Likewise if all my friends were on long-travel free-ride bikes and I
stayed with the hardtail, it would be hard to keep up with them on
some terrain, and I'd smoke them on the climbs (well, probably not
:)).

-Dave

On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 11:59:43 -0800, Dave wrote:

> It's been several months and many rides later... I'm having a blast on
> the hardtail and my technical skills are progressing.

Glad you're enjoying your ride.

I have a
> feeling that I've been bitten by the bug and in a year or two I'll be
> looking at the latest >$2000 full suspension bikes. But to have gone
> there right now, given my riding ability and past experience, would
> have been premature.

Don't assume that upgrading to full suspension is the logical 'next step'...