What is the best mountain bike?

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Looking for a rockin mountain bike. I've been taking my hybrid bicycle on mountain trails and have been told that i'm crazy and will hurt myself. I'm wanting a "real" mountain bike. What are the best mountain bikes and prices?

also is http://bayareabikes.com/ a good place to buy a mountain bike? thanks a bunch!

Working backwards: Not really a good place to buy whole bikes.

There are so many great bikes out there and it depends so much on not only what kind of riding you do most, but how much you can afford and what size you are, etc. The opinions you get will be subjective and biased by personal experience or beliefs. Please visit several LBSs and ride as many bikes as you can. Figure out if you like full suspension or not. Rent/borrow bikes if you can. You won't be on the latest technology when you rent, but you can get a "real" feel for how a particular design works on the trail. Take your time and live within your budget, you can always upgrade when you get more dough. Now that I have given you a somewhat responsible answer, I personally ride Santa Cruz, period. A buddy has an Ellsworth and it is a very sweet ride. Another has a newer Trek Fuel and it's not bad either. Kona is pretty damn good and not very expensive. Have fun. Stay away from the Department store bikes, please! Ride well and keep the rubber side down.

my bike

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Cool.

K.

MTB Review (http://www.mtbreview.com) is a great source for anything bikes. Hope that helps

Nick

Good advice from Ireman, to stay away from cheapo bikes at discount shops / supermarket / malls etc. I ride a Santa Cruz as well and it's a racing dream, lightweight set up and hammer the bumps, sweet.
Gretchen, look to get a decent aluminium frame (not cromoly) an that's fits well, not too big or small, then build from that. If you get a good frame that has cheapo componenets then that's OK cus you can always upgade.

The frames the most important part so look to make that fit to perfection.

Enjoy the trails,

gretchen,

i am in the same situation as you are, thinking of a Giant Rincon, wanna ride together once? :))

Ok, I made an impulse buy.

Cannondale F1000 mountain bike with Shimano XTR components *Photos* - $795

Is this a reasonable price? It's in excellent condition, cool color. but it doesn't have disc brakes.

Do you know what model year Cannondale it is? From that you can go onto the cannondale.com web site and find out specifics on the frame and the exact componentry on it.

If you're not sure, you can usually work it out by looking at the Cannondale bike archives for all F1000s, and find the one that matches the frame colour of your bike.

What about disc brakes? Are disc brakes a big deal? what's the difference between rim brakes and disk brakes?
Thanks!

Although a good set of rim brakes (XT V-brakes for example) can be set up to work very well in many conditions (especially if combined with ceramic coated rims), but they will never be as reliable as discs in wet or muddy conditions. They will also never be as strong. If you can get discs you might as well. Truth is though, I had plenty of fun on mountain bikes before I found out I "had" to have full suspension and all the latest bits! Now that I have all that I won't go back, but still. ;-)
Keep the rubber side down.

K.

ireman_1,
what is full suspension?
thx! gret

Originally posted by Gretchen
ireman_1,
what is full suspension?
thx! gret


A bike with suspension on the front (suspension forks of some kind) and rear suspension (not the suspension seatposts). An example would be:

Looks like a Heckler/ Bullit! Nice. Good example of full suss'd off road weapon.

Disk brakes are less than necesarry, unless you live in a place where you consistently ride in rain and mud. HAving said that, a lot of bike makers are going to disk brakes wittout the option of rim brakes. Eventually most everything will probably have disk brakes. As for full suspension, only a must have if you enjoy a comfortable ride. I used to swear I would always ride a hardtail, after finally making the leap to F/S I will never purchase another hardtail.

hola, i live in sunny CA, so the disc brakes I don't need?
how can I tell if i have ceramic coated rims?

also wondering about full suspension. is this expensive for Cannondale F1000 mountain bike?

muchas gracias!

PS - nice photo of the Santa Cruz, instead of the garage background, how bout some trails ~


Nice photo

On the trail I am usually busy crashing or throwing up.
;-)

K.

The F1000 is a hardtail (front suspension only) frame, and can't be converted to full suspension. You could wing it from the comfort angle with a suspension seatpost, though..

Disc brakes should be quite easily fitted onto it, though it might prove expensive. The frame would be good for it, but the forks might not have the screwholes necessary.. plus you might need to buy new hubs for your wheels so the disc rotors can be put onto them.

I wouldn't worry about discs though, unless you find your existing V-brakes lacking.