Help needed...Which Bike???

REVO

Hello guys and girls. i'm a noobie who wants to get into mtb'ing, trail mashing, dirt bashing and jump smashing...you get what i mean.

ME: i'm 6ft2 and 100 kg

THE BIKE: I'm looking for something tough as, strength is key here, full suspension, hydraulic disc stoppers possibly 8" rotors, 5" travel preferred. A tough bottom bracket is essential however. I need it to stop 100 kg quickly.

My focus is on durability not so much the performance/racing side of things, I've set my budget at $4000 AUS. You see i have had a tendency to be a little harsh on previous rides although that did come down to riding style..big legs+very low cadence=broken chain city...stoopid me. 90 rpm is much better not 40

OPTIONS: So far i've narrowed my search for all mountain glory down to these dirt weapons...
Giant Reign 2, Norco fluid 1, Norco Six 1, TREK session 7, Ironhorse mkIII comp, DA-BOMB CherryBomb.

What do you ppl think about this

Once again all i need in a new bike is toughness, i just hate breakin things

Thanks in advance pplz

REVO

REVO

c'mon pplz 31 lookers and no replies...sheesh

travis4736

Wish I could help, all I have to say is that we seem so be looking for relatively similar bikes!

milwaukeehaze

I will apolgize first because I don't have a direct answer to your question, however, I too can't believe no one has offered up an opinion on your possible bike choices. So, I will at least give you an opinion, in general, that may help out.

I am and have always been a cross country mtn biker, but have owned two Trek bikes, one Klein, and now am the proud owner of a Giant NRS Composite 2 bike. Although I ride cross country, I am still hard on my bikes (I weigh 185) and all frames have held up and performed well.

I am probably partial to Trek because they are made here in Wisconsin...the good ol' USA. However, nowadays with our high labor costs, there are more frames, parts, etc... made overseas so it really doesn't make a huge difference where it's made. I would suggest Trek or Giant, or any other bike manufacturer that offers a lifetime warranty on the frame because if you are freeriding or downhilling, that is definitely the part you will spend the most money to replace if it fails. Most bikes these days are just differentiated by the level of Shimano or SRAM components they have, wheels, suspension, etc... so go high on the componentry. That's my 2 cents worth.

Good luck & good riding!!

Fugitive

I'm new to mountain biking as well. If anyone could help with an opinion it would be greatly appreciated.

So I've been reading posts around the forum and noticed that many people recommend buying a used bike. I searched on Craigslist for my area and found some cheap bikes though I'm not to sure if the bikes are worth buying.

Gary Fisher Mamba - http://detroit.craigslist.org/bik/175007580.html
GT Aggressor - http://detroit.craigslist.org/bik/174086413.html
Diamondback Topanga SE - http://detroit.craigslist.org/bik/173416590.html

DB pics - http://public.fotki.com/RyanM/diamondback_topanga_se/

I did a Google search on all the bikes. For all three bikes, majority wise it was recommend for entry-level, but was warned to upgrade some of the parts. I think the DB is the oldest of the bikes. I think it was new in the late 1990s.

The bikes I looked at in the LBS were the Trek 3700 & 3900 and the Gary Fisher Tarpon & Advance. I asked the sales guys at the LBS how to these compare with the Specialized Hardrock or Rockhopper. He told me that their shop stopped carrying Specialized and other brands because customers were having problems with their service (from Spec & other brands) and some of the components on the bikes weren't that great.

On my next day off though, I plan to buy a bike whether it's new or used.

Thanks for any help!

Scotty_Dog

The GT stands out as the better bike to me, but I would want to know more about the actual components than the seller has listed. What frame size, shifters, brakes, derailleurs, crankset, cassette, wheels?

Be sure to educate yourself before buying used. There are better deals out there - check Ebay.

__________________
"There is alot of blather here that does not float the hooey barge." boudreaux 11/22/2005

Fugitive

Thanks for the reply!

It has been a couple days and only the GT and DB person have replied back about their bikes. I did ask for some specifics such as size, age, condition, and components (I just said components. I wasn't very specific on that).

Both replys were extremely vague and didn't answer much. Though, I did learn that the GT is 16" which is too small for me.

I figure that I'm too new at this to be buying a used bike and it would just take to long trying to get opinions from people if I keep posting what used bikes I find (Plus it'd probably get annoying).

Since I narrowed it down to a few new bikes that I like, I guess I'll just stick with those and figure out which feels better to ride.

Again, thanks!

Jeytown

i would suggest
wheeler

i ride their bikes no probs and they have a very good dualy that is in your price range

hornet or falcon ranges

i own a commuter pro39

the aboves will doyou very well

no idont own a bike shop

Topsi1208

I'm also looking to buy my first mountain bike. I started on a Hybrid, moved to a road bike & now want to add mountain biking to my repertoire. Too many good trails around here not to head out & explore. My hybrid was a Trek 7200 FX & it was great. I'm seriously considering a used Trek 4500 WSD with very little use. The guy bought for his girl & she was not into mountain biking. For a beginner hardtail, is the Trek 4500 a viable option?