A good Mountain Bike?

[zapshe]

Hi, I'm going to buy my first Mountain Bike and so I have almost no idea what I'm looking at! I know a bit about the brakes of these bikes, and that's how I've been sorting through bikes (along with reviews). In the end, I came up with this list of bikes:

https://www.rei.com/product/106334/co-op-cycles-drt-13-bike

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/29er-mountain-bikes/fantom29-nx-tcs-mountainbikes.htm

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/29er-mountain-bikes/fantom29-xt-tcs-mountainbikes.htm

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/29point4-29er-mtb.htm



^All these bikes seem to be good, but are they really? And are they worth the price? Which is the "better" bike and which has the most bang for my buck?

Thanks for the help!

Well, I'm not getting any younger but it feels that I may have to wait several years for a moderator to approve my post (smiles but tears are falling from his eyes on the inside).

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Well, I'm not getting any younger but it feels that I may have to wait several years for a moderator to approve my post (smiles but tears are falling from his eyes on the inside).

Hi and welcome to CC!
Time difference might have something to do with your wait, we are a UK based forum.
I recommend you take a moment to familiarize yourself with Cycle Chat's Rules and Guidelines.
Moaning about moderation in your first post is a bit of a no no

 

[zapshe]

Moaning about moderation in your first post is a bit of a no no

Well, I wanted this post out there as soon as possible so I could get some feedback as soon as I could, not trying to be rude. And if it's not alright to "moan" about moderation in my first post, well this is my second . Thanks for accepting me into your forums.

 

[zapshe]

Not a very active forum? Perhaps it's because I'm new. Anyway, I'm hoping someone could shed light on the specs of these MTN bikes. I have filtered the bikes I've seen so far through the brakes. I wanted hydraulic ones but also not cheap ones. That's where this list came from. The other specs, however, are beyond me and I'm not able to tell good from bad. If someone is able to clue me in on which one of these bikes I've linked have the best parts for the money and such, it would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Threevok]

1) Co-op DRT 13 - A lot of money for the bike - even with the $109 you get back as a member. Lower spec forks than the rest so I would forget.

2) Both Fantom 29s....

It may be just me, but despite them being OK specs, the hype on the site is so misleading. I would think twice before believing they are as much of a bargain as they would have you believe.

For example

with long travel RockShox REBA forks with LOCKOUT

Sorry, but 100mm is NOT long travel and EVERY Rockshox fork has lockout of one kind or another, as with most other suspension forks too - even the crappy low end ones.

Also, some of their list prices for parts are way off. Surprisingly their list price for the forks is LESS than the actual cost. They quote "around $400" but I cannot even find them for 400 pounds, let alone dollars!!!

That said, it's not a bad bike for the price and If I was going to plump between the two - it would be the Fantom 29s XT - but that's just my preference.

A great bike for trails and XC and would suite me for my kind of riding,

However if you are going to be doing something a bit more demanding, I would continue to shop around for something with larger travel forks.

 

[Crackle]

You've got a mixture of 29ers and 27.5 inch bikes there, they'll ride quite differently. Avoid the Suntour forks and go for the Rockshox solo air, you've also got a mix of 1by chainsets and doubles. What kind of riding are you going to be doing? Impossible to narrow it down without knowing.

 

[KneesUp]

What do you want the bike for?

I ride what was sold as a 'Mountain Bike' every day and it does not have suspension forks, and has one cantilever brake and one drum brake, but it's perfect for what I use it for (riding on urban roads and 'mild' off road - for example I sometimes go home via a bridleway which has a solid surface of loose stones (like a fire trail) but also includes a ford.

Are you going to use it on rough surfaces? Do you need suspension? Will you want to attach luggage to it?

(also, the passive-agressive comments are a bit tiring already. Maybe you got few responses because you haven't said what you want to use the bike for, offered your own thoughts on your list, and in your three posts on this thread you have a 100% hit rate of sounding a bit narky?)

 

[zapshe]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Threevok, thanks for the detailed breakdown - exactly what I was hoping for, great help!

Crackle - You're right about that! Sorry I didn't specify what the bike was going to be used for earlier. I'm going to use this bike to ride in the city (uneven sidewalks, construction, and a risk taking bike rider) and some (hopefully) not horribly rough trails. When I look at these bikes, I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at! Thanks.

KneesUp, thanks for your reply. My passive-aggressive comments stopped after the second post. I can see how you saw the 3rd post as such, but it was not my intention. As for everything else, I don't NEED suspension or any of that, but that's not to say it wouldn't come in handy and that I don't look for it when I'm looking for bikes. It's true I'd probably ride fine without it, but I'd also rather have it. Overall, if I can find a well priced bike with these options (like the ones I have linked), then I'd purchase them. On the other hand, if I can get a bike with good specs and a cheap price, but might be missing some of these features, I'm open to that as well.

Hopefully, I can clarify this. I need a bike that I trust, beat up, and make life-death decisions with. I wont be trailing through the toughest terrain the Earth has to offer, so I don't need a professional grade bike (and I'm sure those bikes wouldn't be around $1,000!). With what Threevok said, I'm going to search a bit more on bikes and deeply consider the Phantom 29 XT. If anyone has a bike recommendation with this new insight, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again everyone for their posts!

EDIT: Forget to mention that I also appreciate you, Threevok, for letting me know that the price hype on that site isn't as much as they make it out to be and for taking the time to really look at the specs. Thanks, again!

 

[Jody]

I looked at the bikes you posted earlier and all would suit your needs. You don't need suspension for what your intended use will be but it leaves you scope to get out on the tougher stuff. All the bikes seem reasonably equiped for the price with guide brakes, rockshox air forks etc.

If it was me I would pick the all black bike as it's got decent looks and reasonable spec for the money. They all look reasonable spec entry level MTBs. Take the RRP with a pinch of salt as they look way over what they should retail for.

 

[zapshe]

If it was me I would pick the all black bike as it's got decent looks and reasonable spec for the money. They all look reasonable spec entry level MTBs. Take the RRP with a pinch of salt as they look way over what they should retail for.

Thanks for the great feedback! I'm still new to this and so I don't really know where I should be looking. If their price tag is a bit over what they should be, do you know a place or specific bike that's with specs that better match the price point? Thanks again, you're helping me greatly.

EDIT: Perhaps I miss understood. By RRP did you mean the price the site claims the bike would originally sell for? Or did you mean the actual price that they are selling the bikes for?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

By RRP did you mean the price the site claims the bike would originally sell for?

Yes, this.

 

[zapshe]

Yes, this.

Thanks for that. So I suppose the deals themselves aren't too bad.

I'd look for some bike forums in your own country as well and ask them about any better deals available locally.

Thanks for the advice. I'm using a VPN which is why I'm on a UK forum (my IP points to the UK). I'll make sure to check around biking forums that are here as well. Thanks!

 

[fossyant]

Are you going to be doing jumps, stunts and daft stuff like that around the city ? Words like life or death and risk taking suggest you'd be better off with a jump bike.

SRAM NX and Deore are good quality entry level components. You do have to watch suspension, ideally FOX or Rock Shox but their mid range stuff - that will eat about half your budget for the forks.

If you don't need the suspension, then look for something else. If you are going to ride both natural trails and trial centres (i.e. mountain biking) then you need to think about good front suspension (hard tail) or a full suspension bike. If just mucking about in the city, I'd get a jump bike.

 

[zapshe]

Thanks for the advice fossyant. I looked up jump bikes, but they aren't exactly what I want. I'd much rather have a bike I take out and actually do mountain biking stuff with! Many bikes that I've linked have the Rock Shox and SRAM components.

What I'm looking at now is whether to buy:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/29er-mountain-bikes/fantom29-xt-tcs-mountainbikes.htm
or
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/29er-mountain-bikes/fantom29-nx-tcs-mountainbikes.htm

They both got good reviews, both on here and the site. My only internal conflict is whether I'll actually need/feel the difference with the more expensive one. I'm going to try and go to a shop where I can test out some bikes before making my decision. Thanks for your feedback!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

A simple old-school 26" wheel rigid frame bike would be perfectly capable of dealing with rough urban roads and non-extreme off-highway trails. No-one needs suspension for this sort of terrain, and rim brakes work OK.
Been reading too much MTB industry hype about 29" wheels and suspension methinks. All you actually require for travelling over poor surfaces is a strong bike with robust tyres that don't puncture too easily. There are plenty of people in the developing world that manage fine with an old 3-speed roadster.