switching to the dark side

ok its offical my drunk ass has finally gotten hooked on mountian biking agian. I havent really ridden a bike for over ten years, but a few rides last week got me hooked again. I was heavily into riding back in highschool and I am sure im going to be just as into it this time around if not more into it so I need to get a bike. The problem is I dont have a clue what to get so im looking for some adive on what models / componets etc to get. I want to spend around $1000-1500 on a used bike this fall when i get my school grants. so waht should i be looking for?

for that money get a burly hardtail w/marzocchi up front, beefy wheels/cranks/bars.

Go to a local shop and ride a few. There is a lot out there, and much has changed in the last decade.

When I bought my last mountain bike, I went in with ideas for what I wanted, and I walked out with a different bike altogether.

Have fun, and don't worry about the cash outlay SO LONG AS YOU USE IT. Think of it as a per day cost which goes down each time you ride it. And, think of the money you save when you ride it because you are not spending money doing other things.

My 2 cents:
--Front shock necessary.
--Avoid rear shock unless you can lock it down, or unless you are downhilling. Rear shocks will slow you down on the uphills pumping all your energy into a spring instead of a sprocket. Front shocks do the same, but less so and they are worth it.
--Make sure your feet are secure in your pedals. Clip or clipless, just get comfortable shoes.
--Bar ends a must.
--A helmet. If it wasn't in style then, it is now. Wear it.
--A bell, a basket, and a kickstand. Steal a cloths pin and a card for the spokes.

My 2 cents:
--Front shock necessary.
--Avoid rear shock unless you can lock it down, or unless you are downhilling. Rear shocks will slow you down on the uphills pumping all your energy into a spring instead of a sprocket. Front shocks do the same, but less so and they are worth it.
--Make sure your feet are secure in your pedals. Clip or clipless, just get comfortable shoes.
--Bar ends a must.
[/B][/QUOTE]

I totally disagree about the rear shock, you definitly want on on todays bikes. I can climb anything the guys on the hardtails can climb. As a matter of fact going over roots and logs etc on the uphill grind, I find I keep better ground contact than I ever did on a hardtail. The advantages on the downhill by far outweigh any weight issues.
Go out and testdrive all you can, before you buy.

Kickstand is key like teleal said

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Originally posted by mntlion
Kickstand is key like teleal said

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carefull gunder, this board is habitated by cross country dorks. barends?! hahahaha that's so 1996;)

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Originally posted by White Chocolate
carefull gunder, this board is habitated by cross country dorks. barends?! hahahaha that's so 1996;)

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i was really really hoping that there was just a terminology mixup and he was talking about something like this:
http://www.transitionbikes.com/image...arEndCaps1.jpg

I'm going to assume that an XC rig is not what you're looking for.

I tend to agree about getting a hardtail. The Specialized P3 is a nice, burly hardtail that would fit your budget. You could also build up a Soul Cycles Titan for that much.

As for full squish bikes, the lowest level Iron Horse SGS Freeride and DH bikes are going for under 1500 at Superblow.

By the time you're ready to buy a bike, there will also be tons on good ones for sale used. Ridemonkey and MTBR both will have more bikes than you can shake a stick at. Watch MTBR though, it gets a LOT more scammers than Ridemonkey in my experience.

try to find a used bike full suspension. with the fox pro pedal and such, there isn't much bob or loss of energy on climbs and if there is anything technical on the uphill you will be better off with the full suspension as noted above.

do NOT get bar ends! ( i think telephil had to be kidding).

the fork is the most important piece of equipment, do your research go to the shop talk to guys, but get the fork that will fit you and what you plan on riding. if you are gonna be riding the terrain that WC shows us pics of, get a coil fork.

get disc brakes.

burly front tire/wheel.

it is right about now that shop techs that built up 2004 bikes last year are getting ready to get rid of them. In that price range you might be able to find a good deal on a squishy well equiped used bike.

wait long enough and you'll get a reply here for every possible bike setup you can imagine. that's the nature of asking questions that are so general in a forum with such a limited audience. you haven't mentioned what type of riding you'll be doing - so how can anyone possibly give you relevant advice?

you might want to see what people are riding on the trails you'll be riding. lurking on mtbr.com and reading reviews are a good idea too.

otherwise, get a bullit. ;)

Full suspension has come a long way in the last three years. Good rear linkages and stable platform shocks have made hardtails nearly obsolete, unless you are a hardcore XC weight weenie or DJ specialist.

I pedaled a Specialized Big Hit, with 7.5" in the rear, around Downieville and it hardly bobbed at all. Ditto the Iron Horse freeride bikes and the Yeti AS-X. All three have at least 7" of travel and hardly bob at all unless you are a total pedal masher.

The most important question is: how much travel do you need? 5" is about right for trail riding and small drops, and you've got a lot of choices. More travel means you can drop bigger and run rock gardens faster, but the bike will be a lot heavier. (Most 6"+ bikes weigh 40 pounds or more.)

I like Horst link designs (Specialized, Turner, Iron Horse, Norco, Devinci) because a well-designed Horst link doesn't stiffen under braking ("brake jack") as much as single pivot designs. It's no good to have 7" in the back if it doesn't work when you drag the brake on downhills!

Here's how to tell if a 4-bar is a Horst link: if the rear pivot is above the chainstay, it's just a fancy single pivot design (Kona, Banshee, Giant, Ventana, many others). If below, it's a Horst link.

You're near the border so you can get Canadian bikes like Norco and Devinci. Norcos are heavy but well priced for what you get: Devincis are more expensive but lighter.

If you plan on riding hard you probably want coil shocks, not air shocks. If a coil shock blows, all that happens is you have no damping. If an air shock leaks or blows, odds are good you'll be walking.

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Originally posted by mtbakerskier
ok its offical my drunk ass has finally gotten hooked on mountian biking agian. I havent really ridden a bike for over ten years, but a few rides last week got me hooked again. I was heavily into riding back in highschool and I am sure im going to be just as into it this time around if not more into it so I need to get a bike. The problem is I dont have a clue what to get so im looking for some adive on what models / componets etc to get. I want to spend around $1000-1500 on a used bike this fall when i get my school grants. so waht should i be looking for?

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Cool. Now we got another excuse to make a trip back up to the North Shore this year and we could top it off with a trip into Vansterdam.

In that price range get a beefy hardtail. I ride a Cove Stiffee with a Sherman Slider up front and couldn't be happier with it. Here are some suggestions:

Kona Stuff or Roast
Banshee Scirocco
Rocky Mountain Flow
Cove Stiffee
Brodie Brute or Holeshot
Norco Torrent or Rampage

Just make sure you get a strong frame, hydro brakes, at least a 5 inch fork up front (Marz Z1, Manitou Sherman, Fox Vanilla) and decent rims (Mavic D521, D321, Sun Rhyno Lite, Doubletrack, Singletrack, Mag 30, Alex DX32, etc....) and you'll have a blast. For $1500 US you should be able to get a nice "shore style" hardtail, especially if you buy it in Canada. If you come to vancouver, check out the Cove Bike Shop. Great guys with great deals on Cove, Kona (largest Kona dealer in North America) and Rocky Mountain. Good luck.

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Originally posted by milkman
In that price range get a beefy hardtail. I ride a Cove Stiffee with a Sherman Slider up front and couldn't be happier with it.

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That sounds like a sick set up. another shore rider with a hardtail and dual crown:D are we related?

Ok, some good info so far thanks! Currently im ridding a intense tracker, its nice and light, but just doesnt have egnough travel for my taste. So i think im going to look for something that has atleast 5-6 inches front and back. Ill be mostly riding stuff that is northshore style and whistler, so hard tails are out. However i still want to beable to pedal up the local trails and not dry doing it so light wieght is a plus, Im not going to be doing anything super gnarly.

Klein

A little more of a XC focus but.....

Light with enough travel to get you into trouble! 4" front/rear. Disk etc. NO BOB on climbs. Me gusta mucho! My new ride this year. Anything you read about the Mavrick designed rear suspension is positive - this bike has it.

http://www.kleinbikes.com/assets/ass...le989_1717.jpg

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Originally posted by mtbakerskier
Ok, some good info so far thanks! Currently im ridding a intense tracker, its nice and light, but just doesnt have egnough travel for my taste. So i think im going to look for something that has atleast 5-6 inches front and back. Ill be mostly riding stuff that is northshore style and whistler, so hard tails are out. However i still want to beable to pedal up the local trails and not dry doing it so light wieght is a plus, Im not going to be doing anything super gnarly.

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There's lots of people ripping on the shore and whistler on hardtails. FYI Just so you dont count them out completely.

I love my devinci hucker, 1400cdn brand new with a good component set.

i'll second the motion for going up to Cove and checking them out. i bought a frame/headset/fork there and got a really good deal. their frame lineup is huge and fills just about any Shore niche you can think of. and like milkman said they carry a ton of Kona and RM. every bike you should be looking at, and none of the ones you shouldn't. also the USD vs CAD advantage always helps.

that said last time i was in supergo down in seattle, they had a 19" 2003 Giant AC1 on clearance for $1499.

I just want to second the hardtail vote. I ride a Cove stiffee with a fox fork (vanilla 125RL) on the front. Not a heavy duty rig, but I am super impressed with how tough the thing is and how well the forks have performed. I am 210lbs and am hitting 6-8 ft drops and neither the fork nor the frame have cried uncle. The new foxforx are arriving this year too.

I also can race XC a couple of times a year on it, I just switch the wheelset, stem, and add the triple instead of the bash and away we go.

Considering your price range and if you start to ride anything like you ski (from what I have read) you will want something strong.

Other rides you may want to consider if you are stuck on a dually:
Bullit (2nd hand)
Cove G-spot
Specialized bighit - (great deal for the parts)
Kona Stinky
Cannondale Gemini, I am not a Cdale fan but this is a good bike.

i have been really happy with my speacialized p-bike. they were a but cheaper when they first came up and I snagged one. i think burly hardtail is definately a great suggestion. at least that way you'll probably end up with good enough parts to switch over to a fs frame rather than a questionable fs frame with questionable parts.

...or you could stick with the title of the thread and get a Spooky...

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Originally posted by mtbakerskier
Ok, some good info so far thanks! Currently im ridding a intense tracker, its nice and light, but just doesnt have egnough travel for my taste. So i think im going to look for something that has atleast 5-6 inches front and back. Ill be mostly riding stuff that is northshore style and whistler, so hard tails are out. However i still want to beable to pedal up the local trails and not dry doing it so light wieght is a plus, Im not going to be doing anything super gnarly.

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In that case, look at a Kona Coiler (or Coiler deluxe if you can swing it), Kona Stinky (Sintky deluxe moves up to 7 inches travel)Cove G-Spot, Giant AC1 or AC2 or Rocky Mountain Switch
Remember, a beefy hardtail can sometimes be a lot more fun than a plush ride. They can take the drops and force you to pick good lines. You'll become a better rider fast.....Plus, you'll have less maintenance to worry about. In your price range, you can get a top of the line hardtail, but only a middle of the road squish...my 2 cents.