Mountain Bike - Hard tail

That makes sense. The 2 x 10 setup does sound good. Especially if it allows for the use of a bash guard. The bash guards are really nice for clearing obstacles.

The descents where I ride are all pretty twisty, and its mainly descending or climbing, not too much flat, so I really have no use for the big ring.

 

+1 on the Trance,

It won't beat you up like a hardtail if this is important to you... Check out Sette from pricepoint as well, nice deals on a nice bike...

http://www.pricepoint.com/thumb/277---stylename-0-1-19-000000000M.htm

 

i like my 2x9 , 24/36 w/11-34 cassette setup for the rocky , rooty , eastern pa trails i ride .

the common 22/32/42 setups required too much front derailuer use while being all up and down the cassette at the same time . for me at least and i was never ever in 1st or high gear

bash guards a plus w/ the 2x9/10.

i am also using 650b's on my bikes most of the time, so the gearing acts more like 25/37 . tried 29/40 but that was way off for my needs , esp w/ 650b's

650b conversions on 3 26" bikes is the best thing i have done . all 5-6" full sus am/fr bikes .

near 29er speed and still nimble/quick .

did another conversion on a 4" xc bike but the bottom bracket got way to high so now i use it as 26" again or 650bfront/26rear depending on where i'm going .

have a lg jamis 650b1 that i cannibalized as it was just a touch too big for me , fun bike though. just wanted to keep the boys in good shape

650 world is blowin up this year , prob gonna be 20-25 bikes & by the end of this year there should be 10-15 650b tires out there , the 5-6 that are out there now are very good at what they do .

 

www.bikesdirect.com has some pretty sweet deals btw

 

Has anyone ridden the 2009 and 2010..Specialized FSR comp. Particularly, was the new suspension set up much better?

Found a good deal on a 2009 with lots of aftermarket parts.

 

I think my next "new" mt will be a Jamis 650.

 

I have a 2010 Specialized XC Pro that says FSR on the swingarm. I like it a lot. Good suspension, and it works well for me, or it did. I broke the swingarm last week. Not sure why, but i had to walk it out for about 5 miles.

 

Specialized should take care of the swingarm.

 

I hope so. It seems there's some debate since it was a demo bike. The shop is going to try to get it done for me though.

We'll see.

 

That's not cool. I have the same bike.

 

specialized

their custom service is very good, you shouldn't have an issue

 

Go look for my facebook page, you can see a pic of it.

I don't think it's a normal thing. More of a fluke than anything. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

New hardtail....

Just built up one of these. Its Reynolds steel and kind of a parts bin special...I went 3x9 becasue I had some lightly used XT stuff, a 100mm Fox RLC Fit fork, a set of Crank Bros Cobalt wheels and some Bat Louise magura brakes. It was all stuff I had laying around. Cleaned out my "crap" drawer and got a new bike.

 

I'm thinking of buying a cheap 29 hardtail as my back up bike and the bike for my kid to use if he wants to go. They have a Haro 29 hardtail with hyd brakes for $599. That's seems pretty strong for that price point.

 

Felt has a great bike around that same price point with mechanical brakes. Don't be afraid of mechanical brakes, I'd rather have good mechanical disk brakes than some entry level hyd brake of questionable quality.

 

I'll look into it. I think my local place will give me a little better deal on that other also. I need to check out the forks and see if they are worth riding.

 

Nice!

 

I went from a Giant anthem 2 XC 26inch wheeled dual suspension to a Steel frame Kona 29er single speed and never looked back

hardtails 29ers ROLL man





it weighs 25.5 lbs--not bad for steel--and steel rides nice!

 

I'm tossing the idea around of selling my Jamis full suspension and getting a 29'er hardtail. Thoughts, recommendations, brands to look at?

I do lots of trail riding and single trails. The technical and fast single trail stuff is my favorite and even through that, I find myself having the suspension on the Jamis fully locked out. Been riding with a couple guys who race with 29ers and I'm starting to see the advantages ..

 

the giant talon 29'er hardtail is supposed to be the best bang for the buck in that segment. i'd check it out too. it looks like a lot of bike for the money.