Mountain Bike - Hard tail

What is a decent starter bike to look at. Would be mainly used on pavement bike trail and some on dirt trails if I can get some more guys to go. I know nothing about mtb bikes so all this is totaly new to me. What do I wanna look for, stay away from, and all that stuff? Thanks

 

I've been considering the same thing. I've got a FS 26 but have been thinking about getting a hard tail 29er. Fortunately we have a lot of bike demos at the trails near me so I'm hoping I'll get to test one out soon and decide if I want to go to a hard tail I've only rode FS bikes. I'm also not sure if I want to go to single speed kind of tired of dealing with the issues I get on my FS with chain pop and always having to adjust the derailleurs

 

I've had that issue too with the derailleurs. I like the demo idea. I'm going to look into that as well.

 

It's a constant fight with mine. Last time I was getting bad pop I said screw it and showed up at the bike shop after a 10 mile ride and looked like an idiot. Seeing how one of my crank bolts had come completely out and another one was lose as hell. lol Also found out the chain was about 75% gone and the Cassette needs replaced when the chain goes.

We have Pedalpalooza in May 5. Last year most of the big bike manufactures were there demoing so hopefully I can wait till then.

 

i never have any issues with my derailleurs. just good ole XT stuff.

if you have a niner dealer nearby, i believe they have a good demo program where you can pay $50 or so, and have a pretty extended demo. don't know the details, overheard someone talking about it. 29'ers are turds for me, so i didnt care.

 

front derailleur is the Shimano Alivio and my rear derailleur is the SRAM X.5. It's not that they don't work it's that they just need adjusted every now and then.

Why do you say 29er's are turds?

 

i said it with a smilie.

they're just not as much fun as a good 26. i like tight, technical stuff, and they don't work as well for me. they do take a little fun out of the trail, and probably are faster overall for most every rider. i won't deny that.

 

The 26's are nice on the bigger climbs. That's where I often pass 29's ..

 

A friend loaned me his Gary Fisher 29 hard tail cobia. It was fun to ride. I matched my time on the course I've been running. It seems to climb short hils better. If you start your turn in a little earlier, it wirks fine in tight stuff. It sucked on the fast rooty downhills.

I'm spoiled by my suspension. I was looking at hardtails today whiel I was over there checking on my bike.

 

A budget figure would be a good start. you can go from $1500 to $6000+.

Questions you should ask yourself: Carbon, Ti, Aluminium or steel? Are you going to race it or just go have fun and get some cardio? How long is your average ride? Lots of climbing or not?

Are you thinking 2x10, 3x10 or single speed?

Now I'm really going to toss a knot in the rope. The Jamis 650b bikes are some of the best I have ever ridden. If I had a Jamis dealer locally I'd buy one, but I don't want to own a brand with no local support.

 

No noticable difference for me climbing although the 26er and 29er require a bit of different riding style to play the specific strengths of each.

 

i'm gonna go w/ anything 650b is good

monte , ever ride any of the ventanas? maybe the 650b bastardo or 69er chuco?

 

What are you really getting when you buy these $1500-$6k bikes? What do the better components really do for you?

Derailleurs: More expensive = Just tougher, or is there a feel/consistency upgrade?
Fork: for non-dirt jumping stuff, is there a major traction increase, or feel?
Brakes: Compared to v-brakes, I love my cable disks. I can modulate greatly, and stop fast on dirt. On pavement, I could use more force. Would hydraulic gain that force, while maintaining feel?
Frame: What's the deal with you guys saying you like the feel of steel? I've never tried it. Why are some frames worth so much more? I'm not too concerned about snapping my frame, though I'm sure it's possible. Since there's a 25 year warranty, then I'll just take the replacement frame.
Overall: Are you just paying for lightness? Aren't most of us just recreational riders? I just don't get paying that kind of money to have a 5lb lighter bike. I completely understand paying for durability. No sense getting 15 miles from your truck with a non-trailside fixable bike.

My background: I ride a 2005 KHS Alite 1000 that I bought new. The only thing I've changed on was replacing the front fork with an equally cheap Dart 2, after destroying the original fork in a head on collision. It seems like every day I find more people getting into mountain biking, so I'm riding more than ever and love it. I don't really feel the need to upgrade my bike to keep up with anybody, but if spending some coin will help me have more fun, I'd consider it.

The best upgrade I've bought is Heather's first bike. Pretty cool to have her come out to the trails with me.

 

So it's rider ability you're saying? Even better!

 

I don't know yet .. All I know for sure is I want a hard tail and not a full suspension bike at this point ...

 

yes, most of us are recreational riders. but think if you first went out to your first trackday on a Seca II. It would have been fun, but not near as damn fun as a new supersport R6.

 

I can say for sure better forks make a difference. I've been playing with the negative air pressure on mine and it has made the little bumps almost disappear. Way more confidence inspiring.

 

I could see that.

Right now I only have 1 major issue with confidence. A few years back, I tried to roll through a dip in the trail, and it was so bad it just stopped my front wheel, sending me over the handlebars headfirst into the hill in front of me. My helmet took the brunt of it, but it still took me a few minutes to be able to walk straight after that one. Since then, I'm a pansy in similar situations.

 

I have a rocky creek crossing at the bottom of two big hills, big I.have to do. It's a little scetchy. I loft the front when I get it. One time I did that and popped the rear. That was fun

I highsided once. Pedaling while turning doesn't work all the time. Landed right on my face the day before family pictures.

 

I just started mountain biking this spring. My good friend has a Trek Hifi FS and a Gary Fisher x-cal HT. I did quite a few rides on his x-cal this spring (just did poto in pickney, mi... good times).

He pointed me towards bikesdirect, and I just bought a HT with a lot of really nice components for a decent price. I've done one ride on it so far... i like it.

My bike is a 26er, and his two bikes are 29ers, so I'm getting used to that. He has Avid Elixer CR's on both of his bikes, and mine has BB5's... didn't really notice that much of a difference. His GF HT has a Reba on it, and my bike has a Dart 2... that's the biggest deficiency so far... I'm looking for an air shock upgrade this summer at some point.