Bike recommendation.

[Desolation]

Looking for advice, direction for a new ride.
Current 'sometimes' ride is a ridged 26 nothing special "MTB" I've done all I can do getting it to fit me and I it. I still love the frame set, there is just nothing like steel! I will be keeping it as I can easily get another 20-years out of it.
However physically I need more compliance, as in suspension.
I live on a gravel road that leads to volcanoes east, west, north, and south. I do little technical riding and I love speeding down the Butte I just climbed. So, general recreational use. I'll probably put a rack on it so I can carry a bottle of wine for lunch and of course my fishing gear, on occasion.
I an still holding 6'6" and I will be down to 250 pounds by July (I hope).
For (this damn) economy reasons I have a budget, I also have no problem building this conveyance, as there was a time 30-years ago I did so for my living.

I want full suspension on a steel frame set, good brakes(disk), middle of the road components(note~Gears, not a single), Alloy bars, I do not need big travel in the suspension just some, and I am thinking that a 29 might be a good choice both for the ride and traversing sand.

What/who/where should I look at?
What kind of coin am I looking at?

And Thank You in Advance.

 

[EuroJoe]

try

http://bikesdirect.com/products/mountain_bikes.htm

http://www.rscycle.com/Home-Banners...af4ff6526a983936.e3eTaxiNaN0Te34Pa38Ta38Lc3j0

here are a couple of places that sell at discount, i have only had experience with bikes direct for road/track bikes, they seem fair, depending on your budget

ordered an iron horse from rscycle a few years ago, and were great to work with.

look at a yr or so old model to save big bucks, and be aware that a rear full sus rack can be pricey/nonexistent/low weight capacity


happy shopping

 

[Christophe Noel]

You won't find steel in a full suspension bike, or you shouldn't anyway. Steel is usually reserved for hard tails (which I have and love) and full suspension is most often aluminum. The reasons are simple enough. People lean towards steel for the lively ride and those subtleties are not felt under the spring and boing of a full suspension. Aluminum is just solid, relatively inexpensive which offsets some of the expense of full suspension components, and is easily shaped these days. So, if full suspension is what you seek, aluminum will be your material, and disc brakes will likely be your only option anyway as nearly no full sussy will have brake bosses.

With regard to where to find this rig...be very skeptical of Bikes Direct. The quality of those bikes isn't what it appears. They're priced right, meaning you don't get more of a value than you would at a local bike shop. In fact, you might get a better value at a local shop. BD bikes are spec'ed with some pretty basic parts that in some cases border on really crummy.

If your budget is really the big X factor here, you might even skip the full suspension system. Full suspension is not a comfort thing. It's a performance thing for guys who like a particular type of riding, so don't discount the comfort of a hardtail. It will certainly be cheaper; as much as $500 cheaper.

 

[trailsurfer]

For big guys the bikes I would look for would be in this order. A Niner RIP 29er (2009 or newer), a Titus Racer X 29er (probably find a good deal on a used one), or a Specialized Epic 29er. I am not crazy about the larger sized frames for the Stumpjumper 29er.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Being 6'6 I would definitely look at a 29er.. You might want to test ride one though. Unfortunately 29er full suspensions are mostly tanks but there are some really innovative ones out there. At 6'6 you will be on a XXL most likely or can find a big XL (I'm also tall and ride a big XL). XL traditionally fits 6'1/2ish to about 6'4/5 or so...

Gary Fisher makes great 29ers...

Otherwise just a big 26er ful suspension.

Christoph's comments about aluminum in full suspension are 100% correct, it doesn't matter or steel is possibly worse in a full suspension app because of its yields.. The flex in the aluminum provides the squishiness so yield isn't important.

I ride a 650b which is a weird rare inbetween size from 26 and 29er that rolls like a 29 but pedals like a 26. Most importantly is its a little more manuveralbe than the big full suspensions 29ers that are absolutely massive bikes and sometimes hard to get around but has a lot of the benefits. Two years later if I could get any bike at any budget I would get the same one again (it is a $4500 bike though)..

But don't get me wrong a lot of the 29er full suspensions are really nice. Shorter chainstays like Lenz bikes all go a long way. But the frame alone starts at over $1500 and you're looking at $3500 bare min built...

Used or lightly used also goes a long long way for cheaper bike prices as well. MTBR classifieds are a good source.... And Craigslist of course. ..

If you end up on 26er look for one with as long chainstays as possible. This will help you keep the front wheel down. This is why 29ers are so stable.

There are three real categories of XC full suspension bikes, 3" Race (try to avoid), 4" general all around, and 5" that teeter on the brink of All Mountain (what I ride) that are good agressive bikes that can ride most technical desents. And then the rare 6" that very few people ride as a full cross country bike and is All Mountain but some people do build and ride them as good XC bikes. The bikes that are 5.5" etc are based of 5" design, just pushed a little father like the Santa Cruz Blur LT ("long travel").
Weight also goes a long way. Under 30 lbs is awesome more or less... 32 is a good descent weight but about the max you want. You also want something built strong because with the weight of the bike and gear you'll be close to 300lbs...

I hope all this helps.

 

[Desolation]

Thanks everyone I at least have some basic info to start with.
It is funny, I had not given a thought to the materials application with regard to the suspension. When I bought the frame I have now Aluminum was supposed to be THE thing... It was dead, lifeless. Hence my CrMo love.
Aluminmum, hmmm perhaps I should just light up the shop and build from scratch!

Ok, so it looks like I will be sticking with a hard-tail, because I have sticker shock on prices:Wow1: Since I now apparently have time because I will not finance a Bicycle and so I'll be saving my, well, beer money I guess.
Might as well learn so then the next questions are bang for the buck, what to look for:
Fork?
Wheels/rims?
Drive/brakes?

I should say/admit that the bike I have now I spec'd the entry level Shimano stuff at least a decade ago, figuring that I would destroy it and upgrade... it is all there, just give it TLC and it keeps on going though I have snapped chains on more then one occasion.

Thanks Again! :beer: <--<<< that's all I can afford to offer for a while!

 

[Christophe Noel]

Desolation,
You might just shop for a complete bike and not go the route of a build-out. Buying complete is often far cheaper. You can assemble your own bike on the cheap, but instead of looking for a deal on one bike, you have to look for deals on the frame, the fork, the wheels, etc. One non-deal and the savings are blown.

The going rate for a trail-worthy hard tail in my opinion is nearing $900-$1100. 2009 was a not so great year for bicycles as the industry as a whole took a 20% hit across the board with cost of goods. Long story short, entry level went from $700 to $900 overnight.

For a big dude, shopping used is tough as so few bikes exist in those sizes. Shopping end of season closeouts is tough for just those reasons. I think you might be headed for full retail, which sucks, but if you buy right this bike should last you another 20 years.

 

[mcgovski]

You said you are riding gravel roads....I would nix full suspension, ( i would nix all suspension personally), just for fun, check out the Salsa Fargo 29. that bike was built for what your talking about and then some. Salsa's are fairly priced too
have fun whatever you ride!

Chris

 

[Christophe Noel]

You said you are riding gravel roads....I would nix full suspension, ( i would nix all suspension personally), just for fun, check out the Salsa Fargo 29. that bike was built for what your talking about and then some. Salsa's are fairly priced too
have fun whatever you ride!

Chris

I love the Fargo. That bike looks like a blast. I might have to pick one up for my commuter now that you mention it.

 

[EuroJoe]

I ride a redline monocog SS29er, all steel and great fun, can also have gears added and a sus fork if i decide, the fargo does look like a great touring bike, just be aware that it isnt suspension adjusted, meaning if you decide to put a sus fork it will mess up the geometry.

at 250lbs i would steer towards 26" wheels as they can be built quite strong for less but it depends how hard you are on it, bombing fire roads a fully rigid would be fine, through baby head rock gardens a rigid is a lot slower (vs an all mountain) but do able.

Also try find a good bike shop, they might be able to help you out but you will pay more than online usually, also (i dont know where you are located) but Chicago has a could of great bike co-operatives, who for a donation will show you how to build/maintain, valuable stuff if you are on a budget.

 

[Desolation]

Desolation,
You might just shop for a complete bike and not go the route of a build-out. Buying complete is often far cheaper. You can assemble your own bike on the cheap, but instead of looking for a deal on one bike, you have to look for deals on the frame, the fork, the wheels, etc. One non-deal and the savings are blown.

The going rate for a trail-worthy hard tail in my opinion is nearing $900-$1100. 2009 was a not so great year for bicycles as the industry as a whole took a 20% hit across the board with cost of goods. Long story short, entry level went from $700 to $900 overnight.

For a big dude, shopping used is tough as so few bikes exist in those sizes. Shopping end of season closeouts is tough for just those reasons. I think you might be headed for full retail, which sucks, but if you buy right this bike should last you another 20 years.

Bike complete or DIY ether way though I may be able to do better overall deal wise just buying and it will be to deal that finally narrows the choice, which I do local.
Yes, I noted that the entry level is now out of reach of a huge segment of "entry level people" at least until the economy picks up in a year or two. I would like to pull the trigger but having stopped drinking for both health and economic reasons I no longer have a Beer fund to raid which is making putting togeather a new ride a little tricky. I'll get there!
I do appreciate all the input it is narrowing the field.

D

 

[Corey]

A lot of shops will deal too to get bikes off the floor.
I picked up my 2009 Rockhopper Pro last July for $1,050.
Going price was around $1,350 on it, but I bought a lot of other stuff from them too such as a Thule T2 rack, good rack for traveling offroad.

This is my second mountain bike, first was an aluminum no suspension Raleigh I bought brand new in '88.
I will look at 29er full suspensions later this year.
I tend to like the Specialized brand.

 

[Christophe Noel]

A lot of shops will deal too to get bikes off the floor.
.

Having spent many years in bicycle retail, be careful how you negotiate that deal process. Many shops are very sensitive to bargain hounds who regularly flog sales guys for the lowest deal.

My recommendation is to just disclose your budget up front. If the shop wants to deal, they'll deal. Asking for the deal doesn't always work and can backfire.

 

[Corey]

Having spent many years in bicycle retail, be careful how you negotiate that deal process. Many shops are very sensitive to bargain hounds who regularly flog sales guys for the lowest deal.

My recommendation is to just disclose your budget up front. If the shop wants to deal, they'll deal. Asking for the deal doesn't always work and can backfire.

I never asked for a good deal on mine, but I did ask if they have a deal with Boeing employees, and they said many a local Boeing employee has spent $$$ with them, so they gave me a pretty good deal.

To this day even when I go in for small things such as magazines, they knock off a percentage.

I spent around $1,800 that day, and then came back and dropped another $500 on a stand, shoes, shirts, ect a week later.
They were pretty happy with the business as the economy was still sucking last summer.

 

[Desolation]

I've looked.
We have talked.
If I want to ride this year, I can not afford even an "entry level" bike they are simply not financially viable for now.
So turn this around, I would like a 29 hard tail, geared in steel under $900 ready to ride, I can build it or buy it. I have a wonderful ridged 26 and IF I could find a Susp. fork I would do it even though it would likely mess up the geometry, as a stop gap for this blasted economy.
Opinions of the sub $1000-class?

Thank's again! I have learned a bunch!:beer: