Kona Fire Mountain 45% off, opinions needed.

[Buddha.]

Fire Mountain

The Fire Mountain is running a smooth-shifting 9-speed drivetrain to keep things manageable across varying terrain and hydraulic disc brakes to stop on a dime. With 100mm of adjustable suspension and sturdy tires aboard wider 27mm rims. Available for smaller riders in a 26” wheel XS version and...

www.konaworld.com

 

[Buddha.]

I’m still riding a ‘90s rigid mtb. I’m in my 40’s now and am looking for something with a bit smoother ride for mild to moderate stuff. No 5’ drops, probably.

This is about $600 after shipping. Seems to be about 2-300$ cheaper than comparable bikes available at local bike shops.

Good bike for 600$? Any experience buying directly from manufacturers?

 

[Ozarker]

Well, it's no Benotto!

Do some research, check out Ebay, for the kind of money you can find some "professional" racing bikes that are ideal for touring, including mtb.

Wanna get down and dirty, buy a frame, build the wheels, adapt your gear clusters, crank, pedals, brakes and derailers.

Just a thought.

 

[Buddha.]

*cough

 

[rruff]

It's practically free... hard to go too far wrong I think...

I bought a Kona Unit fully rigid frame and build it up with 29x3" tires on i40 rims. I was considering a fatbike for sand washes, but I hate high Q factors. 29x3 works well enough in sand so far (more resistance is ok), but man... on a recent trip to SW AZ the SxS trails (ie dirt roads) were kinda killing me. The SxS "moguls" are annoying and no suspension will fix that, but the varying sizes of loose rock over dirt, punctuated by various sizes of embedded rock really wore me down. I lowered pressure in the tires as much as I dared, but it wasn't enough. A 25 mile ride just beat the crap out of me. Some cush on the rear would have been more vital than the front. I started looking for suspension seatposts and suspension stems, and then full sus bikes...

Then I went for an excursion a little farther north and the road quality was much more pleasant. Smoother dirt roads. I decided I just need to camp in the right spots...

Anyway, for the money go for it! Konas are fine IMO.

 

[RCP]

This is just my 2 cents, but I would not be in the market for a bike at that price point. I have had a few bikes in that range, and in my personal experience they tend to break at a higher rate. In the end the hassle and cost to fix it wasn't worth it to me any longer. In the end I upgraded to a more expensive quality bike and I couldn't ever go back. You don't have to break the bank, and I understand everyone's budget is different, but if you can find a bike that has an MSRP $2k plus on sale or used, you may find it is worth it in the long run. I also recommend a full suspension bike, they are so much more comfortable, they aren't just for 5' drops. Mountain bikes can definitely spiral out of control price wise haha my wife and I are up to six in the garage right now, and it wasn't until we rode a nicer bike that we saw what we were missing and the money became worth it at that point for us. Again, everyone's budget is different and so are your riding needs, but I will always recommend looking into a nice full suspension bike (carbon or aluminum frame).

Current bikes:

2020 Orbea Occam with several upgraded components
2020 Juliana Joplin mostly factory
2022 Juliana Furtado mostly factory
2023 Santa-Cruz Megatower stock for now

Last two are fat bikes for riding in the snow.

2016 Trek Farley 5 basically only the frame is stock
2020/2021 Something I can't remember but its purple for the wife haha but she is currently looking to upgrade that one at the moment.

Most bike shops will allow you to demo their bikes, and if you can buy a used demo bike they are usually at a huge discount as well.

I am not sure if my rambling will help at all haha but regardless of what you get my biggest regret is not getting into biking sooner, I am 40 now and have only been doing it for a few years.

 

[rruff]

I would not be in the market for a bike at that price point.

The suspension forks are junk (wish they'd just put rigid ones on them), but the bikes in this range aren't too bad usually for casual riding.

I'd also consider this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-29-Axum-Mens-Mountain-Bike-19-in-Frame-8-Speeds-Black/288838682

For the money it's a good value, and most Walmarts carry them, or at least they used to. I actually considered getting one instead of the Unit, but I would have had to replace many things, so figured I'd start from scratch.

There are a buzzilion reviews of the Axum on youtube for many alternative opinions.

I don't think test riding a bike is important, as everything depends on how the bike is set up. Unless you get an employee to hang out with you for a couple hours and adjust the saddle, bars, stem, tire pressures, etc... you won't learn anything. This is something you'll need to tweak over time to your tastes.

 

[Hnoroian]

Not a horrible price for what it is but check around locally too, summer deals are around the corner. If $600 delivered is your budget it won’t be horrible. Entry level components, brakes are better than the 30yr old rim brakes. If you can spare or save a few more bucks it would be worth it a bit more for riding it in another 30years.

 

[Buddha.]

I considered going cheaper, and more expensive. Well the old bike is almost thirty years old, and I like it. Recent outings in the last week remind me the rim brakes that are susceptible to getting caked with mud and snow, and the shifting isn't great. The derailer probably needs adjusted but constantly switching between chainrings and trying to keep it from getting cross chained is always something to keep in mind. Of course this isn't a problem with a modern 1x drivetrain and I hope the disc brakes are better in the wet stuff.

Anyway I bought the Kona. Bought it direct so it came disassembled. Just had to put the wheels, bars, and pedals on. The suspension fork is new to me. This one is a cheap spring fork but it has lockout and rebound adjustment, so it could be worse.

I took it around the block before the rain came in. The only thing that seems odd is there’s no dial to indicate what gear I’m in.
The brakes and shifting seem great. I did a little “obstacle course” in the yard, followed by the old Gary Fisher. The old bike seems a lot less smooth and more likely to lift the front tire on the slow steep stuff. I think I’ll have fun with this new one for a while.

 

[rruff]

Let us know how you like it!

 

[Hnoroian]

Congrats on the new ride.

 

[Buddha.]

I took it on easy trails at first. I was surprised that I noticed the smoother ride even on paved bike paths. I loaded it up in my 2500hd truck and drove home. I thought to myself, has my truck always road this rough? I was already spoiled by the smoother ride on the bike.

I then found a mtn bike trail near me. No drops really but lots of elevation change, rocks, and roots. The bike did great, I did not. I've only been riding on flat stuff the last couple years. I thought it was enough to keep my legs strong. As soon as I hit the constantly climbing trails I new it was gonna be rough. I biffed it once, a sharp turn on softer than expected sand.

The bike needed a slight cable adjustment and pedal re tightening but its doing great again.