Mountian Bike
- Thread starter brut4s
- Start date
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Bike recommendations over the internet are tough. You might want to hit a variety of local shops to see what they have to offer, not only in terms of bikes, but expertise.
Much depends on where and how you want to ride as well as how much you have to throw at this purchase. Personally, I don't think I'd buy a full suspension bike if I had less than $1000 to spend. Sounds horrible, I know, but the more complex the bike, the more expensive it's going to be. A good offroad worthy hard tail can be picked up for $500-750. These are normal retail prices. If you're lucky, you can find closeouts from the '08 season as '09 bikes are being delivered now. Your size will make that tricky as not all shops will stock the biggie bikes. (footnote on pricing: I was at the big bike industry convention in Vegas last month and the word is, all bike pricing will be up 10-25% next year. That's a massive and unprecidented increase. Don't wait too long.)
As for brands, any brand found in most brick and mortar shops will do the trick. Avoid buying online if possible as that's tough for riders unsure of what they want exactly.
There's some savvy bike dudes on this forum so I'm sure any specific questions you have will be answered.
Much depends on where and how you want to ride as well as how much you have to throw at this purchase. Personally, I don't think I'd buy a full suspension bike if I had less than $1000 to spend. Sounds horrible, I know, but the more complex the bike, the more expensive it's going to be. A good offroad worthy hard tail can be picked up for $500-750. These are normal retail prices. If you're lucky, you can find closeouts from the '08 season as '09 bikes are being delivered now. Your size will make that tricky as not all shops will stock the biggie bikes. (footnote on pricing: I was at the big bike industry convention in Vegas last month and the word is, all bike pricing will be up 10-25% next year. That's a massive and unprecidented increase. Don't wait too long.)
As for brands, any brand found in most brick and mortar shops will do the trick. Avoid buying online if possible as that's tough for riders unsure of what they want exactly.
There's some savvy bike dudes on this forum so I'm sure any specific questions you have will be answered.
Speaker
Adventurer
If you want to ride both trail AND downhill you're going to need sort of a compromise between the two (all mountain bike), or get two bikes.
A few all mountain bikes come to mind.
Kona Coiler and Coilair - cheaper ones can be had from years past
Iron Horse 6 point 6
Iron Horse Sachem (6.0, 5.0)
Turner RFX.
Hard tails are easier to spec, but not a great downhill bike. There are a few kids up here that run 8" tripple crown forks on hardtails up here, but it makes the geometry all wacko.
Kona Hoss Deluxe would be a good bike for a guy your size.
Specialized P.2 or P.All Mountain
A few all mountain bikes come to mind.
Kona Coiler and Coilair - cheaper ones can be had from years past
Iron Horse 6 point 6
Iron Horse Sachem (6.0, 5.0)
Turner RFX.
Hard tails are easier to spec, but not a great downhill bike. There are a few kids up here that run 8" tripple crown forks on hardtails up here, but it makes the geometry all wacko.
Kona Hoss Deluxe would be a good bike for a guy your size.
Specialized P.2 or P.All Mountain
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Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
You might want to qualify what you invision as "downhill." If you're talking full face helmet, knee pads, huge air, big speed, Mountain Dew kind of downhill, you'll need a full sus rig and at least $1500-$2000 in your pocket. If you're just talking about your garden variety singletrack downhill for the sheer grins of it, that can be done with a hard tail.brut4s said:
dieselcruiserhead
16 Years on ExPo. Whoa!!
Do you have a budget? I started again with hardtails in the last couple of years and they are awesome. You can do almost everything with hardtails, just at times it can bounce you around a little... Full suspension is nice but adds up and is sometimes with it, sometimes not. A good 4" travel bike is usually a good universal bike, 5" leans a little all mountain but some 5" bikes are engineered to climb well (depends on make/model), 6" is tolerable uphill sometimes but is not much of a climber... 29er is also awesome particularly for taller guys, the bikes fit much better (in the bike instead of on top of it). I'm 6'5 and have all three sizes and pretty much never ride 26" wheels any more.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
Any clydesdale is going to have to be selective with wheels. I think a 29er hoop is no different. I'd certainly suggest the original poster take that into consideration when chosing their new bike. Beefed up wheels are probably in order under someone of his size.Speaker said:
dieselcruiserhead
16 Years on ExPo. Whoa!!
I am definitely a clyde at 6'5 and (now down to ::wings: ) 225 from 238... I had no issues with a well built 29er wheelset including doing the 'usual' which is stuff along these lines. A decent wheelset (and they add up) and you are fine. But I also had a cheapo Gary Fisher wheelset earlier this year and it held up fine too. Probably not a lot of real long term durability but no annoying or even noticeable flex at all..
mightymike
Adventurer
For what it is worth, I bought a 29" hardtail last spring after having a very old hardtail Cannondale 26" bike for a few years. I really liked the 29" bike, but it may have been just that everything was new compared to the old bike. Then I made the mistake of trying a full-suspension bike -and started cruising E Bay. I bought a used 29" Gary Fisher Supercaliber frame and built an awesome bike for much cheaper that I could have purchased already built.
I'm 42 years old and don't do the big drops or jumps, rode Du Pont State Forest here in NC, one of the premier MTB spots on the east coast and the bike was a blast. I have a friend who is looking and saving for a new bike-I told him save a little longer to get a full suspension bike. It made me much faster (maybe not a good idea-separated my right shoulder in June!) and made the ride much more enjoyable.
I'm 42 years old and don't do the big drops or jumps, rode Du Pont State Forest here in NC, one of the premier MTB spots on the east coast and the bike was a blast. I have a friend who is looking and saving for a new bike-I told him save a little longer to get a full suspension bike. It made me much faster (maybe not a good idea-separated my right shoulder in June!) and made the ride much more enjoyable.
brut-dont be afraid. You and I are of similar size and I have a Cannondale Prophet, full suspension bike. A GOOD shop can tune the shocks for your weight, and also sell you the right bike with the right size suspension for your bulk. I havent blown mine up yet. It is a "tall" bike, much higher than my old Gary Fisher hardtail, but the full suspension makes a big different for old folks! You do take less of a beating, but you do work somewhat harder on hills if the shocks arent tuned right. Ride one and give it a try.
29er
Observer
Exactly how "old and out of shape" do you consider yourself, brut4s? Most of the guys I ride with are approaching 40 with a few of them in their 50s and 60s. A dozen of us in town ride rigid single speeds, so one person's "old" isn't necessarily the next person's.
In the end, you're going to have to ride a bunch of different bikes and choose what's right for YOU, which you can do better than anybody. Most of us don't get it right the first time, either, so you can probably expect to buy a bike you believe will be perfect, only to sell it and buy another a year down the road.
I've known people to make the move like Mike did, from hardtail to FS and found it much more comfortable... but I've known just as many to go from years of FS riding to a hardtail and found THAT very comfortable and more fitting to their riding style. Me, for one. Flounder, same thing.
The one thing I will say... it's my opinion that anyone buying a new bike should get one with 29" wheels. For anyone who isn't (a) doing hardcore downhill or freeride on a 6" travel bike, or (b) isn't under 5'5", the advantages of 29" wheels are many, the disadvantages non-existent IMO.
Greg
In the end, you're going to have to ride a bunch of different bikes and choose what's right for YOU, which you can do better than anybody. Most of us don't get it right the first time, either, so you can probably expect to buy a bike you believe will be perfect, only to sell it and buy another a year down the road.
I've known people to make the move like Mike did, from hardtail to FS and found it much more comfortable... but I've known just as many to go from years of FS riding to a hardtail and found THAT very comfortable and more fitting to their riding style. Me, for one. Flounder, same thing.
The one thing I will say... it's my opinion that anyone buying a new bike should get one with 29" wheels. For anyone who isn't (a) doing hardcore downhill or freeride on a 6" travel bike, or (b) isn't under 5'5", the advantages of 29" wheels are many, the disadvantages non-existent IMO.
Greg