Looking for a mountain bike?

Question

Here's my situation, I'm 16 and I'm looking into buying a new bike. My last bike was a full suspension bike but wasn't a "real" mountain bike. I bent the first gear trying to actually climb a hill so I'm guessing a real mountain bike might help me do what I really want to do. I'd like to keep the price around 500$ or lower. Any suggestions on what brand or things to look for when buying one will help.

Answer 1

u can climb a hill with a normal bike

depends on you

:P

:P

Answer 2

Since you didn't mention the type of riding you do or the type of terrain you ride on here goes.
1) Stay away from box store bikes. Cheap parts, heavy bikes, and you will spend more time working on it than riding it.
2) You can get an entry level hard tail from any bike store in the $500 range, add $200 more for an entry level full Suspension.
3) Ask your local bike store if they have any last year models, most dealers have a list of bikes for sale thru their dealer network. (I got one for a friend at 50% off sticker)
4) At $500 your choices will be limited, if you wait and save enough to get to the $1000 price level your available choices are a lot larger.
5) Don't buy the first bike you find at the price you can afford.
Assemble a list of bikes in your price range and get the one with the best spec's and from a dealer you trust.

Answer 3

Truly, full suspension bikes are only good for downhill unless you can lock the rear suspension for your uphill grinds. If not you loose a lot of tork into the suspension.

Today, most bikes at certain price ranges are the same. What you really pay for a re the components. Usually lighter components are more expensive and in some cases less rugged so you need to find your balance.

Another important thing is what type of riding you will be doing (competitive, recreational, downhill, etc) since that will determine what type you will get. if you are not competing, then I am sure you can find several bikes for under $500. At the end of the day, its not the bike that will get you somewhere but rather your legs!!!

Answer 4

I agree with many of the other posts. For $500 dollars or less you are looking at a good quality hardtail mountain bike, and Trek, Specialized, and Kona all have models in that price range. You may also want to consider KHS which makes quality bikes and an affordable price range, you can even get decent entry level dual suspensions for under $500. Good luck!

Answer 5

Your logic is spot on. Firstly, Don't buy from Wallmart, Tesco, etc.

Next, to climb hills in different terain you need lots of gears, at least 21 (Although I would go fo4 24 since you do not need to replace the entire rear wheel to upgrade). However, buy branded components Shimano or SRAM.

Once you have made sure of that, look at the frame. You want Alluminium. This price bracket may still get you steel and if you are OK with the weight you get a reasonable ride because the frame is more rigid. However, get decent ali, something like 6061, 7005, A1 (Specialized) or M4 (Mongoose, damn good). This is important. Buy the best frame that you can. Components wear out, but the frame is the heart of the bike. Many bikes will use a square to round tubing. This is good as it increases surface area, therefore strength, for welding. However, if you see anything with hydroformed or heat treated, get interested.

Next is the shock. For this price bracket your looking at either Suntour or RST. They are OK for what they do. Typically, look for about 80 - 100mm of travel and, if possible, pre-load. However, the fork is the next most important consideration after the frame, so if you can get a Rockshock, Mazzoki, etc. Consider it as it will make a great difference to your riding.

For the chainset, again I would look at branded, like Truvative or Shimano. Finally, check out the finishing kit, things like peddles, wheels, tryes, bars etc. See if they are good, or have skimped on.

Final word of advice before giving you sugested models to look at. Don't buy full susser at this price range. Do not buy discs at this price range. For full suss you need to spend at least £700 ($1400) on a bike before it is worth doing. Disc brakes can be expensive, which means that money is not being spent somewhere else on the bike. However, do get a frame/forks that have the attachments for disc callipers and, if possible, disc ready hubs.

Sugested models:

Giant Rock SE
Anything TREK (Very forgiving bikes to learn to ride trails on)
Specilaized, Rockhopper (I think thats the model).

Anything GT (A bit heavy on the frame, but very strong).

Cape Wrath (Good quality kit for the price).

Have a look at this site:

www.evanscycles.co.uk

Don't necessarily buy from there, but it does rate the bikes according to level. Also, go to your local bike shop. Discuss what you want. Sit on a few. Get test rides if possible

Luck

Answer 6

Hi there, I Have a Trek 6000 which is a great bike!! At $659.00 maybe a little more than you can spend at this time, but not all is lost. Trek has lots of other good mountain bikes. Theres three that come in at your price range. Go to Trekbikes.com then click on the following: mountain, hardtail, aluminum. Then youll see model #s on the left. The ones youre looking for are 4300, 4300 with disk brake and 4500. I did hours of research before I bought my bike and those three got very good reviews, good luck and happy hunting!!!!!

Answer 7

I really don't know if you could find a "real" moutain bike. Usually you would have to pay around 800 for a hardtail and over 1thousand for a full suspension mountain bike. Some companies are trek, muddy fox, ah, I forgot some but there are plenty more.

Although I have seen an online walmart mountain bike for 497
Link: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5585806

Might be worth trying. Other people say walmart bikes are horrible, I could assume that but everyone I have got from there have been good bikes for me.

Answer 8

If you're biking real hard, you're likely to bend parts quite regularly. They're often made of material that bends, so they can bend it back into place at the shop. You might want a used bike for that. I don't ride as hard as you seem to, so I use a hardtail, Specialized Hardrock. Specialized bicycles are of excellent quality, but I haven't tried any others for over a decade. When I find a quality bike, I stick with the style/manufacturer until they change (like Schwinn did in the 90s) or lower their quality standards.

Answer 9

Jeep makes a Two Wheel Drive Mountain bike now. It has rugged suspension, and excellent contstruction.

I think they are at start around 250.00 dollars.

Google Jeep Bikes

Answer 10

1. don't buy in dept store. go to specialized bike shop.
2. choose your riding style - if it's not downhill what you need full suspension for?
3. compare. than compare more.

and remember - bikes from different brands have similar parts except for aluminum base. all the other in from one factory (probably Shimano).
Shimano has different quality lines - Deore, LX and sure XT parts are the best as I know.

Answer 11

Word of advise. Don't buy your bike from a dept. store.

Go to a bike shop. For $500 you could buy a decent entry level hardtail bike. check out KONA & KHS.