What to look for in a mountain bike...?

Question

I am new with mountain bikes and with the sport. I am looking for a good mountain bike that is reliable and only want to spend about 400$ What should I look for when buying this bike??

Answer 1

i agree with those answers on top.
choose a good frame with the correct size first.
parts come later.
you will probably get a 24speed mountain bike with rim brake.
in my opinion, there is not much parts to change if you are just riding it for fun and not going for high end.
probably upgrade to 27speed, a better wheelset and a disc brake set.
upgrading to 27speed need new shifter, cassette and chain.
this is enough for doing recreational xc.
or if you have more cash, you can get a new fork.
i would recommend rockshox tora. it will be $200+
as for bikes, i highly recommend GT avalanche.
get GT avalanche 3. it have a almost bomb proof frame
a little heavy. but since its for recreational purpose, don't bother about weight. the frame can last you forever. you will probably be chaging bike by then. it have quite good parts and a entry level fork.

Answer 2

The first answer is corect, other than the e-bay issue. You need to know a bit about bikes before you purchase. Also, Internet shops may send you your bike disassembled. So you will need to check this before purchase. If not, bike shop every time.

What to look for? Good quality frame. Everything else can be upgraded as it wears out. You want a good quality aluminium - 6061 or Specialized A1 would be viable.

For this price bracket you are looking at 21 or 24 gears. I would go for the 24. Firstly, the extra gear on the back will ensure that the step from the granny cog to the next gear is not too harsh (The problem being that you will find that a steep hill will either have you straining in too big a gear or wizzing away in the granny cog). Also, if you want to upgrade to 27 gears, the 24 gear has the same width. However, the 21 gear will require you to replace the entire rear wheel.

For this price bracket you are not going to get a great fork, but you might get something that allows pre-load adjustment. Do not get discs, since although they are probably very good, the manufacturers would have had to skimp in other areas. However, the machines that you are left with are:

Specialized rockhopper
Giant Rock SE
Claude Buttler Cape Wrath
Trek do a good selection for this price bracket, although I found Scotts entry a little heavy.

Luck

Answer 3

For one, don't think too much in components right now. For 400 bucks you won't get Industry 9 wheelsets, Fox fork and SRAM X.0 drivetrain. And, you don't have to.

What you must take care first is that the bike fits you. You must feel confortable on it. Make sure your not too stretched out or too cramped in. Go to a bike shop, they should have several hardtail bikes too choose from.

Sometimes they might have some 07 bikes on sale, which are good to look for. The only problem with those is that probably the shop will only have XL and XS sizes, but still ask for them. Now, even if they have a more expensive bike that they're willing to sell you for the $400, but it doesn't fit you, don't buy it.

Answer 4

The thing is getting a good hard tail under 400 dollars is hard. And if you are going for a Trek don't. My friend has a Trek 820 and it has horrible components. The first day he got it the back rim bent and his shox stopped working. If you are willing to pay a little more like 520 dollars you can get a good Specialized Rockhopper, this is a pretty decent bike for a beginner. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

For $400 you can get a hardtail (no rear suspension) with a decent front suspension fork. You want the front suspension (rock shox, manitou or marzochi are ideal). Look for an aluminum frame and components by shimano, sram, ritchey, fsa, truvativ or raceface. If I were you, I'd go the ebay route as you'll definitely get more for you money buying used. If you stick with major brands like cannondale, giant, gary fisher, trek, specialized or kona you'll probably do fine. Also, check out www.mtbr.com for reviews. If you think you can size the bike yourself you could get a good deal on decent new bikes at www.bikesdirect.com and www.ibexbikes.com.

hope this helps

Answer 6

i agree with the first answer, except i recommend buying from a local bike shop for help with sizing you up with a bike, and for having local experts to go to when needed. ask them when they expect to have new models come in and when last year's models go on sale. talk them down to your price range and you can usually get a good deal from them