Looking For Mt. Bike Advice

I’ve been doing online research and I’m thinkin a hard tail 29er for me. My reasoning is on my road bike I suck going uphill and I’m thinking that will carry over to Mt. Biking. I’ve read and have been told in shops that the less weight and the firmness in the rear are advantages going uphill. I demoed 3 hardtail 29ers today and liked the Specialized pro 29 the best. I’ll be riding almost exclusively the Flume Trails and Hardy Rd trails in Wilmington. I’m going to demo some duel suspension this week cause I’m not married to the hard tail idea. I’m not planning to upgrade in the future, I want something I’ll be OK with for years.

Any advice will be appreciated.

I don't have any experience with the 29ers but I will say this. Assuming that you have X dollars to spend on a bike, you'll get more bike for your buck with a hardtail. Unless of course, you have X to spend on the hardtail and at least 2X to spend on the FS.

If I lived in the Adks, I would want a 29er and I would also like it to be full suspension. It's just plain rocky up there and the 29er really smooths it out...but the suspension is nice too...especially if you are middle aged. I couldn't handle the vibration and bumpiness of a hard tail...but they will make you better riders. At my age, I want all the comfort I can get on a good ride. I don't own a 29er, but I kinda wish I bought one...though my Giant Trance is pretty sweet anyway. Just love it.

29ers are good.

I ride a full suspension 29er (Salsa Big Mama), and it's fine for everything at the flume and - I assume - Hardy Road (although I've only walked the opening sections of the trails on a recon mission when I didn't have my bike).  In truth, the Full suspension might be overkill for a lot of the smoother trails (I'm glad I have it at SMBA, though), and a hardtail would probably be fine.  I looked at hardtails when I was shopping, but I got a screaming deal on the Full Suspension, so it ended up being pretty close to the same price as a quality hardtail. Plus I've got propedal on the back, so I can lock out the back shock when I want to.

I've only ridden 26ers a couple of times, but they don't roll over the small stuff the way my bike does - I get hung up on stuff that I wouldn't normally.  If you're looking for something that zips up hills, keep in mind that a 29er does have slower acceleration than a 26er.  It takes a little more to get the wheels turning.  The other side is that it keeps momentum really well on the downhills.

Bikes these days are pretty nice, you really can't go too wrong if you stick with a few basic rules.  At least Deore level components, blah blah blah.  A lot of bike forum people think you should go at least Reba for the fork, but my wife has had a Tora fork, and that has worked pretty well for her.  Rockshox has a new name for their mid level 29er fork, but I forget what it's called.  That would probably be fine.  I'd probably stay away from the Dart series (It's really not much better than a rigid).

Thanks for all the input everyone

What kind of price points are we talking about for a FS/29er?

this just came in my email

http://www.hucknroll.com/mountainbike/29er-Bikes/11699/promo.html

The Specialized pro 29 was $1300....I'm pretty sure I could get it closer to $1000...demoed a full spension Giant yesterday thay was $2400...I don't want to spend that much.

I got that too....thanks

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

demoed a full spension Giant yesterday thay was $2400...I don't want to spend that much.

Yep, I haven't found any full-suspensions that are less than $2200, and I don't want to spend that much either. However, I've had a FS for more than a decade and I have no intention of going back to a hard-tail. Guess that it's time to buy lottery tickets.

Buy one off EBAY.

FS is the way to go. Once, I was riding mine when I came across a long continous area of baby's head rocks. First I paused, then I thought, " What the heck." and rode out in to it. The FS took out all the bumps/stalles and I easily rode right across it. I was impressed.

I even like FS much better for the road. When those pencil thin roadbike tires hit broken pavement-BRRRRRRRRRR- and the  hanblebars shake like crazy, that crap is for the birds, IMO.

I'm also of the opinion one should spend as much as you can afford on a keeper bike. Just seems that they ride/roll/ get down the trail better/have more fun factor,..... as a general rule. Seriously, spend the dough.

Shop EBAY..

I guess if I really wanted a Full Suss 29er, I'd buy this:

http://www.speedgoat.com/Catalog.aspx/Browse?Prod=20376

and this:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/windsor_cliff29pro_xi.htm

And move all the parts from the cheap hardtail onto the nice full suspension frame.  Then I'd sell the cheap hardtail frame on ebay for like $75.

I've been looking at getting this. No 29er though, if that's what you're looking for. $899.



pretty good components, lightweight, FS, but not a ton of travel.
Reviews are so-so, but it's rated at 4.5/5. Weird.

I bought a 2010 Specialized FSR XC....thanks for all the help everybody.

If I found the right one it looks pretty nice to me:



Why do they always show them without the pedals?

Thats it, but mine is red. It comes with peddles that you can put clips on, but most people buy clipless anyway.

nice ride!

is it a 29er?

i have an enduro that i love.

no....26

HPD got a red mtn bike!  Awesome man.  Good times coming!

I had the opportunity earlier this week to meet and ride with the guy - Kevin - who laid out and maintains all of the mtb trails on the Kalabus-Perry parcel, the trails I’ve been riding all summer.  Besides showing me more singletrack that I hadn’t found yet, now I feel comfortable about doing a little trail maintenance – I was hesitant earlier because I didn’t want to mess with someone else’s trails.

My bike is showing signs of its age, and I’m considering replacing it this fall.  I’m considering a 29er, and know the advantages of the bigger wheels, but is there any disadvantage (besides cost) to a 29er?  I think Matt pointed out the bigger wheels take a little more muscle to get moving.  I’m esp curious to get feedback from guys like SBR and HPD who have recently bought new bikes and didn’t go with 29s.  By the way, full susp is out, I’ll look for a hard-tail model in the well-under-$1000 range ($600 - $700?).