MTB Gear Stoke 2015

I flirted with the idea of buying an all mountain bike this year (still might). On the short list were the YT Capra and the Yeti SB-75 on sale at Jenson right now. But, I decided to save some money and just upgrade the hardtail 29er that I got last year after my full suspension frame broke.

I got a screaming deal on a Reba fork from REI, I don't know if it was a typo or what, but they had a 29er 100mm tapered fork for $276 (50% off retail). I bought it, and then the deal went away immediately. So maybe I got the last one? Oh well, it worked out for me. Plus I got in through activejunky, so I'll be getting 6% back ($16) on top. I like to support local shops with service and in season purchases, but it's hard to compete with the Scale of these bigger companies, especially when they are trying to dump last year's stuff at rock bottom prices. I kinda wish there was an REI around here. Cool store. Anyway, it's hard to find a Reba 29er for under $400 anywhere else, so I'm pretty psyched on the purchase.

Nice score!  I've been eyeballing our bikes for the last week or so.. Bon and I always love segueing from skiing to biking the same week.. Even if it is often from XC track set to road riding.  

Made me smile when you mentioned going back to bring a Hardtail rider, I've had my fill of FS bikes over the last 20 years.  I actually migrated the other way after a full pendulum swing to fully rigid one speeds.  Nice little Stanton Slackline, 1 x 10, etc.  I still forget I have gears!

I built it up from the frame,some new parts, some new to me parts, and older parts lying around.  This year it's going to be some new pedals - flats and clipless.  The clipless will be Crank Bro's Malletts.  Waffling on the flats, using DMR's currently, but they're 10 years old and beat down. Granite always wins.

Telemark Dave wrote

Made me smile when you mentioned going back to bring a Hardtail rider, I've had my fill of FS bikes over the last 20 years.  I actually migrated the other way after a full pendulum swing to fully rigid one speeds.  Nice little Stanton Slackline, 1 x 10, etc.  I still forget I have gears!

Yeah, my "bike quiver" this year will be my rigid singlespeed and my hardtail that I'm trying to convert to 1x9. I built a set up like you have above, but kept dropping the chain, which was really annoying. I resorted to a duct taped chain guide solution last year, but I'm trying to run something a bit more clean this year. Hopefully a clutch dérailleur and a RaceFace wide narrow chainring will cut down on the dropped chain problem (and protect my chainstay, which took a beating last year).

I'm not done with full suspension yet, though. The problem is that they're like any technology. There will be some new suspension system or axle standard down the line that makes all the old stuff obsolete. Kind of annoying.

Yeah, the wide/narrow chain ring is key.  I'm using one of these http://northshorebillet.com/product-category/drivetrain-components/
In the above pic my bike is set up as a 1x9.  I switched to 1x10 when a friend mentioned he had some 10 speed shifters he didn't want.  That allowed a 11-36 rear cassette.  (The 9 speed 11-34 was ok too, I just seized the opportunity..)
The chainring is a 30.  No clutch dérailleur, I'll upgrade when I thrash the current SLX.  (Happens WAAAAY too often, given that as a 15 year one speeder I've grown accustomed to not having to pay attention)

Definitely go for the 1 x XX setup.  I'll never go back.

TD

After a few weeks of research, finally pulled the trigger on a 2015 Diamondback Overdrive Comp.  Almost was going to buy a bikesdirect or Airborne Guardian, but this popped up on sale for what's going to amount to around $600 shipped from Nashbar.com.  It looked like better fork and components and a 30 speed, which weighed in a bit better than the other two bikes I was considering, as well as any other bike I could find for 600 beans.
This is my first real mountain bike, and I'm getting into the sport.  Plan to ride trails down here at the Jersey shore and surrounding parks, as well as make it up to LP/Wilmington over the summer more.

Hopefully I can get involved in some group rides when I come up.

-Mike

Edited original post - made a move on a bike yesterday!

Got the bike assembled!

That's great, now get it dirty!!