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Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

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Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#41

Post by freiheit »

rcraft wrote: post #13
vondur wrote: post #6

As an avid mountain biker, this article reminds me about the pure fun of riding in the outdoors. You don't need to spend 5K+ to do so. The technology in mountain biking has really taken off in the last 15 years. I can ride trails that only people on downhill bikes would have done 10 years ago, and the bike weighs less than 30lbs, making pedaling up hills not a problem. Enduro mountain bike racing has really taken off…

Any advice on bikes if I don't want to spend $5k?

You can get a decent aluminum hardtail 29er for under $1k from most bike companies.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#42

Post by jiggy2011 »

jacquesm wrote: post #40
vondur wrote: post #6

As an avid mountain biker, this article reminds me about the pure fun of riding in the outdoors. You don't need to spend 5K+ to do so. The technology in mountain biking has really taken off in the last 15 years. I can ride trails that only people on downhill bikes would have done 10 years ago, and the bike weighs less than 30lbs, making pedaling up hills not a problem. Enduro mountain bike racing has really taken off…

The prices on those bikes are ridiculous. If you buy something like that please buy it second-hand from someone that had more money than brains and thought they were going to lose weight by buying a bike rather than using it. Usually these go for a fraction of their new value in mint condition once the new-years vows have worn off.

Those aren't the sort of bikes that people buy in order to lose weight. They are more like mini MotoX bikes without the engines. They cost a lot because they are built to be extremely strong and have brakes which work well at high speeds in bad conditions which is important when you smash it into a tree at 40mph.

The risk with buying a bike like that second hand is that it may have already been crashed/damage.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#43

Post by dskhatri »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #42
jacquesm wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prices on those bikes are ridiculous. If you buy something like that please buy it second-hand from someone that had more money than brains and thought they were going to lose weight by buying a bike rather than using it. Usually these go for a fraction of their new value in mint condition once the new-years vows have worn off.

Those aren't the sort of bikes that people buy in order to lose weight. They are more like mini MotoX bikes without the engines. They cost a lot because they are built to be extremely strong and have brakes which work well at high speeds in bad conditions which is important when you smash it into a tree at 40mph. The risk with buying a bike like that second hand is that it may have already been crashed/damage.

I would be more concerned about me smashing into a tree at 40mph than the bike. 40mph is an exaggeration, isn't it?

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#44

Post by jiggy2011 »

dskhatri wrote: post #43
jiggy2011 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those aren't the sort of bikes that people buy in order to lose weight. They are more like mini MotoX bikes without the engines. They cost a lot because they are built to be extremely strong and have brakes which work well at high speeds in bad conditions which is important when you smash it into a tree at 40mph. The risk with buying a bike like that second hand is that it may have already been crashed/damage.

I would be more concerned about me smashing into a tree at 40mph than the bike. 40mph is an exaggeration, isn't it?

Not at serious downhill events, a lot of protection is worn though.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#45

Post by StillBored »

jacquesm wrote: post #40
vondur wrote: post #6

As an avid mountain biker, this article reminds me about the pure fun of riding in the outdoors. You don't need to spend 5K+ to do so. The technology in mountain biking has really taken off in the last 15 years. I can ride trails that only people on downhill bikes would have done 10 years ago, and the bike weighs less than 30lbs, making pedaling up hills not a problem. Enduro mountain bike racing has really taken off…

The prices on those bikes are ridiculous. If you buy something like that please buy it second-hand from someone that had more money than brains and thought they were going to lose weight by buying a bike rather than using it. Usually these go for a fraction of their new value in mint condition once the new-years vows have worn off.

I'm going to second the price on mountain bikes.

I picked up my first "real" (not a department store bike) mountain bike, a giant NRS XTC, in 2000. That bike cost me $1800 which I thought was outrageous. But, it was basically a top of the line giant at the time, complete with nearly the best components money could buy.

I rode it weekly for a decade on trails designed to destroy bikes. I replaced it with a lower mid-range trek superfly fs a couple years ago. That bike cost me nearly $4k. And besides the 29" upgrade (which makes it weigh more) I'm not convinced its actually a better bike. For sure, the more expensive versions (which were pushing $10k for the carbon versions) weren't a better ride.

So, I agree the prices for mountain bikes are ridiculous, especially if you don't buy into the idea that there has been a lot of technology progression since the late '90s early 20s. Most of the "progression" seems to be more style than substance. Take the recent axle/skewer fiasco. The general claim was that the skewer was a problem so it needed upgrading, but who has actually had a problem with them? Absolutely no one I know, has ever had a wheel come out of a front fork unless they failed to tighten it. Nor do I buy the idea that its more stable because the skewer wasn't providing any rigidity to the front fork, that was the job of the axle (which if you notice is the part that makes contact with the fork for all directional forces except laterally). In the lateral case fork manufactures were putting locking indentations in forks since the early 90's. Further unnecessarily changes, 27.5" wheels, nonstandard head tubes, etc.

The lack of _ANY_ competition in "local bike shop" sales channels due to franchise licenses and regional restrictions also serve to easily quadruple the prices too.

Bottom line is that I agree. Buy a used bike if you can. I'm pretty particular about size/fit so its harder for me, but people who are closer to average size don't really have an excuse.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#46

Post by StillBored »

jusben1369 wrote: post #35
PhasmaFelis wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm glad to see people encouraging cyclists, but I am struggling not to get angry that you call five thousand dollars "reasonably priced" with a straight face. You can get a solid entry-level mountain bike for $400. It is probably not suited for professional racing, but it's a perfectly good machine. If you check out used bike stores, you can find some excellent machines in good shape for less than that. I know you m…

$400 is not a real MTB. It will fail you if you really get into it at all But you can do $1500 via Bikesdirect.com

I think the problem is that there isn't really a $400 category for mountain bikes.

There is the $100 walmart/acadamy bikes, made without regard for quality/weight/etc. And then there are the $1000+ bike store bikes.

That said, if you look at kids bikes at the local bike shop I think you will notice something. Those bikes tend to be just as good as the adult versions (good components, strong frames/etc) but they tend to cost under $250.

I think it says something.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#47

Post by StillBored »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #42
jacquesm wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prices on those bikes are ridiculous. If you buy something like that please buy it second-hand from someone that had more money than brains and thought they were going to lose weight by buying a bike rather than using it. Usually these go for a fraction of their new value in mint condition once the new-years vows have worn off.

Those aren't the sort of bikes that people buy in order to lose weight. They are more like mini MotoX bikes without the engines. They cost a lot because they are built to be extremely strong and have brakes which work well at high speeds in bad conditions which is important when you smash it into a tree at 40mph. The risk with buying a bike like that second hand is that it may have already been crashed/damage.

There is hardly a bike frame on the market that can survive actually hitting a tree at even 10mph with the rider on it.

Most of the frames are extremely strong vertically, but if impacted on the side or directly on the tubes crumple like the couple mm thick aluminum/carbon they are.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#48

Post by jiggy2011 »

StillBored wrote: post #47
jiggy2011 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those aren't the sort of bikes that people buy in order to lose weight. They are more like mini MotoX bikes without the engines. They cost a lot because they are built to be extremely strong and have brakes which work well at high speeds in bad conditions which is important when you smash it into a tree at 40mph. The risk with buying a bike like that second hand is that it may have already been crashed/damage.

There is hardly a bike frame on the market that can survive actually hitting a tree at even 10mph with the rider on it. Most of the frames are extremely strong vertically, but if impacted on the side or directly on the tubes crumple like the couple mm thick aluminum/carbon they are.

Usually the rider won't be still attached to the bike at the point of impact.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#49

Post by was_hellbanned »

plq wrote: post #14
vondur wrote: post #6

As an avid mountain biker, this article reminds me about the pure fun of riding in the outdoors. You don't need to spend 5K+ to do so. The technology in mountain biking has really taken off in the last 15 years. I can ride trails that only people on downhill bikes would have done 10 years ago, and the bike weighs less than 30lbs, making pedaling up hills not a problem. Enduro mountain bike racing has really taken off…

Are you sure about the rear suspension? Yes, it can save your wheel in some situations (which you should really be avoiding as an amateur), but %99 of the time it's unnecessery weight that also happens to eat some of the power that'd normally go to the wheel. (I'm not a competitive biker, mountain or otherwise, I'm just curious)

I would say that if you're riding on rough terrain (e.g. rocky, boulder-strewn, heavily rutted, etc.), you would be shocked at what you can do on a full suspension bike. I know I spent the first couple of months with a F/S bike just riding over random obstacles out of sheer amazement. If you're riding mostly smooth dirt trails where your primary obstacle is occasional tree roots and ruts, then a hardtail is probably fine.

Re: Hippie Daredevils Who Invented Mountain Biking

#50

Post by was_hellbanned »

StillBored wrote: post #46
jusben1369 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$400 is not a real MTB. It will fail you if you really get into it at all But you can do $1500 via Bikesdirect.com

I think the problem is that there isn't really a $400 category for mountain bikes. There is the $100 walmart/acadamy bikes, made without regard for quality/weight/etc. And then there are the $1000+ bike store bikes. That said, if you look at kids bikes at the local bike shop I think you will notice something. Those bikes tend to be just as good as the adult versions (good components, strong frames/etc) but they tend…

there isn't really a $400 category for mountain bikes ... then there are the $1000+ bike store bikes.

That's not quite accurate. Here's a random example:

http://www.rei.com/c/mountain-bikes

You should be able to find plenty of decent hardtail low-end mountain bikes in the $500 - $900 range, particularly if you wait until the off-season to do your shopping.

My personal advice would be to buy your way into a decent frame and upgrade components as they fail. If there's one thing I found from several years of avid mountain biking, it's that parts wear and break much faster than they do in road riding, giving plenty of upgrade opportunity. :-)

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