OT: Mountain Bike Purchase

[uconnphil2016]

Bit of a stretch, but I'm wondering if anyone on the BY is an avid mountain biker and can offer some input on a purchase I'm contemplating. Recently, my good friend began mountain biking and has convinced me to get a bike. I've only gone a couple of times and am a complete beginner. Looking to purchase a 27.5 hardtail bike and my budget is $1,000. The local bike store suggested a Felt Seven 60, and the research I've done indicates that the Kona Blast is a good bike for the price. Of the two, which would you suggest?

7 Sixty - Felt Bicycles

KONA BIKES | 2016 BIKES | ORIGINALS | Blast

 

[krinklecut]

I absolutely love Felt as a bicycle brand. I've logged thousands and thousands of miles on my Felt road bikes. I'm not a mountain biker and don't have one, but Felt makes a fine bike. If I were to buy a MTB Felt is my first stop.

 

[uconnphil2016]

I absolutely love Felt as a bicycle brand. I've logged thousands and thousands of miles on my Felt road bikes. I'm not a mountain biker and don't have one, but Felt makes a fine bike. If I were to buy a MTB Felt is my first stop.

Great--thanks for the help. At the bike shop, they basically said that a $1,000 Felt bike has components that compare to a $1,200 MTB from the likes of Kona, Specialized, Cannondale, etc.

 

[Blue Blood]

My brother has a professional license for downhill mountain biking. He says felt is solid though he would go Cannondale at that price point his bikes are crazy money now but that was his recommendation.

 

[krinklecut]

Great--thanks for the help. At the bike shop, they basically said that a $1,000 Felt bike has components that compare to a $1,200 MTB from the likes of Kona, Specialized, Cannondale, etc.

Exactly. Felts are just as well made and you arent paying a few hundred extra bucks for a name.

 

[krinklecut]

Also, f0r what it's worth, I once rented the cannondale equivalent in price to one of my Felts and it was a pile of junk.

 

[RichCTBB]

Both bikes are decent bikes with VERY similar component selections. If you have the opportunity, I would test ride both to see which one feels better. One thing to note is that the shifters on the Kona are a level higher than the shifters on the Felt. If you can spend a little more, I would look at a Jamis Dragon Sport. Better component selection and the smooth ride of a steel frame. Steel framed bicycles are known to have a much smoother ride. Aluminum frames tend to be very stiff and transmit vibrations directly to your body whereas a steel frame will absorb a lot of those high frequency vibrations. As they say, "Steel is real!"

 

[sammydabiz]

Was in your place a few years back, ended up buying a used Santa Cruz for a crazy deal, in all, prolly ended up spending about a G

My buddy has a lefty (cannondale) awesome bike, but don't know enough about felt or Kona to tell you one way or the other, good luck!

 

[Northbound]

I'm an old school Cannondale guy and when I mean old school I mean old a rigid Cannondale M400 circa '96. Which I just dumped 450 bucks into all new brakes/lines, all the drive components, etc, etc. the guy that the bike shop kind of laughed at me but that bike has put up with a ton of abuse in NYC so can't let it go.

That said I'm going to give up a rigid bike for a hardtail and felt, Cannondale, kona and maybe Scott.

 

[AtlantaHusky]

I'm more roadie than MTB but I upgraded my mountain bike last year to a FS 29er. Got a great deal. I think 27.5 is definitely the way to go. Hardtail is going to be a good choice too.

I would say get a used bike and spend that $1000 to get a few year old bike that was worth $2000. Scott is another good brand, Orbea too. Be patient and get the most for your money. Don't be dead set on a brand, when you see the bike and the deal you will know that it's yours. Mountain bikes are made to last.

I got a 2013 $2700 bike for $1300 delivered.

Check out Pinkbike.com it's like Craigslist for bikes only but with complete reliability. Of course check Craigslist too.

 

[tdrink]

I love mountain biking. I think the workout it gives is an optimal combination of intervals, micro muscle development, brain development ( have to memorize the trails) and exposure to nature.

I was a big road rider for years before getting on the trail, but my weight kept creeping up. When I switched to mountain biking I dropped 40 pounds quickly and never put it back on.

I ride a Cannondale Gemini. It's an older 26" full suspension. It was designed as a downhill bike but has good trail riding geometry. At 35+ pounds it is heavy.

Every year I look at upgrading, but the wheel size debate keeps me from dropping the coin. 27.5 looks like it will stay but now companies are looking at high volume tires not as big as on a fat bike, but using that concept.

The big tires reduce the need for active suspension. So a hard tail might replace my dualie but I don't want to buy a bike that I won't be able to get tires for in a handful of years.

 

[bmayuc]

maybe this one? lol

 

[Conndog]

I've biked a lot with mostly road biking, but I've had a cross bike too and would recommend that over mountain bike, unless you really need/want a mountain bike. The reason is that a cross bike is much lighter and can go on roads too, but you still can use wider tires for off-road and trails. Jamis makes a bike called the Nova Pro, get one with 853 steel if you can, easy to find one used at a good price.

 

[8893]

I can't emphasize enough getting on a few different bikes and seeing which ones have the best geometry for your body frame and positioning. I'm a bigger guy and ended up with a Gary Fisher Big Sur for that reason. 10+ years and couldn't be happier with the purchase. It looks like they don't make that model any more; and it also looks like Trek now owns the company, so I can't speak to what types of bikes they are putting out now. But mine is very light, very strong and very responsive. I was more interested in the frame than the components, and I did crack a crank early on, but I got it from Zane's (big fan), so it came with a lifetime guarantee (and yearly tune-up) on which they have made good repeatedly.

PS: Get a good seat, a good pair of riding shorts (with gel) and good gloves if you will be riding any duration at all. And obviously a helmet.

 

[tdrink]

Not to dump on the previous poster's advice but...

A cross bike would limit you to what we call nascar trails. Fast and smooth.

CT has some of the best technical single track trails I've ever seen and I have ridden in Cali, Utah, Colorado, maine, VT, new zealand, nepal, etc.

If you think you might be riding trails with rock gardens, baby heads or hucks you want a very high volume tire and minimally front suspension. I love having dual squish.

As the video shows disc brakes are absolute must have. Accidents dropped to a tenth of what they were when mountain bikes went to disc brakes.

Don't rule out buying a used or older model 26", especially a FS. Lots of deals on the old wheel standard.

 

[Fishy]

1) Don't get too tied up in the name on the frame. Most brands tend to outsource manufacturing to the same factories. E.g. A Trek, Specialized, Scott, etc., etc., has likely been manufactured by Giant, Tech Ten. Unless you're spending a lot more than you're planning to, your frame is coming from a handful of factories in Taiwan or China.

The differences in $1,000 bikes will be the mix of components and where the brand chooses to pare down costs. Most will use some sort of house brand for stems, bars, pedals, etc. and a mix of Shimano/Suntour for the components. If you stretch your budget a few hundred dollars, you start to get into bikes that will likely stick with full Shimano groups. (Example - Giant Talon.)

2) Ride a bunch of them. Get the one that feels the best, has the best components for the money, etc. Don't buy the one that doesn't quite feel right, but is on sale. You'll regret that.

3) If you like a particular bike and everything feels right except for the seat, the angle of the stem, the grips....the bike shop will almost certainly swap that part out for you if you ask.

4) I have a cross bike - it's not what you're looking for.

 

[junglehusky]

Do folks recommend cross bikes for commuting?

I'm still riding a circa 1995 Mongoose Rockadile MTB, no suspension and been switching out knobby tires for smooth 2.0's between trails and commuting. This year I will switch to a new job, new commute hopefully will be a 20-30 minute ride depending where I move. At that point I will have to chose between upgrading the MTB or going for a road or maybe cross bike (hopefully will have both in the future). The reality is I'll just log a ton more miles on the road than on trails.... Not a racer but I do like to get the watts up for at least a few minutes at a time.

 

[Fishy]

Do folks recommend cross bikes for commuting?

I'm still riding a circa 1995 Mongoose Rockadile MTB, no suspension and been switching out knobby tires for smooth 2.0's between trails and commuting. This year I will switch to a new job, new commute hopefully will be a 20-30 minute ride depending where I move. At that point I will have to chose between upgrading the MTB or going for a road or maybe cross bike (hopefully will have both in the future). The reality is I'll just log a ton more miles on the road than on trails.... Not a racer but I do like to get the watts up for at least a few minutes at a time.

The upside to cross bikes is that they let you run a wider tire than a road racing frame - my road bike will only barely allow a 25mm tire while I can actually put a knobby 32mm tire on the cross bike with room to spare.

I have a couple of sets of wheels and tires depending on what I want to do with it. I've raced it and I've put racks on it and ridden it from New York to Maine. They really are incredibly versatile. Great general purpose road bikes.

 

[Hoophound]

Gotta ask. How hard is mountain biking? As a kid, I did a lot of "mountain biking" on trails in the woods on a bmx bike at very high speeds. I also raced a bmx bike a handful of times.

As I travel I see so many people with mountain bikes and I wonder two things:

1. What percentage is uphill, downhill, flat on the typical, average joe ride in places like VT or Colorado?

2. How much easier on the uphill parts is an expensive bike? I know a lightweight bmx bike made a massive difference in getting around town and in catching air/doing tricks.

3. What is the best way to start? I envision myself getting everything I need together and heading to a trail head and being too tired to go on 20 minutes letter.

 

[RichCTBB]

I'm an old school Cannondale guy and when I mean old school I mean old a rigid Cannondale M400 circa '96. Which I just dumped 450 bucks into all new brakes/lines, all the drive components, etc, etc. the guy that the bike shop kind of laughed at me but that bike has put up with a ton of abuse in NYC so can't let it go.

That said I'm going to give up a rigid bike for a hardtail and felt, Cannondale, kona and maybe Scott.

I love old school Cannondales. I built up a Caad3 frame in 1996 and had it all the way through college. It was stolen from my old apartment in Manchester. A couple of years later it showed up for sale on Craigslist, but the police couldn't do anything since I never recorded the serial number. I set up an appointment to look at the bike and told the guy that it was mine, I wasn't leaving without it and that the police were informed and would arrest him if he didn't hand it over. The last part was a bluff and so I was a nervous wreck until I saw the guys 3 year old son run out of the house and told him that it would a shame for his son to see his father get cuffed and stuffed. The guy ended up relenting and thanked me for not calling the police and told me he could use some good kharma. I ended up completely restoring the bike, riding it the entire length of the hop river/airline trail and back (88 miles) and now use it to take my young daughters for bike rides, one in front of me and one behind me in a trailer. This bike now has history and serious sentimental value.

 

[tdrink]

Bit of a stretch, but I'm wondering if anyone on the BY is an avid mountain biker and can offer some input on a purchase I'm contemplating. Recently, my good friend began mountain biking and has convinced me to get a bike. I've only gone a couple of times and am a complete beginner. Looking to purchase a 27.5 hardtail bike and my budget is $1,000. The local bike store suggested a Felt Seven 60, and the research I've done indicates that the Kona Blast is a good bike for the price. Of the two, which would you suggest?

7 Sixty - Felt Bicycles

KONA BIKES | 2016 BIKES | ORIGINALS | Blast

These bikes are virtually identical spec wise. Very similar frame geometry as well.

They both look like decent entry level bikes.

 

[tdrink]

Gotta ask. How hard is mountain biking? As a kid, I did a lot of "mountain biking" on trails in the woods on a bmx bike at very high speeds. I also raced a bmx bike a handful of times.

As I travel I see so many people with mountain bikes and I wonder two things:

1. What percentage is uphill, downhill, flat on the typical, average joe ride in places like VT or Colorado?

2. How much easier on the uphill parts is an expensive bike? I know a lightweight bmx bike made a massive difference in getting around town and in catching air/doing tricks.

3. What is the best way to start? I envision myself getting everything I need together and heading to a trail head and being too tired to go on 20 minutes letter.

Most rides I've done in VT and Colorado started with a seriously long climbs.

I think the rolling hills in CT make for ideal terrain and accommodate a wide range of skill levels.

I found lots of info on different trail systems at bikerag.com. Turned out some of them were basically in my back yard.

 

[Jaker]

Diamondback makes a pretty good entry/mid level bike, I have beaten on one for over 15 years, can't manage to break it.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Gotta ask. How hard is mountain biking? As a kid, I did a lot of "mountain biking" on trails in the woods on a bmx bike at very high speeds. I also raced a bmx bike a handful of times.

As I travel I see so many people with mountain bikes and I wonder two things:

1. What percentage is uphill, downhill, flat on the typical, average joe ride in places like VT or Colorado?

2. How much easier on the uphill parts is an expensive bike? I know a lightweight bmx bike made a massive difference in getting around town and in catching air/doing tricks.

3. What is the best way to start? I envision myself getting everything I need together and heading to a trail head and being too tired to go on 20 minutes letter.

I actually might be pretty well qualified to answer this as a total novice...having gone on a serious ride just once, it's hard. Brutal workout. Granted i am out of shape but still. As for terrain, it depends on what kind of course you're riding. XC will be a good mix of downhill runs, level terrain and climbs. The thing about New England is that it's known for being rather rugged in terms of stumps, roots etc which can make things tough

 

[boba]

Do folks recommend cross bikes for commuting?

I'm still riding a circa 1995 Mongoose Rockadile MTB, no suspension and been switching out knobby tires for smooth 2.0's between trails and commuting. This year I will switch to a new job, new commute hopefully will be a 20-30 minute ride depending where I move. At that point I will have to chose between upgrading the MTB or going for a road or maybe cross bike (hopefully will have both in the future). The reality is I'll just log a ton more miles on the road than on trails.... Not a racer but I do like to get the watts up for at least a few minutes at a time.

I'm out in Ess and use a KHS Urban Xcel to get around. (I walk to work because the hills mean I'd arrive drenched in sweat). My only input is, DISC BRAKES are the bomb! Going downhill, in damp (foggy) conditions and a looming intersection filled with techies looking at cells and loonies driving like loonies, those brakes kept me out of the ER more than once.
I had a Marin Sausolito for years, probably put 20k on it (2 cranks, 3 cassettes) and was a great commuter ride. But that was San Jose, which is significantly flatter than Ess .