OT: Mountain Bike Purchase

[CTMike]

I used to be in to mountain biking then I graduated from UConn and got super fat. I have a perfectly serviceable 10 year old Giant hardtail (very basic components) with at most 20 miles on it... I'm thinking about getting back on it for exercise, no trails yet... Between the age of the tires and my weight, I don't want get out and get a flat... Are there heavy duty tubes out there? Anything else besides a tune up and a comfy seat before getting back out?

 

[junglehusky]

I used to be in to mountain biking then I graduated from UConn and got super fat. I have a perfectly serviceable 10 year old Giant hardtail (very basic components) with at most 20 miles on it... I'm thinking about getting back on it for exercise, no trails yet... Between the age of the tires and my weight, I don't want get out and get a flat... Are there heavy duty tubes out there? Anything else besides a tune up and a comfy seat before getting back out?

You can get "thorn resistant" tubes. They are a bit thicker and less prone to puncture or snakebites. Add a few grams but if you're not racing, who cares.

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.
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.

Main thing you're going to worry about is grade of trails and technicality. My bike doesn't have any suspension so I avoid trails with lots of roots / rocks and if I'm going uphill even moderately technical rides means I have to get off an walk my bike up. Unfortunately New England trails tend to be rocky. But you can look for doubletrack and packed dirt trails which will be less technical. You can read trail reviews on singletracks.com and mtbr.com. The latter website also has bike / component reviews.

 

[80shusky]

Holy crap mountain bikes cost $1,000!? Like a Huffy or a Schwinn should do the trick at about what $150? Yea it will be crap but you will have another $850 in your pocket to spend on Husky home games. And when you find out you never use the thing and it collects dust in your garage you can stick it out at the curb with a "Free" sign on it with very little guilt.

 

[temery]

@RichCTBB I'm curious, do you think he stole the bike, or that he knowingly bought the stolen bike?

 

[RichCTBB]

@RichCTBB I'm curious, do you think he stole the bike, or that he knowingly bought the stolen bike?

I had never really thought about it. He said he had bought it from a friend in Hartford, but he did live in the same town that I did. There was an abundance of bicycles, lawn mowers and household appliances scattered throughout the yard.

 

[Fishy]

Holy crap mountain bikes cost $1,000!? Like a Huffy or a Schwinn should do the trick at about what $150? Yea it will be crap but you will have another $850 in your pocket to spend on Husky home games. And when you find out you never use the thing and it collects dust in your garage you can stick it out at the curb with a "Free" sign on it with very little guilt.

Oh, my boy....$1,000 doesn't even scratch the surface.

If you actually try to ride a box store bike the way you would a serious mountain bike, there'd be nothing left to leave on the curb.

 

[temery]

Oh, my boy....$1,000 doesn't even scratch the surface.

If you actually try to ride a box store bike the way you would a serious mountain bike, there'd be nothing left to leave on the curb.

There'd be even less left of the rider.

 

[80shusky]

Oh, my boy....$1,000 doesn't even scratch the surface.

If you actually try to ride a box store bike the way you would a serious mountain bike, there'd be nothing left to leave on the curb.

Yea I wasn't really adding anything useful to this thread either. It was late and beer was involved. Sorry to the OP.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Oh, my boy....$1,000 doesn't even scratch the surface.

If you actually try to ride a box store bike the way you would a serious mountain bike, there'd be nothing left to leave on the curb.

Yeah, I'm not trying to buy a Huffy and then crack the frame on the trail and crack my nads along with it.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Thanks for all the thoughtful advice everyone. Against the advice of the old maid, I ended up purchasing a bike. Got a new felt 7 sixty from Sandy Hook Cycle. Paid 950 and it sells for 1,100 at every other shop. I would HIGHLY recommend the shop to anyone in the market. The owner is the man. Looking forward to hitting the trails now!!!

 

[RichCTBB]

Thanks for all the thoughtful advice everyone. Against the advice of the old maid, I ended up purchasing a bike. Got a new felt 7 sixty from Sandy Hook Cycle. Paid 950 and it sells for 1,100 at every other shop. I would HIGHLY recommend the shop to anyone in the market. The owner is the man. Looking forward to hitting the trails now!!!

Congratulations on the purchase. There is nothing like riding a bike to help you feel like a kid again!

 

[uconnphil2016]

Congratulations on the purchase. There is nothing like riding a bike to help you feel like a kid again!

And to feel in shape again

 

[tdrink]

Thanks for all the thoughtful advice everyone. Against the advice of the old maid, I ended up purchasing a bike. Got a new felt 7 sixty from Sandy Hook Cycle. Paid 950 and it sells for 1,100 at every other shop. I would HIGHLY recommend the shop to anyone in the market. The owner is the man. Looking forward to hitting the trails now!!!

I'm guessing you are not in my area but if you are I would be happy to give you a tour of any of my riding spots. I do Case, Nathan Hale, mansfield hollow and ocassionly Millers Pond ( that's a near expert level area).

 

[AtlantaHusky]

In other bike news I upgraded my roadie frame this weekend!

 

[husky99]

Any one heard of Lake mountain bikes? Found one on Craigslist for such cheap. But never heard of the company and not much on line

 

[uconnphil2016]

I'm guessing you are not in my area but if you are I would be happy to give you a tour of any of my riding spots. I do Case, Nathan Hale, mansfield hollow and ocassionly Millers Pond ( that's a near expert level area).

I split time between New Haven and Farmington, so I'll probably be spending a lot of time at West Hartford Reservoir. My friends also go to Grayville in Hebron and Case Mtn in Manchester, so we are in a similar neck of the woods!

 

[husky99]

Thinking of getting back into mt biking and found a 2009 Cannondale Prophet 4 for a good price off of Craigslist . 1st full suspension bike with a ton of add ons. Anyone ridden one or have input on Cannondale s

 

[tdrink]

Thinking of getting back into mt biking and found a 2009 Cannondale Prophet 4 for a good price off of Craigslist . 1st full suspension bike with a ton of add ons. Anyone ridden one or have input on Cannondale s

The Prophet is essentially a newer/upgraded version of the bike I currently ride.

Lots of adjustment in the suspension lets you tweak the frame geometry. Very nice bike.

 

[husky99]

Tdrink check your pm