Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Any Mountain Bikers here?

Kind of depends on your age, I rode no suspension in the 80’s, front suspension in the 90’s, and full squish in the 20’s. I consider each step to have been an upgrade. My current ride is a Santa Cruz 5010CC with carbon wheels and it is the best one so far.

What a poseur, still got the plastic protector on the gear cluster.

Crowded, steep, and not very technical, it’s still fun as a night ride. Mag 7 and The Whole Enchilada are worthy full day rides.

Dork disk!

It only sounds impressive if you haven't tried it, what distance on a bike really is, is time. In this case its not 100 miles, its ten hours of loafing along at just 10-12 mph, lots of people can do 100 miles in six or seven.

This was my bike maybe twenty miles south of Helena this past summer, at the only historical marker I have seen in memory of the use of bad language by mule skinners



The mistake most everybody starting out makes is that they think you're supposed to actually sit on the seat.

Actually you don't, not like that, much of your weight should be supported by your feet on the pedals, and you adjust the seat height accordingly. Even given that, saddle design is critical of course. What you see there is a traditional Brook's leather saddle, from England, sells for around $140. In use the saddle breaks in such that, though remaining hard, it conforms to the shape of your... "ahem"...... contours. When riding ya hardly notice it.

Why?

21 speed 27.5in Giant with front suspension - can lock it for good surfaces.

I found a track with a section that has fist sized rocks and I can manage okay on the downhill slope but sometimes get stopped trying it uphill - gotta pedal to keep the momentum but the bike will stop dead if I hit a big rock and am between pedal "power" strokes (ie pedals vertical).

More of a run up is probably the answer, but I've toyed with the idea of an electric hub just to provide smooth power through these rocky sections without getting caught out in the wrong pedal position. There's a power limit though - anything over 250W can't be ridden on the road or footpath here, and can't have a throttle (thumb or grip), only a power assist setting. I travel on roads and paths to get to the rocky track.

Someone mentioned demand. When we bought we were going to run into a long wait period of we went with different bikes. They were talking end of July to get ahold of new stock. Between increases in bike riders with this virus scare and diminished bikes being shipped to the states you may find a limit in size and model.

Thinking down the road to trail riding you may want to consider going tubeless. We’ve had 3 punctures on trails so far. It’s OK to change a tube on the trail but tubeless with sealant will save some rides and let you run a bit lower tire pressure. On a hard tail that will give you a bit more cushion on the rough stuff.

Two of our bikes are 1x12 which is great and keeps things simple. Once we started trail riding we found that we needed better pedal grip so we went with new pedals with metal lugs. That upgrade is a must for trail riding.

Lots of cracked frames, hassles with warranty, and some of them just poor design.

First of all if you are relying on most bike shop mech's or sales people you are in trouble already!

Second you can't fit a person to a frame that company XYZ doesn't make!

Third you absolutely need to know someones size and build and riding style and what that riding style means to them.

A hardtail is a horrible DH bike for a beginner. A beginner isn't landing in the sweet zone, they need all the suspension they can get and they need it set up correctly with correct tire pressure as well.

By all means prove me wrong anywhere here please Antlers and maybe give us a list of trails and bike parks you have ridden?

He said he would like to get into Downhill, and if you really want to get exercise than what better than a 30lb Enduro? I get it you have never raced in an Enduro!

NO it would be a horrible bike to start riding trails and DH on. 100mm of fork is a joke and a hardtail is even funnier. If he is a big guy then it becomes hilarious.

As I already stated a Hardtail is a good bike for an advanced rider but for a beginner it sucks. Beginners are not landing in the sweet zone of the transition. They will beat the living hell out of a hardtail and themselves. On top of that most likely quit because it isn't FUN!

If all he wanted to do was climb and do laps around the neighborhood then sure a Hardtail with 100mm front suspension is fine.

I rather set up a guy for success than for failure. Make it as comfortable, stable, and fun as possible.

lol...much better to rely on a self-proclaimed ‘expert’ on the internet as opposed to someone who actually does it for a living...still laffin’Most quality manufacturers, like Giant, make frames for riders from 5’2” tall to 6’6” tall...six different frame sizes from XS through XL.’You’ don’t need to know the OP’s “size and build” to answer the basic questions that the OP asked. He was crystal clear regarding what kind of riding he wanted to do. lollol...much better for a “beginner” to start out with a $5000 full squish bike as opposed to a hardtail 29’er that ‘anybody but you’ can ride just fine in all types of terrain...still laffin’You schit on everyone else’s responses here with the opening words of your goofy post...and ‘that’ was clear to all who read it. Lotta guys responding here prior to your goofy post are knowledgeable and experienced riders...and they gave the OP exactly the kind of information that he was asking for. “Bike parks”...lol. Regarding your self-professed expertise...”If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." - Margaret Thatcher

Looks like my Marlin 7 29'r that replaced my 1992 Gary Fisher Aquila...added a Brooks B67 springer and love it!

Horseschit. You’d rather profess your ‘expertise’ above that of anybody else that’s posting on a subject. You do the same thing on the knife threads...and your posts there are just as comical and posing as the one’s you’ve made here. And you’ve been called on it there by guys who have a lotta knowledge and experience regarding knives. The only steels that are any good are the ones that ‘you’ think are good; and the only makers that are any good are the ones that ‘you’ think are good; everybody else’s knowledge and experience are inferior to ‘yours’...”blah, blah, blah.” still laffin’ and smh

You show what you don't know about very well. Giant along with most of the major brands doesn't make a bike that will fit even a guy 6'3" or beyond. Unless you want to look like a circus elephant riding a tricycle. Please tell me about the reach and TTL on most XL's I am all ears. I am only 6'4". Tell me about the BB height and the weight over the BB on all those XL's that fit guys that are 6'2"++++++++. Still waiting to hear about your actual riding experience! I am glad you bought into your LBS salesman pitch.

Here are a few parks I have rode.

Oh right you have never DH'ed in your life! Make sure you wear a full face helmet riding your giant in your neighborhood. You need all the protecting you can get!

I've been riding Santa Cruz bikes for 20+ years (Superlight and now a Heckler) and have had zero issues with them. Trek and Cannondale definitely have issues with some of their lines, but even the tour company I go with on many of the trips (Rim Tours) rents the Santa Cruz to its customers and they always praise the durability of the bikes. [Linked Image]

Yeah, but are you the biggest guy in your quartet?

Show us a pic of all your east coast lift tickets!

I doubt I will ever do any seriously aggressive down hill riding. My body probably can't handle it at this point. I was actually considering getting a flat handle road bike with the carbon forks since most of the time will be putzing around town and some "interurban" trials. But then I figured if I do anything more than a very tame trail, I better get something with at least a front suspension. Down hill and aggressive trails are a relative term for me. A few bumps and roots here and there might seem like a big deal to me but be something some of you blaze right over without thinking about it. As far as body specs, I'm sure my biggest challenge will be the reach versus the stand over height. I am 5'9" but my inseam isn't very long. I'll probably have to go with the tallest stand over height my balls can tolerate so that my longer torso reach isn't too short. I see some bikes have a more aggressive wheelbase I can look at to accommodate that situation to some extend. Ultimately, I will have to at least try a few out to see what height and top tube lengths tend to work with my geometry and go from there.

lmao
Do you also save your lift tickets when you snow ski to show what an ‘expert’ you are at that endeavor...? lmao some more