Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Mountain bike reccomend

At that price range I'd look for a used bike. Start by riding a few at bike shops and get a feel for the different geometries. Mostly pavement and dirt/gravel roads won't require expensive components. I have a 29er that's fast but my favorite is a 27.5+ with 27.5 x 3.0 tires.

I'd be looking in this order:
- frame that fits and will take a 3" wide tire
- front suspension
- dropper seat
- hydraulic brakes
- 1x drivetrain

The used market is starting to open up and some very good bikes with little use are showing up and not selling. A few more months when retail stores start feeling the inch of over stocking and prices in both places will fall. At least that’s what observant people are thinking will happen. I suspect it will but im no expert.


From what you are looking at doing you may find that a gravel bike will fit your needs and be more comfortable for longer rides.

On tire size I’d go for a 29 inch set up. It rolls over bumps with less felt impact. If you go with a hard tail that will help with comfort depending on the trail.

I’ve owned 27.5, ridden full 29 and presently own a mixed wheel (27.5 rear 29 front). 29 is smoother. If you think there is a chance you might like to get into trail riding it may be worth thinking over a decent full suspension setup.


There are a lot of options. Pinkbike classified section is a good place to look to get a feel for the used market. Major brand going to get you a better bike than off brands. Researching components on the particular build is a good idea. That’s where used can get you more bang for the buck.

Last week I saw the bike that im riding advertised on pinkbike. Guy bought it to ride with his son but found out life was too busy. He had ridden the thing a couple of times and was asking about 60% of what he paid for it.

Let us know what you find.

Find a 2-4 year old bike--bikes lose their value quickly, especially now that the "Back To The Outdoors" pandemic fad is over. Today's bikes will last a lot of miles unless they have been thoroughly thrashed and poorly maintained. The older you get the more you will appreciate rear suspension.

If you're less than 5-10 or so, go with the 27.5, taller then the 29.

I have a Trek Marlin 7. Marlin 6 should come in under 1K

I have a 29" Raleigh. It is over ten years old, paid $300 for it, and do all the tuning and repairs myself. It ain't rocket science as I have been working on my own bikes since I was a kid! It's all fun and games till a racoon runs in front of you riding home from work at night, while you are screaming ass on a downhill!

As stated components primarily drive price. The other is weight. Things that roll make a bike feel heavy or slow. Wheels would be the first thing to upgrade to lighten a ride. Naturally light and strong = very expensive. LOL

Go to a shop and get sized. Then try and find a used Covid purchase that someone regrets. You might be able to get a $2K - $3K bike that was barely used for $1K.

Thanks guys.

Like running shoes...go try them on. It’s the only way not to have buyers remorse. Trek and Framed for the money are worth looking into.

WR250

Best advice you can get is to go to a bike shop and pick their brains. I have a Giant brand mountain bike - they are reasonably priced, built well, and have a lot of good features for a novice or non-competitive rider. Shimano controls , etc... you should be able to find a good bike in your price range but if not check out the used market. Like used exercise equipment, bikes often get used a couple times and put away so they are often in excellent shape on the used market. Replacement parts , if necessary, aren't all that expensive to replace if you go that route or want to upgrade to better pieces...

Don't over look ebikes for fun and exercise. I went that route due to age related pains sneeking up on me. Lots of fun and I go way farther than I do on a non ebike.

It's a wonder some of these pussies around here can garner the courage to walk out of the house.

$1000 gets you a good bike that will last a lifetime. Name brand doesn't matter. Many bikes bearing different brand names come out of the same factory. Look for Taiwan as COO rather than China. The components will all be very comparable in that price range. You might find one brand that has better rims than others, as that's a place where some brands try to save money. You also might find a bike in that price range with a Rock Shox suspension fork rather than Sun Tour, and that would be bonus. Certain brands may cheap out on brakes as well. Rims, fork and brakes are where you may see a meaningful difference in parts from one brand to the next.

If you have a modicum of wrenching ability, you can mail order a bike and set it up yourself. I am not very handy, but I can do it. You can get a better deal on a mail order bike.

I'd go with a 29er with 1X shifting for simplicity. For casual riding, I like tires in about the 2.2-2.3 width range. Going fatter makes for more rolling resistance, and for what you said you want to ride on, you don't need fat tires.

Compare a couple $1000 bikes

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/plus-boost-bikes/taz2p5-sport-29er-275-bikes.htm

Rock Shox Fork-Very good
SRAM Brakes-Very good
Weinmann Rims-good (probably make some of the house name rims on other brands in this price range)
Shimano hubs-Very good

This one is a 27.5 but has very good fork and brakes and didn't cheap out on any parts.

https://www.diamondback.com/bikes/mountain-1-bikes/hardtail-bikes/lux-3-4693

This Cannondale has pretty good parts, but they do step down to a cheaper fork and cheaper brakes.

https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/mountain/trail-bikes/trail/trail-se-4

This Trek has parts that are almost as good as the Bikes Direct Bike and it's only a few bucks over 1K

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/...gen-2/p/33148/?colorCode=orangelight_red





Now with all of that said, you can probably get a great deal on a used bike. A lot of people bought Covid Bikes to get some socially distanced exercise, rode them a few times and put them away.

Great info all. I appreciate it!

I have a Marlin 7 as well. It's been a great bike over the past 4 or 5 years.

Not sure they're within OP's price point anymore, but it's gotta be close and they are a lot of bang for the buck.

I love the dropper seat post on trails and use it more than I thought I would. It likely won't be a common feature in the OP's price range but does come with the Trek Roscoe at the $1200 price point. I would assume it could be added as an upgrade at some point.

Several mentions here of the 1x drivetrain - I agree that this is the way to go...

Mountain and street bikes are all over Colorado. Like mosquitos in the midwest on hot summer night. And most of the riders here are annoying as fxxx. Doc told me the same thing about running...and getting a bike. If I got the bike for free, I still won't get on one. If you're gonna ride and want to fit in, be sure to wear the tightest fitting leotard you can find, have a cooler full of IPA's when you're done, and keep it chained to the bike rack on your Subura, even when you're not planning on riding it.

Esox357

Here is a Pinkbike search on hardtails for sale by private owners under 1K$ USA/Canada for an idea.

pink bike classified

I have no doubt you know a lot about bikes, but you start off with, "Name brand doesn't matter." and then write a post on why it does.

There are too many options. It's a lot more manageable for me to pick a brand with a good reputation, in my case Specialized, and figure out the options within that brand. Any clumsy mountain bike can be ridden on pavement, but if you want a bike to perform well a pavement/gravel bike is a lot different animal than a mountain bike. Most of my riding is on tar trails training for road racing. At one point I started with a bike well suited for tar trails, but that bike was really slow. I over corrected to a pure road bike, which was plently fast, but I took a beating on tar trails. I ended up with a tar/gravel bike which is a touch slow, but more suited to the 95% use on tar trails. Yep, I really need two bikes, but I'm not going to do that to satisfy the 5%.

In the end, buy a bike that suits your riding and keeps it fun. Mountain bikes suck for anything but mountain biking.