Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Mountain Bike Questions? Sinster 6.5 29" buy?

I would definitely be checking the craigs list in CO and picking up a nice used bike vs a heavy cheap one.

I'm 5'11" and my hardtail is a 17" and it fits me fine. Best thing to do though is to hit up some LBS and try them out. Craigslist is always a good way to go. I have bought quite a few bike parts this way.

Ain't nuthin' worse than a cheap azz bike. It'll bend, twist, break. Won't shift for [bleep], be uncomfortable, the brakes will suck hind tit........
In the end it will be sitting in your garage not worth the gas you used to pick it up.

I would look for a good quality used hard tail with a decent shock on the front. You should be able to get a nice bike with good componets for not much more than some new-fangled box store abortion. If you want a good full suspension bike, its gonna cost a little more.

I picked up a Kona Ku with XT and some XTR, old style V brakes(which are awesome!) and a decent shock for $500 off of craigslist last year.

Hand made American frame and top end (albiet 15-20 years old) componets for $100 more than the Wally world bike? Everytime!

Where are you located?

Thats light years better!
Look at the componets. Alivio is fine, but I would be looking for Deore.

I am not a big fan of the phrase "you get what you pay for", but in bicycles, the cheap stuff is truly junk.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/bik/3744640029.html

Quick perusal of the local CL.

Nice!

Lot of bike there for $250!

Specialized been mentioned,
I stopped at a dealer that had their Hardrock Sports on sale!
29ers with hydraulic brakes for $629.00

Sat on a large and it is slightly big standing over it, but fantastic sitting on it!
Might take one for a spin latter Friday or Sometime Saturday.

What part of Colorado?

If you are close I will let you "cruise" my fat bike.

I got a new giant trance-x 4 a year or so ago for $999,on sale for fathers day.

Just west of the denver area, foothills, and the Parker / Castle Rock area.
The fat bike sounds fun!

Go to a bike shop and get measured/fit. Night and day difference. You'll see a pretty good mix of high end and low end components. All of which are easy to swap out if you want/need to. Frame geometry ain't adjustable, everything else is. Get lined shorts as well and your azz with appreciate it. Once you get comfy on the thing, shoes & clips are a must. You basically double your efficiency as you are pushing and pulling the pedals.

and for crying out loud, don't skimp on the helmet....

Lot's of good advice so far. I wouldn't be too hung up on 29" wheels. 26" wheels are fine and lots of good used 26'rs out there with the current hype for 29" wheels.

Mike

Hydraulic brakes are definitely more efficient and desirable, but take a bit more maintenance. Still, that's one thing I'd look for. Also, look for good quality front shocks - Rockshox are usually a step up from the standard shocks.

You definitely want to try before you buy. There are different styles of shifters, and you have to find one that appeals to you.

Maybe we need a Colorado Campfire Ride get together. I'm in Palisade on the Bestern Slope but I'll ride anywhere.

*just missed a coyote off my back porch with the .22 Mag* Dang it, 200 yards is a bit far for it, the tikka was in the gun safe.

Mr BeanMan,

You are on the Bestern slope!

Good riding over here as well.
Tons of paths all around where the Colorado get-2-gather will be.

What a challenge your trained coyote will be to get now!

................As with anything including mountain, hybrid and road bikes, you do get what you pay for.

At the $399 price point for the Ironhorse you show, you can be assured that this particular bike will have inferior components when compared with more expensive mountain bikes from say Cannondale, Trek, Specialized, Giant and others.

If you plan to use "really" the bike (not collecting dust in the garage???)and either riding it casually or hard, I`d be looking at the above four, paying more, and buying one from a bike shop rather than from a sporting goods store.

Most if not all bike shops have service facilities to tune up and repair a bike, whereas the dept and sporting goods stores do not.

I don`t do any mountain bike riding any more. Sold my last one (a Cannondale) about three years ago. Now I enjoy getting on my recently purchased new `013 Specialized Comp (hybrid) for road use. Smooth, fast shifting and quiet. It was a little over a grand but well worth it. SRAM componentry.

Suggest you go to the Cannondale, Giant, Trek and Specialized sites. Those four are probably the most popular bike brand models. The bottom rung componentry on their lesser expensive mountain bike models will probably be better than what comes on that Ironhorse.

Yah, I've been training a few lately. We were on vacation last week and I put my Tikka T3 .223 in the gun safe, all I had out was the 10/22M I scared it nine times though.

Mike

There sure are a lot of 26ers avalible, I sure are am making it harder with the 29 idea.

Years ago, over 25 years ago I bought one.
Biggest problem I had was getting back into the woods aways, true off-roading.

The problim, stalling out for me was right when a tire ran up against something right as the peddles were weak, or at the 12:00 ~ 6:00 o'clock.

Stalled dead was always a good time to ask myself why a taller tire wouldn't help?

I know your right, but just me. I walked right past mountain bikes for 25 years, till I noticed the 29 .

This color would have to go, but seems a lot of 26er.

http://denver.craigslist.org/bik/3731816899.html

Lol, 9 times should be enough to make him understand you weren't doing yard work!

Next your going to have to hide your rifle behind an egg basket. Might work anyways, worth a try.

I hear what you are saying about "stalling" the front wheel on an obstacle, but that is usually just a technique issue of shifting your weight back a little and unloading the front end to help it up and over. The 29" wheels should help, but I was riding with a guy from work for the first time last Saturday and he was stalling out his 29" wheels on rocks that barely slowed me down, so they don't seem to be a cure all. That said, I have logged thousands of rocky Arizona miles on 26" wheels and have never even ridden a 29r. . . but from what I have seen I don't need to for my uses.

Can't really go wrong either way, there's always the 27.5" wheels too.

Got done with the day job about 4: , went to a pawn-shop that has a 29er- pure junk. Looked at a another that was represented as a huge quality builder, Gunisess, that was offered for $250.00 cause the guy needed the money!

Gunisess turns out the be the same bike offered at Wally-world for $199.99 !
Told him to wait right there so I could find an ATM .

Went back to the Spicialized store, they were as good to me as you guy are.

Rode a Medium, felt like the way a frog looks right before they jump. Not perfict leaning into the bars, not perfict sitting back.

Rode a large (19" 29er ) and it felt like a slow dance at closing time.

The sales guy, decades of riding would have bet that I fit Med. But he said he knew when I rode it off the curb that the large was a fit!

Got maybe 5 miles on it, and the seat feels like a cinder block.
Other then that,

I never dreamed a bike could feel and roll like this!

Got the Specialized HardRock Sport.
Hydraulic brakes, 8 x 3 gears, Lock-out - adjustable fork and a Cinder Block� seat. I will get used to the cinder block, love everything else!




$661.49 out the door.

Thanks again for all the good help!