"frodge" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks guys. I will check back in 6 months to a year after I have put some
miles on. I guess my skills are crap right now anyway and the Trek will be
o.k. for now.
One thing you might do---keep checking the Trek web site looking for when
the DEMO program comes to a trail within a reasonable distance of your
area... You can ride several different sized bikes, and also get the
assistance of the Trek people in choosing the right frame size for you.
And in particular, you can try riding several different styles of mountain
bikes on real trails--you can see how you like a good hard tail, how you
like a full suspension cross country bike, how you like an "All Mountain"
bike with 5 inches front and back suspension, how you feel about extremely
light versus extremely plush, etc. You get to do this over real obstacles,
not a parking lot where you can tell NOTHING about how the bike will ride
over technical obstacles for you.
A lot of people on this NG hate Trek, and with that in mind, I'll add that
the DEMO program can help you with what style of bike, and does not have to
be about choosing a Trek--you may decide you like an All Mountain design,
and then gravitate to some other manufacturer for the All Mountain bike you
will actually get ( or X-country, or hardtail, etc).
Personally, I like my Trek Liquid 25....its awesome in the rooty type of
riding we have in south florida, and its holding up well to the abuse I've
been giving it ( Got it in January, been hammering very rooty trails 3 to 4
days per week on average since then...I weigh 212 pounds now, and I put alot
of stress on a bike frame. For the people who claim the Treks have weak
backends, I have to say this is nonsense. I don't use it to jump off 7 foot
drops onto flat landings, but to me that is not mountain biking....If that's
what you like, get a bmx or freeride bike, start banging your head into
concrete walls for at least 30 minutes a day to help further reduce your IQ,
and try skateboarding in your spare time;-)
Regards,
Dan V