Need more advice on getting a bike

I greatly appreciate all the advice I've been given here, and it's
helped alot. I went to an LBS last weekend, and now I have a few more
questions.

To recap, I am looking for a mountain bike with a more upright seating
position. My idea is to go exclusively offroad. At this point, I
won't worry about attaching racks to it for camping gear.

At the LBS, they recommended a bike made by Giant, saying they were a
reputable bike maker ala Raleigh or Schwinn. They recommended a
"comfort bike," which apparently is a mountain bike that has higher,
adjustable handles, allowing a more upright position. They'd have to
put tougher tires on it. It has front shocks and a shock under the
saddle, but no rear shocks.

He said aluminum would be better for a big guy like myself (240 lbs),
because steel tends to flex, and aluminum would better withstand my
weight over rough terrain.

The bike is about $300. For an additional $200, I can get a similar
bike that has rear shocks. According to the salesman, this would make
the riding easier and safer. He said that an inexperienced rider with
rear shocks can keep up with an experienced rider with a hardtail bike,
because the hardtail rider has to position his bike more carefully.

I wanted to check this information with you all. Specifically:
1. Is a "comfort bike" really a modified mountain bike, or more like a
road bike?
2. Is Giant a reputable manufacturer?
3. Are there better brands for the same money, or equivalent brands
for less money?
4. Is aluminum really the better material for a big guy who will go
offroad?
5. For level riding at safe speeds, is there a benefit to having rear
shocks? Do they cause any problems, like difficulty in climbing hills?
Again, thank you kindly for your responses.

Greg

Greg, I am a bicycle master mechanic. I have been riding mountain bikes
seriously since 97'. This is what I can tell you: Do not get a comfort
bike for mountain riding. First of all, the frame geometry (the angles
on the frame relative to each other) is all wrong for mountain biking.
It would make it hard for you to shift weight from the front to the
back wheels, which is crucial for bike traction control. Also, the
suspension seat post (if its the kind I think) changes the height of
the seat as youre riding, which is extremely bad for your legs (uneven
pedaling will hurt your legs and make you more tired, faster). Also,
think about this: The only time youre going to need shocks would
probably be on sections where youre going to be standing on the pedals
anyway.

Giant is a good brand, though, but i think for the price youre looking
at try to find a very basic mountain bike with a front shock only. This
will ensure that the most amount of money is going toward parts that
you need rather than gimmicks you dont. I would really suggest the
Giant Rainer, or the Iguana. They might be a little above your price
range, but you get good parts and a basic bike you can modify later. As
far as your third question, at that price range most bike maufacturers
will crank out bikes that are pretty much the same with no clear
advantages over one another.

Material: Steel is honestly a great material for frames, but only if
its well welded with good tubes (like a truetemper platinum OX), but
that makes it much more expensive. Aluminum is great to learn on but it
will kick your ass in tough sections. Youre really looking for 7005
aluminum (as opposed to 6065), which is the best aluminum for frame
making. And yes, I ride an aluminum frame (7005) and I am 250 lbs.

Ok on to the final question: FS versus hardtail (no shocks in the
back). This is the biggest debate in the bike industry. Let me list the
benefits of each:
Hardtail: Lighter bike, less upkeep, more control over traction.
Hardtails are also great to learn on because they teach you much better
how the bike responds to a certain obstacle. You can always tell when
someone learned on a hardtail because their riding is much more refined
and smooth. Also, you get better parts for the money.
FS (full suspension): Smoother ride, automatic traction control
(regulated by the shock), more confidence, more customizable.
Downfalls:
Hardtail: Much harder on your legs, your back, and your arms. And your
butt. If youre not very good your traction can suck if you dont know
how to regulate it. Did i mention its hard on your butt?
FS: Heavier, more expensive, has a tendency to rob pedaling energy,
(specially up hills, the "pogo" effect where the whole bike will bounce
with your pedaling as opposed to moving forward), much more upkeep, If
you dont get the right one youre totally screwed because of all the
designs available.

The thing with Fs vs Hardtail is that the cheaper the bike, the more
the negatives you get. Notice for the FS the negatives are a lot, and
you really have to spend at least about $2000 to get a FS that will
actually benefit you. My suggestion: GO HARDTAIL. and yes thats what I
ride. You'll get way too many problems if you get a FS, not to mention
it could fall apart. Ill give you some examples of good bikes though,
just in case you wanna run a search for these:
Hardtail: Schwinn Homegrown, any Curtlo frame, Marin Juniper trail, The
supergo Access frames are good (supergo.com), Specialized Stuntjumper,
Gary Fisher classic advanced, and many other ones.
FS: Intense anything, specialized FSR, Giant DS series, Marin full
suspensions, and others.

I hope I have answered your question and more, email me if you have any
further questions. Happy bike hunting!

Ps Sorry I might have bored you to death but I know too much for my own
good.

1. Is a "comfort bike" really a modified mountain bike, or more like
a
road bike?
It's basically a mountan bike with less aggressive tires, a seatpost
shock, and more comfortable handlebars

2. Is Giant a reputable manufacturer?
They are the same as any bike mass produced in Asia.

3. Are there better brands for the same money, or equivalent brands
for less money?
Better brands naturally cost more money.

4. Is aluminum really the better material for a big guy who will go
offroad?
Aluminum is basically the only choice at your price point. Will be
fine with suspension but a steel road bike is the only way to go.

5. For level riding at safe speeds, is there a benefit to having rear
shocks? Do they cause any problems, like difficulty in climbing
hills?
A low end rear suspension does more harm than good. For $1000 stay
away from full suspension.
Again, thank you kindly for your responses.


Greg

On 27 Jan 2005 13:46:56 -0800, wrote:

I greatly appreciate all the advice I've been given here, and it's
helped alot. I went to an LBS last weekend, and now I have a few more
questions.

To recap, I am looking for a mountain bike with a more upright seating
position. My idea is to go exclusively offroad. At this point, I
won't worry about attaching racks to it for camping gear.

At the LBS, they recommended a bike made by Giant, saying they were a
reputable bike maker ala Raleigh or Schwinn. They recommended a
"comfort bike," which apparently is a mountain bike that has higher,
adjustable handles, allowing a more upright position. They'd have to
put tougher tires on it. It has front shocks and a shock under the
saddle, but no rear shocks.

Basically he's suggesting you take a comfort bike and refit it for off-road.
I'll disagree and suggest you get a mountain bike and adjust the fit to suit
your riding posture. Something with a sloping top tube in as large a size as you
can stand and get some lift from the stem and bars.

He said aluminum would be better for a big guy like myself (240 lbs),
because steel tends to flex, and aluminum would better withstand my
weight over rough terrain.

Horse****. I cannot imagine a rookie out-riding a good steel frame.

That said, for the prices you're talking good steel's out of the question and
cheap aluminum will have to do. It ain't bad for the cost and weight.

The bike is about $300. For an additional $200, I can get a similar
bike that has rear shocks. According to the salesman, this would make
the riding easier and safer. He said that an inexperienced rider with
rear shocks can keep up with an experienced rider with a hardtail bike,
because the hardtail rider has to position his bike more carefully.

Get the hard tail and learn how to ride. It's part of the game i'n it?

I wanted to check this information with you all. Specifically:
1. Is a "comfort bike" really a modified mountain bike, or more like a
road bike?

Sorta like perfect for cruising around the park and not being afraid to ride in
the grass like on a drop bar road bike (well a lot of people are anyway) and not
as slow on the road as a real MTB..

2. Is Giant a reputable manufacturer?

Yes.

3. Are there better brands for the same money, or equivalent brands
for less money?

At a given price point they are as good as anybody. And it really is about price
point these days.

4. Is aluminum really the better material for a big guy who will go
offroad?

For an inexpensive bike, yes. For a bigger budget, or ironically for a cheapo
project, I'll prefer steel. Then again I'm old and just like steel.

5. For level riding at safe speeds, is there a benefit to having rear
shocks? Do they cause any problems, like difficulty in climbing hills?

They do cause problems if they aren't high quality and well suited to the rider
and bike. That costs a bomb.

Again, thank you kindly for your responses.

I'll boil down to get a decent bike store MTB that fits as best it can get a
bunch of miles in and you'll know a lot more then.

Ron


Greg

wrote in message
oups.com...

At the LBS, they recommended a bike made by Giant, saying they were a
reputable bike maker ala Raleigh or Schwinn.

I would trust a Giant before I'd trust a Schwinn, based totally on brand
reputation.


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/

I'm doing the Big Climb for my friend Dena! See:
http://www.active.com/donations/camp...?key=cpetersky

In article .com,
writes:

5. For level riding at safe speeds, is there a benefit to having rear
shocks? Do they cause any problems, like difficulty in climbing hills?
Again, thank you kindly for your responses.

All the responses you've gotten so far are very good info.

As for rear suspension, my thinking is that it's basically
for riders who like to catch a lot of air, and do high drops.
Since it's important to land on the rear wheel first, it's
good to have some shock absorption back there -- but it had
better not crumble and break on impact, and that means /good/
rear suspension will be well-engineered, and priced accordingly.
If you're going to mostly have both wheels on the ground at once,
you won't need rear suspension.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

On 27 Jan 2005 13:46:56 -0800, wrote:

The bike is about $300. For an additional $200, I can get a similar
bike that has rear shocks. According to the salesman, this would make
the riding easier and safer. He said that an inexperienced rider with
rear shocks can keep up with an experienced rider with a hardtail bike,
because the hardtail rider has to position his bike more carefully.

I wanted to check this information with you all. Specifically:
1. Is a "comfort bike" really a modified mountain bike, or more like a
road bike?
2. Is Giant a reputable manufacturer?
3. Are there better brands for the same money, or equivalent brands
for less money?
4. Is aluminum really the better material for a big guy who will go
offroad?
5. For level riding at safe speeds, is there a benefit to having rear
shocks? Do they cause any problems, like difficulty in climbing hills?
Again, thank you kindly for your responses.

Greg

The short answer:

Do more research http://www2.trekbikes.com/Bikes/Mountain/Index.php

Go to the LBS and test ride more bikes, and test them out riding like
you expect to ride off-road - do some jumps, etc. (may we presume you
have the experience and bike handling skill?)

Assess your motivation, fitness, and goals as accurately as possible;
if you're serious about those, get the best bike you can afford. For
instance, you'll save yourself the trouble of realizing 2 months from
now that you need to go back and buy a 'real' MTB if the low end bike
is not really doing the job for you. IOW, a larger rider, who does a
lot of jumping and singletrack, will put a fair amount of stress on
the bike and the parts.

jj

wrote:

Greg, I am a bicycle master mechanic. I have been riding mountain bikes
seriously since 97'. This is what I can tell you: Do not get a comfort
bike for mountain riding.

I agree that for "mountain" riding a comfort bike would be a bad choice,
but if his idea of "off-road" is a fairly smooth trail, perhaps with
gentle ups and downs, then maybe the comfort bike would be OK. Note
that I have zero experience on a comfort bike, so this is pretty much
pure speculation.

Giant is a good brand, though, but i think for the price youre looking
at try to find a very basic mountain bike with a front shock only.

As someone who road up until last year with no shocks, I can say that
the front shock makes riding off-road far far more pleasent. I shold
have replaced my old bike years ago....

Rich

Rich wrote in news:10vj84vks03lr81
@corp.supernews.com:

You've got a lot of very good and consistent advice. One thing I would add
because of your weight is to pay a bit more for good wheels. The $300 bikes
usualy do not have very strong wheels. It is hard to tell a strong wheel
from a weak one by looking at them, but a good mechanic will be able to
point you to a good wheel.

You got the point that comfort bikes are not designed for more than casual
off road riding on dirt roads and well groomed paths.

Alan Acock

Thank you for asking these questions. I got a lot of good information
from the answers. I ride a Giant Hardtail and had been thinking about
getting a new bike with dual suspension. Don't think I will, now.
I'll stick with what I have. I might see if they can add front
suspesion to it, though. That sounds like it would take some of the
jarring out of my rides off-road. Good questions, thanks again.
Kumen.