Quote:
Originally Posted by Canada 02
I use to mountain bike a fair amount when I lived in Calgary, but always had crappy bikes. Got away from it when I moved overseas and then to the mid-west, but would like to get back into it during summer road trips to even some local trails.
What's the latest in biking components and bike frames? I don't want or need anything high-end, but would like a good quality intermediate-level cross-country or all-round bike as opposed to a down-hill bike. If it is inadequate as I ride more and more then the components can be upgraded later on
Full suspension vs hard-tail? how much travel?
V-brakes vs disc brakes?
Grip shifters vs trigger shifters?
Frame materials?
What are good stem, headset and hub components?
anything else
Also, where should i go on these road trips (USA)? Moab, Appalachian's, Grand Teton's?
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if you are planning on doing a lot of city riding I would definitely reccomend a hardtail.
V-brakes are pretty much only on dept store stuff, and the lowest end bike shop stuff. The bike I bought last year was the first I've had with discs, and I will never go back.
Grips versus triggers... almost everything is trigger now, its more the orientation of them. Some like s-ram (my preference) are all under bar with thumb only actuation, where as shimano tends to be ratchet shift under bar for thumb, and trigger above bar for pointer finger. Its more of a preference thing.
Most intermediate quality frames are going to be aluminum. I think the nicest welded frames in the affordable bracket are Cannondale, and they look really beefy.
Most off the shelf bikes have pretty decent stem/bar set-ups, much of it will boil down to preference.
All that being said, I looked at all this stuff after being out of it for years when I bought my new bike last year and went for the Trek 6000 alpha black.
The bike was 869 + tax, and I spent another couple hundred on accessories and upgrades and couldn't be happier with it. I would however recommend stepping up to the 6500 if you are going more hardcore offroad. The 6500 I think is $1200-1300 and goes one step up in componentry and a couple in the front suspension dept. I am more of a path/light dirt guy so I didn't need the hardcore front shocks. Bottom line is around a thousand bucks today gets you what would have cost at least a couple thousand 5 years ago. Plus i was sold on the fact the 6000 has a lockout on the front shock which is nice for when I put my slicks on it for road riding.
Others to look at I would recommend
Specialized Rockhopper disc
Cannondale F5
Hope this helps.