New to riding..need some education

DC SUPERJET

DC SUPERJET

Half a roll
Location
Lake Michigan
I have been mountain biking a few times before at the trails by my house and I'm considering getting more into it. Right now I just have a cheapo diamondback from dick's sporting goods that is sort of half broken. The trails I ride are dirt, pretty hilly (not huge), with tree roots. In terms of obstacles there are some fallen trees that I have to get over, hills to climb, and some of those little bridges that people make over creeks and valleys. I feel like the trails are also pretty tight it doesn't seem like it's wide open and something that I will be flying through. It seems pretty technical. I'm not really sure what type of bike to get, and I'm not really sure of where to look for info and other stuff. A friend of mine said that a "29er" would be best for what we do, but that's really all I know. Any help is appreciated since I don't really know too much.

Oh and I'm 5'7" at 160lbs.
 
SuperJETT

SuperJETT

So long and thanks for all the fish
Location
none
29er is a 29" wheeled bike and is a kind of recent trend, like last 6-8 years maybe. They roll over obstacles easier due to the bigger wheels, but will be slightly heavier due to that fact also and not quite as quick handling.

However...my wife switched to a 29" this spring and has zero problems with the size on trails around here and I seriously doubt you would either.

If you're not certain you want to invest a bunch of money in a bike yet, pick up something used off craigslist locally or maybe buy a new bike like a Fantom 29 from bikesdirect.com (you'd fit a 15" frame) for $600 which is what we did.

Sounds like singletrack to me.
 
SuperJETT

SuperJETT

So long and thanks for all the fish
Location
none
We like my wife's. There are a couple of different models at different price points and obviously the components get better as you go up.

We've changed the brakes, seat (she has a women specific that she loves), grips (Ergons) but that's it, maybe $160 over the original cost.

There are a thousand different ways to go for a bike, you just have to do some research then pick a direction and go with it and not look back.
 
Big Kahuna

Big Kahuna

Administrator
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
I just picked up a Gary Fisher Rig singlespeed 29er yesterday. The Fishers have tweaked the geometry to help speed up the handling. Took a quick test ride today and it is pretty responsive to turns. Now the singlespeed thing is something to get use to.......... tough!
 
Matt_E

Matt_E

steals hub caps from cars
Site Supporter
Location
at peace
Mine's down right now, too. I think I ride more in the winter than in summer. Loving my Trek hybrid...great for commuting. Too bad I had to replace the rear tire already. Got cut by a piece of glass on the road. At 110psi, I didn't want to wait for a blowout.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
 
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