flipwils11
Devout Dirtbag
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More great input, thanks guys. Definitely excellent advice on looking 2-3 year old bikes to ease my way in and probably get an excellent deal because bikes depreciate so much and so quickly!
Out of a timewarp: how to ease into buying modern?
- Thread starter flipwils11
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Neil G
Old School Grand Master
Definately look into buying secondhand. Mountainbiking seems to be a sport with a lot of people who have more money than sense who will upgrade yearly because they think they're getting something better!
This is great for us lot, knock down prices on lightly used bikes
This is great for us lot, knock down prices on lightly used bikes
gradeAfailure
Senior Retro Guru
I'd have to say you can't go far wrong with a Specialized Camber as your first foray into modern FS - that's basically its intended market really! It's kind of a general purpose, 120mm-travel trail bike: not steep enough angles to be twitchy and race-oriented, but not so slack as to feel slow.
My OH has the 2011 Elite which to all intents and purposes I've stolen, and it's a great bike. Get the shock/fork pressures right, tweak the rebound to suit and it's a really fun, playful ride. Fork and rear shock have lockout too, if that's important to you (I never use them off-road, even climbing). You do have to adjust your riding style slightly though, especially climbing as the "sdtand and hammer" approach isn't as effective as sitting and letting the rear suspension track over bumps.
$2k would net you a 1-year old Expert I think, which is a very nice bike indeed.
In terms of modern groupsets, SRAM are reckoned to be slightly clunkier shifting than Shimano, but slightly more reliable due to the 1:1 actuation ratio. Have to say, I prefer the finesse of modern Shimano, plus I like the 2-way release on the shifters.
Groupset order is:
Shimano - XTR, XT, SLX, Deore, Alivio
SRAM, X0, X9, X7, X5, X4
There are others below those but they're not worth bothering with.
My OH has the 2011 Elite which to all intents and purposes I've stolen, and it's a great bike. Get the shock/fork pressures right, tweak the rebound to suit and it's a really fun, playful ride. Fork and rear shock have lockout too, if that's important to you (I never use them off-road, even climbing). You do have to adjust your riding style slightly though, especially climbing as the "sdtand and hammer" approach isn't as effective as sitting and letting the rear suspension track over bumps.
$2k would net you a 1-year old Expert I think, which is a very nice bike indeed.
In terms of modern groupsets, SRAM are reckoned to be slightly clunkier shifting than Shimano, but slightly more reliable due to the 1:1 actuation ratio. Have to say, I prefer the finesse of modern Shimano, plus I like the 2-way release on the shifters.
Groupset order is:
Shimano - XTR, XT, SLX, Deore, Alivio
SRAM, X0, X9, X7, X5, X4
There are others below those but they're not worth bothering with.
flipwils11
Devout Dirtbag
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There is a Scott Spark RC, 2010 model for sale locally which is over the top in terms of what I "need" but damn, the bike listed for $7500 new! I might go look at it for kicks but it is a bit above the $2k limit.
Just got back from a ride with my wife and we rented her a small trek Mamba which is a 29er, and she loved it! The big wheels, her first ride on a bike with suspension, and the disc brakes were by far her favorite.
Trying out bikes is fun and she really liked it. This afternoon we are going out again on some more serious singletrack so I hope she enjoys that.
Just got back from a ride with my wife and we rented her a small trek Mamba which is a 29er, and she loved it! The big wheels, her first ride on a bike with suspension, and the disc brakes were by far her favorite.
Trying out bikes is fun and she really liked it. This afternoon we are going out again on some more serious singletrack so I hope she enjoys that.
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