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Re: Perfectly decent choices in $400 to $600 range Posted by Snowmobile [Email]  (#686)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Snowmobile) on Fri, 16 May 2014 07:55:15
In Reply to: Perfectly decent choices in $400 to $600 range, A1-turbo, Fri, 16 May 2014 05:53:44 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I think this comes down to one's definition of "typical recreational rider" because there is such a wide range of objectives.
Sticking with mtb's (since that was the original poster's interest), the $400-600 bike will work just fine for getting some exercise on bike paths, double track, and relatively non-technical single track (gravel, small bumps, a little mud etc). It is true that by far the majority of riders probably fall into that category (and probably many of those would be better served by a hybrid of some sort). The biggest failings of those lower end mountain bikes are weight, the shocks, and cheap shifting.
Weight sounds like a small deal, but it makes a big difference to how the bike handles (especially once they get over 30lbs)... Weight in the wheels in particular makes it feel sluggish (wheels and forks are where compromises are made on cheap bikes). That is actually the main downside people cite for 29ers. Pushing around a little extra weight is good exercise, but at some point it becomes less fun (unless there is some real upside like 29er rolling or massive travel like a DH rig).
Poor shocks and crummy shifting are fine on fairly smooth terrain, but once you hit technical stuff, it simply ruins the ride. It can be the difference between making a section and crashing. Tires matter also. There's one steep rock outcropping on our trails that I can climb 90% of the time with 1 set of tires and I fail (usually spectacularly since I'm clipped in and it is all or nothing) almost 100% of the time on just about any other set. It can be a very fine line! I was amazed how much smoother my riding became just by losing the front shifter and going 1:1 SRAM in the back (shifting issues that used to cause hangups and frustration are now gone).
Maybe I live in a very active city, but there are tons of people here that I would describe as pretty normal recreational mountain bike riders (don't race) riding the same trails I do. Most of them are on pretty nice bikes (much nicer than mine)... so maybe I am just biased in terms of what I consider "average". For sure, the entry Trek and Spesh bikes are not bad for getting around and doing a little basic dirt, gravel, and mud if that is your slant... you can take them to technical places, but the weight and performance issues will rob some of the fun.
I will say though, for anyone getting kids bikes, stay away from department store bikes. The last thing you want is for a kid to learn on a boat anchor. It can be a huge % of their own weight. Kids bikes often weigh as much as adult bikes because they are built cheap! Even many name brands make boat anchors (Trek!!!). Good to shop around because there are some really nice kids bikes now. With the right bike, it is amazing what kids can ride. My 7 year old can tear up technical single track already, which is awesome because it means we can ride together!
, Wed, 14 May 2014 12:22:04, Mon, 19 May 2014 16:27:29, Sat, 17 May 2014 16:16:20, Fri, 16 May 2014 06:33:27, Sat, 17 May 2014 04:05:07, Sun, 18 May 2014 17:09:02, Mon, 19 May 2014 04:26:01, Fri, 16 May 2014 13:04:47, Thu, 15 May 2014 11:38:59, Thu, 15 May 2014 12:26:38, Thu, 15 May 2014 13:07:18, Fri, 16 May 2014 04:38:25, Thu, 15 May 2014 20:41:38, Thu, 15 May 2014 11:27:51, Thu, 15 May 2014 12:31:47, Thu, 15 May 2014 12:40:12, Thu, 15 May 2014 12:43:28, Thu, 15 May 2014 11:30:44, Thu, 15 May 2014 06:43:37, Thu, 15 May 2014 09:01:00, Thu, 15 May 2014 11:42:37, Thu, 15 May 2014 20:55:56, Fri, 16 May 2014 08:01:49, Fri, 16 May 2014 07:55:15 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 15 May 2014 13:03:06
, Mon, 19 May 2014 07:00:15, Thu, 15 May 2014 15:12:06, Wed, 14 May 2014 14:31:55, Wed, 14 May 2014 12:33:52
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