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Any mountain bike/trail/freeride guys here?
I'll be heading to college in the fall and want a good bike to commute around campus with. There is also several lakes in the surrounding area all with good riding trails that i have ridden before.
I used to ride park BMX, so i have riding experience. I found a cannondale chase and a motobecane 700ds on craigslist, both asking $500. I've done some homework on the two, and they both seem like solid lower-end bikes that are great for entry to intermediate level riding. The cannondale is a hardtail, while the motobecane has a full suspension. Being from a BMX background, i like the feel of hardtails alot over full suspension bikes. Anyone here ride or have some input? |
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/9...0117165522.jpg
Ride that bike to class twice a week. I got it for almost $400 a few months ago. It's a really nice bike. It has a lockout switch on the front suspension so you can turn it off for road riding. You can also get this model with disc brakes. |
I ride 30+ miles per week around campus on my bike. One thing is for sure, you'll appreciate a hardtail bike after you start putting that many miles on it. I had a full suspension bike for one semester and got rid of it. The suspension sucks up a lot of your effort to make the ride smoother by putting less power to the ground. So you work harder for nothing, IMO.
I ride a GT Transeo. As long as the tires are full, it rides easy as hell...takes very little effort to get anywhere. |
If you can manage it, get a used aluminum road bike off craigslist for a commuter.
You can get a mountain bike later if you really end up enjoying the ride. You can pick up 26" bikes pretty cheap these days because everyone is ditching them for 29er's. Personally, I would just get a 29er with the intention of upgrading along the way. If you really get into it, nothing feels better than a properly set up light bike with nice parts. You just stop wanting to ride it onto campus when the bike is over $1000.... If you only want to know about the 2 listed, I would pass on them both. Cheap full suspension bikes are not worth your time. I had a Motobecane 400HT that I replaced the frame on (3 times) because of a crack in the same spot. And I've never really cared for Cannondale, but that bike does seem like the BMX-type. If it will kill you to lose $500, I wouldn't bring a bike like that to college campus though.... Freshman year I rode a Motobecane 400HT Sophmore year I rode a Specialized Hardrock Single Speed Junior and Senior year I rode a Specialized Allez (Road bike) |
I have this one. I like it a lot. Its not the cheapest but its a great bike. I'm a pretty big dude so have the larger frame and 29" tires just looks better. Most people can't tell its a 29er.
But yeah for a commuter bike it sucks to have to make sure its locked everywhere and worry about it. http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...cname=Mountain |
Well, i picked up the cannondale Chase. Came with some "street" tires and knobby trail tires. Also came with a second seat and post.
Only downside is that the guy ordered it as a fixed gear. It can be converted back to multi-speed with a gear-set and derailer and such for pretty cheap. Went riding on a local trail with a buddy to test it out and ended up seeing the guy I bought it from there riding his Specialized. I sure got a workout riding with them since it's a fixed gear. Bike felt very solid on jumps and drop-offs. Paid $450 for it plus the extras. Rode about 8 miles of trails and hills. DAMN my thighs hurt! I can honestly say I'm happy with the bike. Several people at the trail-head said they'd never seen anything like it, and were impressed. I'm mainly into jumps and drops, which is what this bike is built for. The headtube is MASSIVE and should hold up very well. It has upgraded hubs, fork, and reworked disk brakes. ME LIKEY :D |
pics or gtfo!
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looks pretty sick dude. how much does it weigh
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Nice choice man. If you used to ride BMX, then I would say the small frame hard tail you have there will suit you. I used to ride a BMX and I wanted something a little more forgiving and easier to ride some distance with. I bought a Giant STP2 a few years back, in the small frame version (14") and it is my favorite bike so far.
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