New Mountain Bike Recommendation

Jeremy said:

Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
bike not the choice?

Thanks!!

for that amount of $$ you might want to consider a really
sweet hard tail, as compared to a "ok" FS.

penny

"Jeremy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week.

There are a lot of nice bikes and everybody will have
their favorite.

I'd drop the discs and get a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR,
retail 1470.

Quoted message said:

There are a lot of nice bikes and everybody will have their
favorite.

To prove your first point, I'll disagree with your second.

Quoted message said:

I'd drop the discs and get a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR,
retail 1470.

Keep the discs, lose the suspension. Bianchi Denali for
$1150. Steel, marzocchi, avid discs, WTB wheels.... What's
not to love?

Cheers,

-Andrew

"Andrew Thorne" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

There are a lot of nice bikes and everybody will have
their favorite.

To prove your first point, I'll disagree with your second.

Would that make you disagreeably agreeable? To confuse
matters, I wouldn't call the Bianchi a bad choice!

"Jeremy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
bike not the choice?

Thanks!!

I have a bike similar to the Cake design. It's a miserable
chain sucker when it gets a muddy drive train.

Kept clean and lubed it's fine.

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

I've spent most of my money on mountain biking and windsurfing.
The rest I've just wasted.

Jeremy said:

Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
bike not the choice?

Thanks!!

You'll get 1000 different answers. Do a lot of research and
ride all the ones you're considering...

--
- Zilla Cary, NC (Remove XSPAM)

"Jeremy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
bike not the choice?

Bikes that tend to chainsuck get worst when riding in mud.
Bikes with high chain stays do a better job against
chainsuck. What FS bikes are your friends riding? I ride in
mud all the time and discs are the bomb.

jack said:

Bikes with high chain stays do a better job against
chainsuck.

Please explain.

Barry

"Andrew Thorne" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

We can just leave it at as an unmodified "diasgreeable"
Thankyouverymuch.

So now you disagree that there are a lot of nice bikes and
that everyone will have their favorite?

I agree that you are disagreeable.

"Jeremy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
bike not the choice?

Thanks!!

I bought a Jamis Dakar Sport awhile back and have been very
pleased with it. Its at the lower end of your price range.
If you've got the cash you could step up to one of the Dakar
XCs. Like others said, you'll get lots of different answers.
Go to your shops, tell them what you want, and test ride
some bikes.

[email hidden] (Jeremy) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi- I'm looking at buying a FS Mountain Bike with Disc
brakes by the end of this week. I'll be doing a lot of
Single Track riding. I'm new to Mountain Biking and have
only had a hybrid in the past. The guys I'm riding with
have all said a FS would be nice and the disc brakes will
help for all the mud we go through. I've had 2 stores
recommend the GF Cake 3 DLX, but I'm reading about all
these chain issues and now I'm a little concerned. In
addition 1 of the guys I ride with has recommended against
GF. I'm looking at spending between 1000-$1600 - Can
anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
bike not the choice?

I have never liked how GF bikes fit me. And if you are going
to spend that kind of money, then look at Specialized or
Marin. Heck, as other people have said, a really sweet
hardtail could be had for that kind of money. Sweet like top
of the line components, but still strong and durable. The
Marin Mt. Vision and the Rift Zone are both pretty good
bikes for the money. They are both above your budget, so you
may want to look at the East Peak. I don't like that Axel
fork, but I guess it could serve for a season or two. The
FSR line from Specialized is also pretty good. While GF
might be what the LBS has to sell, I'd stay away only due to
the Bontrager components - they suck pretty bad.

In the end, the bike that fits you best and the best one
that you can afford is the best deal. FS *is* nice, but
adds about $1000 to a similarly-equipped bicycle. Is FS
worth a grand? My old butt thinks so, but when I was
younger, I didn't care. I also have an extra grand to
spend. You really don't.

Still, it's your money - you have to make the call.
--
Jonesy

Jeremy said:

Can anyone give me some advice/recommendations - Is the GF
bike not the choice?

My rule of thumb and general recommendation:

Buy the best frame you can afford. Components (shifters,
derailleurs, etc.) will break/wear out/fail, and you'll end
up replacing them anyway. A good frame will be your friend
for years.

That being said, also look around for good deals. I got a GF
FS; the dealer needed it out the door and sold me a $1600
bike for $1000. That went a long way to convince me to buy
that particular bike.

--Kamus

--
o__ | May your trails be dim, lonesome, stony, narrow,
winding and ,>/'_ | only slightly uphill. May the wind
bring rain for the slickrock (_)\(_) | potholes fourteen
miles on the other side of yonder blue ridge.
| May God's dog serenade your campfire, may the
| rattlesnake and
o | the screech owl amuse your reveries, may the Great
Sun dazzle

Quoted message said:

[] | your eyes by day and the Great Bear watch over you
at night.

/\ | \ \ | - Edward Abbey, Beyond the Wall

"Bonehenge" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

jack said:

Bikes with high chain stays do a better job against
chainsuck.

Please explain.

Barry

Most chainsuck situations has the chain jammed against
the chainstay. A high chainstay usually doesn't have
this problem.

A poorly maintained drive train on any design still can have
the chain trying to wrap around the chainring and stop the
bike. The difference is that on a high chainstay stopping
the bike will automatically unwrap the chain instead of
having to unjam it against the chainstay.