Me and the GF are starting to look at entry-level mountain bikes and I wanted to get your input. What is good for under $500 for men's and women's bikes.

The bikes will be used for mainly getting around and some exercise. Trail riding will be at a minimum.

Thanks

 

I have a couple of Trek mountain bikes, you can get a very good bike for under $500. I think they still have the 820 for around 350. The only problem though in a mountain bike that you will use mostly on the street would be tires. I would advise to change to a less aggressive tire, the ones that come on a mountain bike would give a lot of drag.

 

A lower level TREK bike should be under $500. My friend got his GT for around $500, but then he upgraded all his parts.

I love my TREK 7000. It's very light. Too bad I don't ride it that much...

 

I have been into mountain biking since about '92. I strongly suggest Cannondale. Strong, light frames and reasonably priced. Make sure you are fit to the bike correctly (read: let the shop tell you what size you need), and don't neglect to get helmets!

 

I have ridden Specialized for as long as I can remember, something like 12+ years....they are light, strong and quite capable machines...

Cannondales have always been heavy, but Trek, GT and Specialized are all excellent bikes and should do you for many years into the future.

If you want to go for high performance bikes, I can help you out on that front too....

 

Cannondales are heavy? huh? All frames are aluminum and as far as I know lightweight... (i never bought a bike under $500, so maybe the cheaper ones are heavy?)

Anymore even a "hardrock" is a decent bike. I worked in a bikeshop back 10 years ago...we sold Fisher (pre Trek ownership), specialized, yeti, kona and klien.... back then, the $250 bikes were just OK...not really off road bikes...

Meat - tell the bikeshop what you plan to do with the bikes.. if no offroading, don't bother with a MT bike, just makes the pedaling harder....

Scot - used to have a Fisher Supercaliber, now a Schwinn Moad AL



[QUOTE]Originally posted by gregstevens
[B]
Cannondales have always been heavy snip..... but Trek, GT and Specialized are all excellent bikes and should do you for many years into the future.

 

I used to have a mountain bike until it got stolen. bad, bad ppl

 

One of my good friends in Austin would go riding frequently and he had a Cannondale...this was probably about 8 years ago. His bike was so freaking heavy that you could hardly lift the damn thing! It was almost comical....

Perhaps the newer ones are lighter, but this thing weighed a freaking ton!

You can't go wrong with Specialized or Klein. Or one of my faves, Lite Speed. Of course, solid titanium gets to be a little pricey...

And Brad, if you won't be taking it off-road, get a hybrid bike...

 

Hey Brad-

Bang for the buck-

Giant. For your use (assuming you'll be at the level you claim to be at) a Giant Iguana is all you'll need. For two bikes you could be out the door for under a $1000 w/ helmets and locks...

The other brands everyone else mentioned are great- but keep in mind Giant builds almost 60% of the mtn bike market for themselves and as an OEM supplier. If you're brand concious, Specialized is the 800lb Gorilla, Cannondales are nice (a VERY good high school buddy is bike designer there, and let's just say we started riding about the same time back in the day), and there are a couple of nice boutique bike brands that do the job nicely. We used to say friends don't let friends ride Trek- but they own half the industry little guys now, and Lance won on a Trek, are they any good? They did do some things in the past that made me laugh...

More importantly, what kind of shifters are you looking for? Shimano RF+, or Grip Shift? 7, 8 or 9 speed hubs? Brakes are fairly universal now- Shimano V-Brakes are the "standard" even though I think they are poorly designed for the trails- too many pivots to get gunked up. The only ones I'll use are the LX versions- but those are too heavy for the performance.

There are other things to consider, but for your level most of those are not really a dealer maker/breaker. The reputable bike shop you go to should be able to provide a test ride, and swap out saddles, handlebars and stems to your preferences at no additional charge so that the bikes fit you properly.

FYI- I've used Grip Shift (easier to do the "grand slam" 1-8/9 rear cog change for the last 7 years. I also use Avid 1D brakes- one pivot, one bushing to clean, 95% of the ultimate braking of a Shimano XTR brake that has four pivots that I have seen gunked up really badly. I have some pretty trick stuff on the bikes apart from those items- but those are the basic units that I think are keepers. The Avid 1D brakes are the cheapest decent ones on the market- I've seen them for under $20. Coupled with the lower end Avid levers, the combo is hard to beat in price/performance- although I prefer Paul levers (again, one pivot, one bushing, easy cleaning). One thing to also consider for easy maintenance (but is more pricey) is a Chris King headset- I've had one on one of my bikes for over 10 years without ONE maintenance rebuild or repair. Simply foolproof. Also- I have two road bikes- a '93 Colnago Master Light w/ Campy Chorus/Record 8 speed, an '85 Ouellette custom w/Campy Record carbon 9 speed, a '94 Bontrager Race Lite w/ many goodies (like a White Bros. hopped up Judy SL w/Bontrager rake, Sweet Wings crankset, Hope hubs) as my trail bike, a 2000 Specialized FSR XC that I got after I sold my DH bike for goofing off on, and a '98 Litespeed Obed w/ Hugi hubs, Raceface crank (that I hate and will swap out for a Sweet Wing crank/bb set) that a buddy traded me last year... My favorite road bike of the lot is the Ouellette, and favorite trail bike is the Bontrager. I use Shimano SPD 747 clipless pedals because I like to be fustrated on the trails (from my observations the Time clipless are better at ejecting mud, but I don't want to change out three bikes' worth of pedals).

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sondra S2K
[B]I have been into mountain biking since about '92.