Mountain Bikes
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 630
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le car-
Yes, there are mountain bikes in Florida.
There are alot of good trails everywhere in the US. You don't have to be on a fourteener to be off road. Central Florida is home to very many good, technical trails- you can call Orange Cycle Works in Orlando, FL for a listing. Don't forget the modern era mountain bike was "re-invented" right here in the US.
Brad-
No problem. There are several shops in the Chicagoland area we can go to that could outfit you to your needs. I'm in town for the next couple of weeks...
Yes, there are mountain bikes in Florida.
There are alot of good trails everywhere in the US. You don't have to be on a fourteener to be off road. Central Florida is home to very many good, technical trails- you can call Orange Cycle Works in Orlando, FL for a listing. Don't forget the modern era mountain bike was "re-invented" right here in the US.
Brad-
No problem. There are several shops in the Chicagoland area we can go to that could outfit you to your needs. I'm in town for the next couple of weeks...
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 525
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From: Lawrenceville, GA
I can not believe my very first post/reply on s2000online is about mountain bikes, but I wanted to put in my 2 cents!
I have a Trek 6700 WSD (Women's Specific Design). This is a pretty expensive bike, and too much for your needs, however, I would highly recommend Trek. Trek makes an excellent bike that will last you a really long time. Specialized makes a nice bike too...the Hard Rock would be the one to look at, though it may be a little more than $500 (prob around $600-$700).
Go to some bike shops in your area and talk to the guys (gals?) that work there. See whom you feel most comfortable with and who seems the most knowledgeable. My bike shop that I bought my bike from will give me free tune ups for the life of the bike. They even know me by name when I walk in the door! I think dealing with a good bike shop is imperative....especially if you think you will be dealing with them in the future.
Do not go the cheap route and buy a Target, Walmart or Kmart bike...they may look cool, but are typically have high tensile steel frames which are very heavy.
Definitely ride the bikes at the bike shop and see which one's feel best. There is grip shift, and trigger shift....you won't know which one feels more comfortable for you until you try it. Do not get anything with clipless pedals YET...only if you get more serious. A "hardtail" bike is one with a shock in the front. A shock is really nice to have, especially if you are going to be on the trails.
Check out www. mtbr.com for lots more info on trails in your area as well as reviews on bikes. Good luck!
PS - I don't have as S2K yet, but will be purchasing the new 2002 Suzuka Blue within a year. I've been lurking on this website forever!
I have a Trek 6700 WSD (Women's Specific Design). This is a pretty expensive bike, and too much for your needs, however, I would highly recommend Trek. Trek makes an excellent bike that will last you a really long time. Specialized makes a nice bike too...the Hard Rock would be the one to look at, though it may be a little more than $500 (prob around $600-$700).
Go to some bike shops in your area and talk to the guys (gals?) that work there. See whom you feel most comfortable with and who seems the most knowledgeable. My bike shop that I bought my bike from will give me free tune ups for the life of the bike. They even know me by name when I walk in the door! I think dealing with a good bike shop is imperative....especially if you think you will be dealing with them in the future.
Do not go the cheap route and buy a Target, Walmart or Kmart bike...they may look cool, but are typically have high tensile steel frames which are very heavy.
Definitely ride the bikes at the bike shop and see which one's feel best. There is grip shift, and trigger shift....you won't know which one feels more comfortable for you until you try it. Do not get anything with clipless pedals YET...only if you get more serious. A "hardtail" bike is one with a shock in the front. A shock is really nice to have, especially if you are going to be on the trails.
Check out www. mtbr.com for lots more info on trails in your area as well as reviews on bikes. Good luck!
PS - I don't have as S2K yet, but will be purchasing the new 2002 Suzuka Blue within a year. I've been lurking on this website forever!
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 607
Likes: 0
From: Defiance
Don't laugh but Walmart has inexpensive bikes for the beginner.
Later, after you wad it up and can appreciate what it feels like to pitch the chain off on a steep climb you can go out and buy yourselve a nice quality bike.
My current "cheap" bike is a full suspension Schwinn Carbon framed S10. Lots of fun and not too expensive to wreck.
Later, after you wad it up and can appreciate what it feels like to pitch the chain off on a steep climb you can go out and buy yourselve a nice quality bike.
My current "cheap" bike is a full suspension Schwinn Carbon framed S10. Lots of fun and not too expensive to wreck.
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 630
Likes: 0
Hey Clovis-
Yup- Lance raced the time trials on a Litespeed Blade.
But- he used an OCLV frame on the other stages, and a Litespeed Ultimate for some of the mountain stages too. And he was on E.M.s at Motorola- gussied up Litespeeds when he needed lighter bikes. Sort of like LeMond using the old Carbonbik back in the late 80's in stead of the Bottecchia...
Last year he was on OCLV. I've never been a big fan of those frames- I've seen them crack all too soon in mtb form both hard and soft tail- and they're super noisy, much worse than my recalled-after-two-months-signed-by-Ned-Overend-at-the-Cactus-Cup Specialized C3 FSR.
In any case, the Fisher bikes are strange- short stems and long top tubes make for strange fit- the Cannondales never agreed with me (I once likened the handling of the "crit" geometry 3.0 to a dead puppy, although the next gen 2.8 was better). Favorite material? Steel is real.
I'm more interested in the newer tubeless tire technology the tire makers are introducing- no more snakebites in mosquito infested areas!
Bike shop dude? So was I during college. Worked at a local shop for $6.50/hour building bikes...
Yup- Lance raced the time trials on a Litespeed Blade.
But- he used an OCLV frame on the other stages, and a Litespeed Ultimate for some of the mountain stages too. And he was on E.M.s at Motorola- gussied up Litespeeds when he needed lighter bikes. Sort of like LeMond using the old Carbonbik back in the late 80's in stead of the Bottecchia...
Last year he was on OCLV. I've never been a big fan of those frames- I've seen them crack all too soon in mtb form both hard and soft tail- and they're super noisy, much worse than my recalled-after-two-months-signed-by-Ned-Overend-at-the-Cactus-Cup Specialized C3 FSR.
In any case, the Fisher bikes are strange- short stems and long top tubes make for strange fit- the Cannondales never agreed with me (I once likened the handling of the "crit" geometry 3.0 to a dead puppy, although the next gen 2.8 was better). Favorite material? Steel is real.
I'm more interested in the newer tubeless tire technology the tire makers are introducing- no more snakebites in mosquito infested areas!
Bike shop dude? So was I during college. Worked at a local shop for $6.50/hour building bikes...
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