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Bicycles

I used to ride road a lot and never really owned a mountain bike but I think it’s about to be time.
I have a bad disc in my lower back which has a lot to do with why I don’t ride anymore.
That and it’s practically legal to kill cyclist with your vehicle in Alabama.
I don’t know Jack about mountain bikes.
My budget is $3k to $5k.
Thoughts?
 
JoshHefnerX said:
I think if you're using an ebike for actual transportation, they make sense. Or if you're in some way infirmed that you need the assist (injury or age), it also makes sense. But if you're out for your health, it doesn't make a ton of sense to me.
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I had the same thought last summer. I was regularly riding my old Schwinn Moab mountain bike to work (~21 miles round trip). And then in July an injury took me off the bike long enough that I got out of the habit of riding. Didn't ride much in August or September, and I didn't ride at all in the snowy months. I've been a fair-weather biker.

This spring I had a change of heart and decided that power assist would help motivate me on crummy days. Riding in the dark, or the rain, or when it's freezing out. So I bought a cheapie knockoff hub motor and put it on the Moab. Got it on the road this week, and it has already motivated me to commute in sub-freezing headwinds after dark. Honestly, I know pretty well that I would not have been riding in that kind of weather. But having the psychological boost has gotten me actually out on the bike, instead of simply dreaming about it. Though I did skip the rainy day, and I did take a day off to drive the Burb. :D But progress!

And getting in some ride training after a winter of lethargy has also gotten me fired up to do actual road biking. Conveniently enough, I stumbled into a freebie road bike right as I was deciding to tear the Moab apart. It's now harder pedaling with the extra weight and drag, so I will probably repair the road bike for commuting duty.

I like bikes. I can't figure out why I wandered away for so long...
 
I do feel out of place in this thread. I've never spent more than $100 for a bike, and I logged 4000 road miles on a pair of $10 garage sale specials. My current $100 Moab from 1997 is hands down the best bike I've ever owned, and it's a basic bike with a solid steel frame. So I have no idea what you guys are talking about with fancy forks and full suspension and rock jumping. I've always had beaters. I'm just now starting to realize that better bikes exist. :rolleyes:

:haha:

:popcorn:
 
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@TuckerK5
First thoughts are that your budget will get you anything you want but highest end components. Lots of love for the consumer direct model lately. Guerilla gravity, canyon, and such. Good value for the money. You've got some of the best trails in the country in Alabama. Anniston has Coldwater...AMAZING. Bham has Oak Mtn State Park that is also great fun. Huntsville is Monte Sano which is fun but not easy to navigate.

If it were me, I would see what the local shop carries. Maybe even try to demo a few or rent something to test out. I would also recommend trying to find a $1500-$2000 used bike to start with and make sure it's a sport for you. A $2K bike is loads easier to resell than a $5K bike. Used bike market is 50% of retail.
 
@TuckerK5 also, just fire questions at me. Text is fine too. One of my best friends owns a bike shop in Chattanooga. I'm not sure what he's carrying as house brands these days but I'll check.
 
campfire said:
I do feel out of place in this thread. I've never spent more than $100 for a bike, and I logged 4000 road miles on a pair of $10 garage sale specials. My current $100 Moab from 1997 is hands down the best bike I've ever owned, and it's a basic bike with a solid steel frame. So I have no idea what you guys are talking about with fancy forks and full suspension and rock jumping. I've always had beaters. I'm just now starting to realize that better bikes exist. :rolleyes:

:haha:

:popcorn:
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You and me both.
I am now building a bike on the cheap, I got it for free but it was a decent bike that was abandoned after they bought a $3k bike and it sat in the rain.
Hopefully it will not cost me much
 
Nice. I’ve been riding Santa Cruz bikes since 2008 when I left cannondale. I think I’m on my 8th frame. I’ve only paid for two of them and still have a version of both originals. I ride hard and am a big boy, so I put some heat into the pivots. Boiling the fluid out of the rear shock used to be common before I went coil. A long day of helidrops is hard on equipment.

I stated with the original Blur. They’ve replaced it five times over the years. Went from blur lt to lt-c. Then they sent the V2 of the BLt-C. From there they upgraded me to a nomad. I broke a couple of those by putting so much stress on the pivots that the threads were getting damaged. Instead of taking chances with the pivots, they’ve sent me new frames. Most recently they upgraded me to the current gen Nomad. I paid a little over $1200 for that original frame and they’ve sent well over $15K in frames to me over the years.

My hard tail is SC Highball. It came off the car after a race and broke the cable stopes off the frame when the handlebars ripped around on impact. They sent me a new one.

Great company with great customer service. Can’t remember if I posted this here before. Probably. It’s the only one on my phone.

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I've heard a lot of stories about their customer service and quality bikes. That's a lot of what steered me towards Santa Cruz.

Old bike was a trek x-cal, so this was a pretty big step up for me. I'm definitely able to hit the trails harder in this bike.

Wasn't totally sold on the 27.5+ wheels,but figured I'd give it a shot since I was sticking with hardtails for now. Seems to be working good so far. Little more give in the back helps smooth out the super rocky sections, but doesn't really to slow me down much on the climbs
 
All day climbs to rowdy downhills. Jump flow trails and super tech as well. I ride in Pisgah a lot which is raw and technical. Have to climb all day. If I didn’t take a trip to colorado and BC every summer, I would probably opt for a MegaTower or Hightower. In need something that I can hit bike parks on as well as the most difficult singletrack.
 
I had done some trading a while ago for my Transition Dirtbag. Didn't know much about it, but I wanted something other than my hunting bike to ride trails with Brycen. I was never able to get the brakes bled. So, yesterday I bought new brakes for it and told Brycen that if he wanted to go riding he would need to fix my bike. I new rear tire, two new brake sets and we loaded up. 5 miles into the climb was the top trail and we were questioning our decision. Brycen hasn't built up strength and stamina yet. Myself, I'm not a super fit athlete anymore and a downhill bike doesn't pedal uphill very well.

5 minutes into the downhill and I was loving the way this bike rides. It was taking me right back to my BMX days. It laid into the corners well and floated over everything in it's way. So much fun. I could get into this sport really deep after yesterday. Most of my riding has been logging roads and Sunday drive type trails. We will see how far Brycen takes us.

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Love it!!! I’ve all but bailed on my riding group and ride with my 9yo. She got her first mtn bike at 6 and is a straight shredder. I’ve been lucky enough to ride in 13 states with her to include Utah, Colorado, and Arkansas. I’ve only lost her in the woods three times. Once in the Mtns above Moab. Momma wasn’t happy that day. Good times with the offspring.
 
What brakes are on there? My understanding is that shimano's bleed easier - because they don't need extra tools, but they've never had as consistent of feel. SRAM needs to have the bleeder syringes to get a good bleed on them but the newer brakes are good w/ consistency and feel if bled properly.
 
I’ve never had good luck bleeding the newer shimano’s. I’ve got a couple of sets and both rears were a bitch. The SRAM’s do take the syringes, but it’s easy peasy. Especially with the quick disconnect tool they include. I much prefer that style.
 
natemc said:
I had done some trading a while ago for my Transition Dirtbag. Didn't know much about it, but I wanted something other than my hunting bike to ride trails with Brycen. I was never able to get the brakes bled. So, yesterday I bought new brakes for it and told Brycen that if he wanted to go riding he would need to fix my bike. I new rear tire, two new brake sets and we loaded up. 5 miles into the climb was the top trail and we were questioning our decision. Brycen hasn't built up strength and stamina yet. Myself, I'm not a super fit athlete anymore and a downhill bike doesn't pedal uphill very well.

5 minutes into the downhill and I was loving the way this bike rides. It was taking me right back to my BMX days. It laid into the corners well and floated over everything in it's way. So much fun. I could get into this sport really deep after yesterday. Most of my riding has been logging roads and Sunday drive type trails. We will see how far Brycen takes us.

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Riding with the kids is always a blast. I get a kick out of watching them progress. First time my son hit our local loop this summer I think we had to stop about 15 times on a 5 mile loop and he was walking the upper part of the climbs of most of them. By our 4th trip he was making most of the climbs and we only stopped 3 or 4 times on the longer 10 mile loop. He's hooked now and asking to go ride all the time.
 
@bsgreen How old is the kid? The family and I are planning a trip to MT to camp, hike, and ride. May get pushed for a while due to the current issues, but it's still on the radar.
 
Boy is 12. Daughter is 8 and just getting in to it.
Yeah the covid is screwing up a lot of travel plans this year... sounds like glacier natl park isn't opening up this summer.

Lemme know if you come this way. I can get you pointed at towards some good trails/camping spots.
 
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