Attn: Mtn Bikers

250f4life said:
Initially I was thinking full suspension but I just left a bike shop in atl and learned alot. Fsr bikes are more $$, weigh more and more maintenance. Although Fsr seems to be a must on a 26er cause of the smaller wheel. On the 29er the wheel does takes alot of the hit. The shop owner was a straight up guy after I made it clear I wasn't buying a bike today. He said they actually had a few hour discussion last week about 26fsr vs 29er hardtail and the majority agreed on a 29ht.
To me the 29er is more bang for the buck cause I can go with some higher end components, and the bigger wheel will is more forgiving so maybe it will take up some of the slack of it being a rigid.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand the argument of the 29er taking more of the hit than a 26" wheel, I would think the tire would have more to do with that. Sounds like you went in talking about purchasing used, and convinced you to buy a new 29er instead. Be sure to ride a 29er on a trail before you decide. The 29er ht I rode for a day, left just as much *** hurt on me as the 26" ht I ridden. But to add to that, I would say for most of the trails down here you dont really "need" fs. Its more of a luxury....and its worth it, expecially with you coming from dirtbikes, I feel like you would feel more at home on a fs. I love mine. I rode hard tails for years, and my ankles thank me for fs every time I ride.
 
The bigger wheel doesn't take anything off the hit, but just like putting bigger tires on your crawler it rolls over terrain (rocks, roots, etc) easier than a smaller tire over the same object. I've never really felt any significant difference between riding my 26" vs. 29" bike related to the tires, but the bikes are so different it would be hard to point to the tires anyways. My 29er is a steel frame w/ a 4" fork, disks, and it is generally big and heavy (~29lbs last I checked). My other bike is a lighter aluminum frame, 5" bomber fork (plush), hydro rim brakes and weighs ~21lbs. They feel different under me, and are balanced completely different (affects climbing mostly) but I've never felt one was better of worse due to the size of the wheels.

All that said, I've never ridden a FS on a trail (none of my friends are tall enough) so I'll gladly admit I don't know what I'm missing. On the flip side, I've never not ridden a trail or felt like I was missing out because I didn't have FS. If I lived somewhere that didn't have so many hills to climb (maybe a chair lift) I would have a FS no doubt. Every time I look at bikes I end up in the $2500 range for a FS I would want and I just don't want to spend that on a bike when I'm not unhappy with my $1000 singlespeed.
 
The only full suspension I've ever ridden was either yours or Casey's and it had me hooked, rides more like a Cadillac. Although I've never been disappointed in my hardtail, coming from riding bmx for years it's been great and a lot cheaper.
 
Exactly what bigred said. The 29er just rolls over terrain better. I haven't decided new or used and he didn't convince me of anything. I'm about a 100% new is where I'm headed though. Just for piece of mind mainly.
 
250f4life said:
Exactly what bigred said. The 29er just rolls over terrain better. I haven't decided new or used and he didn't convince me of anything. I'm about a 100% new is where I'm headed though. Just for piece of mind mainly.
Click to expand...

10-4, I will admit, it was nice being able to drop of my bike at the bikeshop I purchased it at and have them do a free tuneup for the first year. Its a very nice perk.
 
250f4life said:
Initially I was thinking full suspension but I just left a bike shop in atl and learned alot. Fsr bikes are more $$, weigh more and more maintenance. Although Fsr seems to be a must on a 26er cause of the smaller wheel. On the 29er the wheel does takes alot of the hit. The shop owner was a straight up guy after I made it clear I wasn't buying a bike today. He said they actually had a few hour discussion last week about 26fsr vs 29er hardtail and the majority agreed on a 29ht.
To me the 29er is more bang for the buck cause I can go with some higher end components, and the bigger wheel will is more forgiving so maybe it will take up some of the slack of it being a rigid.
Click to expand...

Which bike shop did you go to in ATL.

If you went to Atlanta Cycling, they are probably the best bike shop. Roswell bikes is very good too. Bicycle South is solid as well. There are a few other shops, then it gets into boutique bikes for the fixie hipster wannabes (because they are too damn expensive for the actual hipsters to afford). Performance Bike is like Walmart, great if you know what you want (excellent pricing on components) but their staff is hit or miss on knowledge and most of their bikes are pretty low end.
 
Peachtree is solid. I've never done business with them because I didn't like their service department nor their prices on accessories despite fact I used to live pretty close to them. Their shop ride is pretty beastly. Got my *** handed to me a few times on that ride.

However I did throw up off that back walkway last year. Apparently sprint races and burritos don't mix.
 
The guys name was Jack. Super cool guy, answered every question I had. Deff gone give him some business once I get to riding.
 
Fair enough. Also as mentioned before, check out Atlanta Cycling in Ansley. Also good peeps. With their free adjustments and the warranty I bought on my bikes, they handle just about everything for free which is nice.

Last year I had a bad month of breakage. Broke a chain, shifter cable, many spokes, and bottom bracket (well not broken but the bearings committed suicide). All repaired for free. BTW this was during my time of unemployment so that was really nice!
 
Last edited:
LR Max said:
Are there no closer bike shops?? Rolling to ATL everytime you need warranty work is quite the pain.
Click to expand...

I'm in atl a few days a week. I'm gonna by a bike local for the reasons you stated. I'm jut doing research right now.
I really like what I'm reading about the Giant xtc 29er ht. $1800is. But for some reason the Specalized Rock Hopper keeps my attention. Not a bad thing said about the Giant I've found but I guess my thing with the Rock Hopper is its track record. That platform has been around forever and upgrades are endless. $940.
 
You will want to do some test riding before you pull the trigger. The fit is the main difference I've seen between brands. On paper they look very similar in many cases, but when you climb on those minor differences can feel huge. Giant for example, I found the top tube too short for me compared to other brands. As long as you get the brand that fits you best you should be fine with any of the quality brands.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top