Mountain Bike

[RUBigDog05]

Hopefully someone can help.....I`m looking to buy a new mountain bike to ride around here at school. I`m not looking for anything expensive, just big enough for me(I`m like 6`3 240 pounds) but I want the dual shocks and stuff. Walmart, best store ever for college students, has a Mongoose 26" mountain bike for like $130-160. It seems to be big enough for me but its hard to tell because I can`t raise the handle bars in the store. Is there something bigger than a 26" frame thats not custom made or really expensive? Please help if you can..thanks!

[JaredPointer]

I`m a pretty serious mountain biker, so let me see if I can offer you a hand. 26" frame is going to be L-XL. First of all, I am about 6` and I ride with a L frame usually. (Large). Most upscale mountain bikes are measured in M, L, XL. I have a couple of bikes in my stable at the moment. My favorite for street/trail riding is a GT Avalanche 1.0 XL frame (with a lot of add-ons - street friendly tires, disc brakes, monkey lite handlebars, serfas saddle, etc. It DOES NOT have the rear shocks...these add a lot of weight. I have a Specialized StumpJumper with the rear shocks). I feel that the XL frame is a litte large for me, but it allows me to sit up higher when I am just cruising around the city. An XL frame would probably suit you well. A general rule is that you want your legs extended almost fully when they are at the bottom of the pedal turn. Personally, if you are not going to be trail riding or in the woods with this bike I would steer clear of a few things. First, get you some street friendly tires. This will make it a LOT easier to get around. Something like some Kenda Comforts at the bike shop should cost about $25. You can ride these on the trails also, just not too rough terrain. Second, watch the weight of the bike. The bikes at Wal-Mart are notoriously heavy. You don`t want something that weighs a lot. My GT weighs around 15 pounds. The Specialized weighs about 45. The more it weighs the tougher it is to get around. You may want to go test ride a bike with the rear shocks and one with just fork shocks. Ther IS a difference in comfort, but not that much. Most of the guys who ride the dual suspension are downhill riders also. As far as the handlebar position, you can check on the internet for all kinds of parts. Get you a stem (attaches the handlebars to the bike) with a high degree of rise and get you some riser handlebars. This should help out with that. As far as purchasing goes....check around on Ebay and get the prices of some of the bikes on there before you definitely buy anything. Sometimes you can come across a sweet deal on a bike there. Just make sure you do a little research before you buy anything, or else you`ll be unhappy and stuck with a bike that sits in the garage and never gets ridden. If you need to ask any more questions, feel free to do so.

A good website to look at for parts is NASHBAR. Check it out for prices on the stem & handlebar.

[Bob]

Giants always get great reviews. Might want to try and find one of those.

[JaredPointer]

Giants always get great reviews. Might want to try and find one of those.

Giants are good entry level bikes. You can get a new one for around $300, a used one for much cheaper. A lot of the times, they come with many extras already included. At the bike shop near my home you can get a new one with fork shocks, carbon fiber bars, and Shimano disc brakes for about $375. That`s definitely not a bad price. I agree, Giants are good bikes.

[thinksnow]

Buy the Wal*Mart and you will be sad in a month if you want to enter the sport. Check out mtbreview.com in the classifieds. Mountain bikes have the same resale value as Grand Cherokees

I`m on the same hardtail frame I used to race on in college (1996 Trek 990 in naked steel) with far too many component upgrades. PM me if you want specific suggestions depending on your intended use for a new horse.