Getting in to Biking!?

[lastlight]

The last bike I owned was in grade 8 I think. Was < $100 from K-mart. I recall nerding it up in the computer room at school one day and heard from someone that my bike had been taken from the racks. I guess they were riding it INTO the school wall but the tire was so bent when I rode it the wheel rubbed the brakes a few times with each revolution.

I know this helps you out Chris otherwise I'd never intrude on your post. Just not my style =)

[Aqua-Digital]

I used to do some serious XC stuff back in the UK. 2 x 20mile XC training rides during the week followed by a 40mile three hills treck on a Sunday, looking back now (15 years) I have now clue how I managed it.

The early to mid 90's suspension was just coming into play, my first bike was a Kona Lava dome, soon tricked out with all the latest CNC stuff and a neat pair of magnesium mazzokies (check spelling) on the front. Then came the hand granades (clip in SPD peddles from Shimano). Not a good move to go out in these for a first trip clipped in and cant get your feet out when you stop at a set of lights!!

So before I knew it I had ordered a custom frame from the USA from Chris Chance, the guy that built the USA mountain bikes for the olympics, the trade name was "fat Chance" The came the custom wheels from Jeremy Duke, again, he made the wheels for the UK olympic team.

Taking into account this was mid 90's I think i racked up a bill on this bike close to $5k!!!!!!! and managed about 3 hospital trips on it resulting in concussion twice.

Late 90's I gave up and found Carp fishing!!

Now in Canada I am back in the seat and have a 2009 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR! I just dont have the fitness I had all those years back, but hell this thing is like hacking a sofa on steriods down a hill!!

[Funky_Fish14]

Well thanks for all the help everyone! I wish I could go for something with full-suspension but that moves in to the $1600 range... Gah...

And I would def go new because of the warrenty and adjustments and assurance that the bike is in good condition. Im handy enough but Im not the bike pimp so I dont know everything about every little detail, lol.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

Originally Posted by Aqua-Digital

I used to do some serious XC stuff back in the UK. 2 x 20mile XC training rides during the week followed by a 40mile three hills treck on a Sunday, looking back now (15 years) I have now clue how I managed it.

The early to mid 90's suspension was just coming into play, my first bike was a Kona Lava dome, soon tricked out with all the latest CNC stuff and a neat pair of magnesium mazzokies (check spelling) on the front. Then came the hand granades (clip in SPD peddles from Shimano). Not a good move to go out in these for a first trip clipped in and cant get your feet out when you stop at a set of lights!!

So before I knew it I had ordered a custom frame from the USA from Chris Chance, the guy that built the USA mountain bikes for the olympics, the trade name was "fat Chance" The came the custom wheels from Jeremy Duke, again, he made the wheels for the UK olympic team.

Taking into account this was mid 90's I think i racked up a bill on this bike close to $5k!!!!!!! and managed about 3 hospital trips on it resulting in concussion twice.

Late 90's I gave up and found Carp fishing!!

Now in Canada I am back in the seat and have a 2009 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR! I just dont have the fitness I had all those years back, but hell this thing is like hacking a sofa on steriods down a hill!!

I know the feeling, I remember when after every ride it cost $$$ to make repairs.

Ken

[Funky_Fish14]

Brett... thanks for the wonderful contribution :P Haha.

Thanks for the continuing advice everyone!

In terms of used bikes... I guess im looking for something like this?

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/655443/

or this:

http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/639596/
http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/655884/


I guess my question is... if going used... do I pick something that looks like its not about to fall apart and rides well/clearly is not broken? Do i buy something on the cheaper side and upgrade/replace some of the parts? Are the brand like 'big hit' generally OK? And Norco I figure is reasonable? Norco makes great trials and mountain unicycles and I think their bikes are ok?

Not too worried about theft, the bike would always be in my car, in a garage (in city or at acreage) and the UofA campus I go to is in camrose... camrose has very low theft, particularly on that campus.

Thanks for the continuing info!

Cheers,

Chris

[loveless]

Big hits are generally good. They are made by Specialized.

Generally you can tell the condition a bike is in just by seeing it. If its all scratched up and smashed you know its had a hard life. Imo if the major components like suspension, wheels, frame is in good working order the other stuff is fairly inexpensive comparatively.

Alot of people get bikes with good intentions of using them, but end up collecting dust instead.

[Delphinus]

Not a lot of info on the Ollie and he's used a stock picture by the looks of it. It's a toned down model from earlier years, at one point it was Devinci's second-in-command after their flagship Wilson for DH bikes and a lot of coin to get into an Ollie. Personally I don't think I'd give it much thought unless you find out he's real close to you and you can check it out in person.

Both the Norco and the Devinci you linked to there are larger travel suspensions (6" or up). They are not going to be fun to push on a commute for very long, unless your commute has a decent DH section (but the flip side is the other direction you're walking it uphill). If you're looking for more of a daily driver that can handle the occasional trail or trick then you should look for bikes in say the 4" of travel instead, for the sake of weight for the most part. Even less if you don't need it since it all adds up to weight. The newer bikes, like from say maybe 2008 onwards you get 5" travel bikes that weigh as much as a 3" travel bike from 2005-2007 but then you're looking at newer and thus probably fewer good deals to be found. You can probably start with a hard tail for now since it will be lighter, and cheaper, for the most part the softtails are really for taking drops (with maybe some exceptions but that's sort of the reason for the rear suspension as far as I'm concerned. ) Also take into account that bikes that aren't rigid will suffer from pedal bob if you can't lock out the suspensions, no pedal bob for the most part with a hard tail.

The best suggestion I have is that you need to try riding a few and see what you like best. Head into a few LBS and try out new models to get an idea for what grabs you but then look for those models used. If you restrict your search to say 2-3 years old the bike shouldn't have had much chance to be trashed. Bike maintenance isn't too bad, you can pick up a guide book from say MEC or similar for $20ish and it will list all sorts of things you can DIY including the crazier low level stuff. That said, I don't do that much except for the simpler stuff myself, I have a pretty good relationship with my LBS (the owner is a friend of mine), they know my bikes well so I usually get them to work them over if it's anything I don't really have the time to tackle myself.

[sitandwatch]

Check out Bow Cycle this weekend they are haveing a huge sale with some great deals.

[Parker]

I think those bikes may be a little more then you need at this point. I'd look at a decently spec'ed hardtail. They can take quite a bit of abuse, and will still be light enough to commute around on day to day.

I think something like this would be a good fit:
Kona
http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=blast

Specialized
http://www.specialized.com/ca/en/bc/...nuItemId=12241

Giant
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-ca/...te/5398/41496/

Trek
http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes...4_series/4500/

Or for the same money, you could pick up something a little better spec'ed used as other have mentioned

If you find your progressing out of one of these bikes in a couple of years keep it in your stable for daily commuting duty and pick up something a little more robust for the more challenging stuff.