Low-end opinions: GT Avalanche 3.0 vs. K2 Cheyenne

[George Mealer]

I'm a rank beginner, and am in the market for a $300ish ATB. I'm
monitoring Craigslist like a hawk, and am going to check out the LBSs.
Tonight, however, I stopped by SportMart (because they were open late :)
and they had a couple of attractive models. One was the GT Avalanche 3.0,
which seems to be pretty well-regarded as bottom-end bikes go. The other
was the K2 Cheyenne 2003, which seemed roughly equivalent, but slightly
better looking. The weird thing is that I couldn't find a reference to the
Cheyenne (or its cheaper brother, the El Dorado) on K2's site.

Given that they're both heavyish aluminum hardtails with
Shimano/Tektro/Suntour stuff on them, they seem pretty equivalent. Both K2
and GT are decent names. The K2's on model closeout sale, which puts it at
20% less than the GT, and it's a 24 speed (cassette?) vs. the GT's 21 speed
w/ freewheel, so I'd go for that one all other things being equal. I'm
just a little nervous that information on the K2 seems non-existent. What
are the chances that I buy this thing and it turns out to be non-
servicable/upgradable/etc?

Geo
--
George Mealer
geo*AT*snarksoft*DOT*com

"Alright, it's Saturday night...I have no date, a two-liter bottle
of Shasta, and my all-Rush mix tape. Let's rock!" -- Philip J. Fry

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[Kevin]

Good choice going to REI. BTW, you'll out grow this quickly if you like to
ride. And skip the $1000 upgrade. Save for 1 $1500 bike instead. And
disregard if you're happy with a low end bike.

"George Mealer" > wrote in message
54...
> George Mealer > wrote in
> 4:
>
> > equivalent, but slightly better looking. The weird thing is that I
> > couldn't find a reference to the Cheyenne (or its cheaper brother, the
> > El Dorado) on K2's site.
>
> So, more research suggests that the Cheyenne is an (inexplicably) renamed
> Zed 1.0. I'm 99% sure that it's the same equipment. I didn't go back to
> Sportmart to check the frame. If that's the case, the El Dorado is
> probably a Zed Sport.
>
> I ended up going to REI and buying a closeout 2003 Zed 2.0 there for $299.
> Now I just need to find decent gear and some good trails in San Jose, CA
to
> start on. Any suggestions?
>
> Geo
> --
> George Mealer | geo*at*snarksoft*dot*com
>
> --
> rec.bicycles.off-road is moderated by volunteers. To find help solving
> posting problems, or contact the moderators, please see http://rbor.org/
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>


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[Sorni]

Sorry, my opinions are strictly high-end.

Dura Bill

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