Looking for MTB recommendations

Hello,

Here's my situation. I've been a roadie (don't laugh) for the past 10
years. I've ridden off-road a grand total of 3 times, but never with a
decent bike and clipless pedals. Its always been one or the other, but
never both. Lately, I've *really* wanted to hit some trails. I work at an
LBS and can purchase an MTB at about 25% below wholesale, but my choices
are limited to Giant, Santa Cruz, Marin, and Ellsworth. Coming from a road
background, I was inclined to buy a hardtail and maybe a suspension
seatpost. The other guys I've talked to at the shop (all hard-core MTBers)
have told me this would be a mistake, even if I intend to race. They've
suggested I buy a full-suspension bike. FWIW, I'm 5'9" and about 145lbs.

So here are my choices and my impressions of them (in alphabetical order):

Ellsworth - almost definately out of my price range
^^^^^^^^^
Id - "all-mountain" bike... pretty much an indestructable work horse which
can handle all but the biggest drops and can also be built fairly light if
one wants to race.

Truth - a more race worthy version of Ellsworth's Instant Center Tracking
rear suspension also found on the Id.

Giant - a more economical choice
^^^^^
AC - All Conditions, pretty heavy and plush. An "all-mountain" bike.

NRS - No Resonance System - designed for cross country racing. Traditional
4-bar linkage rear suspension.

VT - Variable Travel - either 5.0 or 5.6 inches of rear travel. Another
"all-mountain" bike.

Marin - haven't really looked into them as I'm not all that impressed with
what I've seen in terms of quality of materials.

Santa Cruz - pretty expensive also
^^^^^^^^^^

Blur - a very nice looking, light racing machine. Uses virtual pivot point
suspension (whatever that is).

Superlight - basically a lighter version of the blur.

I guess what I'm looking for is any suggestions, thoughts, or
recomendations.

FWIW, I'm leaning toward the NRS, but could be pursuaded otherwise.

Thanks in advance,

- Boyd S.

I have ordered my VT2, and everything I have read about it is great
Aslso look at www.mtbr.com
CS

"Boyd Speerschneider" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Here's my situation. I've been a roadie (don't laugh) for the past 10
years. I've ridden off-road a grand total of 3 times, but never with a
decent bike and clipless pedals. Its always been one or the other, but
never both. Lately, I've *really* wanted to hit some trails. I work at an
LBS and can purchase an MTB at about 25% below wholesale, but my choices
are limited to Giant, Santa Cruz, Marin, and Ellsworth. Coming from a
road
background, I was inclined to buy a hardtail and maybe a suspension
seatpost. The other guys I've talked to at the shop (all hard-core MTBers)
have told me this would be a mistake, even if I intend to race. They've
suggested I buy a full-suspension bike. FWIW, I'm 5'9" and about 145lbs.

So here are my choices and my impressions of them (in alphabetical order):

Ellsworth - almost definately out of my price range
^^^^^^^^^
Id - "all-mountain" bike... pretty much an indestructable work horse which
can handle all but the biggest drops and can also be built fairly light if
one wants to race.

Truth - a more race worthy version of Ellsworth's Instant Center Tracking
rear suspension also found on the Id.

Giant - a more economical choice
^^^^^
AC - All Conditions, pretty heavy and plush. An "all-mountain" bike.

NRS - No Resonance System - designed for cross country racing.
Traditional
4-bar linkage rear suspension.

VT - Variable Travel - either 5.0 or 5.6 inches of rear travel. Another
"all-mountain" bike.

Marin - haven't really looked into them as I'm not all that impressed with
what I've seen in terms of quality of materials.

Santa Cruz - pretty expensive also
^^^^^^^^^^

Blur - a very nice looking, light racing machine. Uses virtual pivot
point
suspension (whatever that is).

Superlight - basically a lighter version of the blur.

I guess what I'm looking for is any suggestions, thoughts, or
recomendations.

FWIW, I'm leaning toward the NRS, but could be pursuaded otherwise.

Thanks in advance,

- Boyd S.

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 04:41:54 GMT, Boyd Speerschneider wrote:

The other guys I've talked to at the shop (all hard-core MTBers)
have told me this would be a mistake, even if I intend to race. They've
suggested I buy a full-suspension bike. FWIW, I'm 5'9" and about 145lbs.

You should say where you are and what sort of terrain you plan on riding.
If its very rocky, yes full-suspension is nice. If its buff trails and
long-extended climbs (as it is here in Oregon), a light hartail is a plus.
That doesn't mean that people don't ride full-sussers here - I see them
all the time (mostly on the fireroads, oddly enough).

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

Boyd Speerschneider ran this through spell check:
Hello,

Here's my situation. I've been a roadie (don't laugh) for the past 10
years. I've ridden off-road a grand total of 3 times, but never with a
decent bike and clipless pedals. Its always been one or the other, but
never both. Lately, I've *really* wanted to hit some trails. I work
at an LBS and can purchase an MTB at about 25% below wholesale, but
my choices are limited to Giant, Santa Cruz, Marin, and Ellsworth.
Coming from a road background, I was inclined to buy a hardtail and
maybe a suspension seatpost. The other guys I've talked to at the
shop (all hard-core MTBers) have told me this would be a mistake,
even if I intend to race. They've suggested I buy a full-suspension
bike. FWIW, I'm 5'9" and about 145lbs.


couple of thoughts:
you don't say what kind of trails you will be on...or your budget

HT vs FS one school of thought is that you build up a better skills base
learning to MTB on a hardtail, becuase you learn more about how to respond
to what's going on with your bike and the trail. With inexperienced MB-ers
and FS, there's a tendency to just let the bike take the hits, with out
learning the skills that go with it.

Racing on HT vs FS... don't even go there, that was most likely the third to
last flame fest here... ;-)



basic buying a MTB FAQ http://bbauer.gomen.org/newbike/

tell your hardcore friend to read this:
http://teamsmack.org/ride/ride1.htm remind them it's about fun, not being
hardcore.


welcome to the club, now go ride some dirt

Penny S

--
me and my bike:
http://www.specialtyoutdoors.com/pen...ing/biking.asp

On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 04:41:54 +0000, Boyd Speerschneider wrote:

The other guys I've talked to at the shop (all hard-core MTBers)
have told me this would be a mistake, even if I intend to race. They've
suggested I buy a full-suspension bike. FWIW, I'm 5'9" and about 145lbs.

Hmm, well seeing as you're in Tampa, I'd totally agree with your
bike shop buddies and suggest you get something with loads of suspension
to cope with all those huge mountains.

--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.j-harris.net/bike/ambfaq.htm

a.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

Id - "all-mountain" bike... pretty much an indestructable work horse which
can handle all but the biggest drops and can also be built fairly light if
one wants to race.

Yes, but it gets very costly, as you will want the lightest components. So,
it will be a tad heavy. An excellent trail bike but not fun to race.

Truth - a more race worthy version of Ellsworth's Instant Center Tracking
rear suspension also found on the Id.

A lovely frame: belongs to the creme de la creme league. Though they say
Ellsworth is sometimes as a company is not too friendly to deal with.

Giant - a more economical choice
^^^^^
AC - All Conditions, pretty heavy and plush. An "all-mountain" bike.

NRS - No Resonance System - designed for cross country racing.
Traditional
4-bar linkage rear suspension.

Defintely the most price worthy. Excellent racers, though far less sexy than
a Truth.

Blur - a very nice looking, light racing machine. Uses virtual pivot
point
suspension (whatever that is).

More of a trail bike than a racing bike. Hyped up a lot last year as a
technological break through. The jury is still out on that.

Superlight - basically a lighter version of the blur.

Quite different from the Blur, a classic racing machine, the design has been
the same for years, they refine it a little bit every year. An interesting
choice: easy maintenance. People win XC races on them.

FWIW, I'm leaning toward the NRS, but could be pursuaded otherwise.

The NRS are excellent, you get a lot for the money, and people win races on
them. The techically minded magazines claim that NRS has a less active
suspension than the FSR on the Ellsworth: i.e., it locks up during hard
breaking or honking.

Check out http://www.mtbr.com/ there are lots of reviews. The most
interesting are those with bad critique.

Per
http://lowdin.nu

Boyd Speerschneider wrote:



You might want to look at Titus as well, and I have been impressed with
Specialized new line-up.
--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado
(remove ".nospam" to reply)

"Boyd Speerschneider" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Here's my situation. I've been a roadie (don't laugh) for the past 10
years. I've ridden off-road a grand total of 3 times, but never with a
decent bike and clipless pedals. Its always been one or the other, but
never both.

Boyd,
If you raced road, or can ride well with Cat 2's, then you should have an
aerobic advantage over friends which only mountain bike, but will be at a
huge technical skill disadvantage for quite some time to come---best way to
begin "enjoying" the mountain biking right away, on technical trails (
another poster said you were in Tampa, meaning Alafia is nearby, and it is
very cool and quite technical on many of its trails) would be to go the "All
Mountain" bike route, with 5 or 6 inches of full suspension, which should be
using SPV on front and back to make best use out of your roadie cadence
potential. This bike will be heavier than the hardtails your long time
mountain biking buddies may be riding, but it will get you through technical
obstacles with less need for finesse, and allow you to have fun immediately.
Your aerobic advantage should cover the extra weight of the bike, and when
you screw up and hit something really hard, the all mountain bike should be
tougher than the 20 pound X-country alternative.

Down side of this advise for you is that you are a light rider, so bike
weight will be more of an issue to you than a 190 pound rider---but if you
are going out to ride for fun, I still think this is the best advise. If you
are hell bent to race, then the Santa Cruz Blur might be the better route.

Dan V

"Boyd Speerschneider" wrote in message
...
Ellsworth - almost definately out of my price range
^^^^^^^^^
Id - "all-mountain" bike... pretty much an indestructable work horse which
can handle all but the biggest drops and can also be built fairly light if
one wants to race.

http://www.petefagerlin.com/fullimages/ouch_f.jpg

Truth - a more race worthy version of Ellsworth's Instant Center Tracking
rear suspension also found on the Id.

Don't buy the ICT hype. They're four bar bikes, like many others out there.

Also consider Ellsworth's very spotty customer service, their "lifetime
warranty" that is not a lifetime warranty (their implementaion[charging
customers for replacement parts for frames with manufacturing defects] is
actually illegal) and the fact that Tony Ellsworth is lying sack of **** and
a poor excuse for a human being.

p e t e f a g e r l i n wrote:
"Boyd Speerschneider" wrote in message
...
Ellsworth - almost definately out of my price range
^^^^^^^^^
Id - "all-mountain" bike... pretty much an indestructable work horse
which can handle all but the biggest drops and can also be built
fairly light if one wants to race.

http://www.petefagerlin.com/fullimages/ouch_f.jpg

Truth - a more race worthy version of Ellsworth's Instant Center
Tracking rear suspension also found on the Id.

Don't buy the ICT hype. They're four bar bikes, like many others out
there.

Also consider Ellsworth's very spotty customer service, their
"lifetime warranty" that is not a lifetime warranty (their
implementaion[charging customers for replacement parts for frames
with manufacturing defects] is actually illegal) and the fact that
Tony Ellsworth is lying sack of **** and a poor excuse for a human
being.

Wow! Another Ellsworth down. I've now seen this plus two frames cracked in
half and all around the shock area.