I have one season of sport mtb racing under me, probably 6-10 off road dus, but only one off road tri to my credit. Here goes...

You should get a mountain bike as I don't know that cyclocross bikes are 'legal' in some off road tris. Disc brakes or V-brakes. If you are getting a new mountain bike, I would go with disc brakes. I'm sure that some will disagree, but if you are spending good money and can get a pair of avid mechanicals, other hydraulics, or if you are really going big for XTR, then disc brakes will be worth it. I would not go with lower end disc brakes as they are noticably heavier and will require more adjustments than the higher quality ones.

Hardtail, softtail, or Full suspension. My opinion is that a hardtail will teach you to ride better, but you may not be quite as fast inintially. A full suspension will take away a fair amount of the learning curve required for riding a hardtail, so you'll be faster quicker. With all of the efficient designs out there, I don't know that the bobbing or pedal feedback argument for not riding a full suspension is relevant anymore--especially in some of the higher end bikes. For fulls, check out the Specialized Epic or Trek Fuel for a wide range of $$. Check out the Ellsworth Truth, Santa Cruz superlight or Blur, or the Titus Racer-X for a more high end choice. There are tons of hardtails, but I would lean towards high end steel like a gunnar, kona, or jamis or a ti bike.

Good luck, mountain biking is addictive.

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Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

I love my cross bike and do most Xterra like events on a single speed mtb and have a bias toward cantilever brakes.
If I were giving advice to someone else however ,I would get a mtb over a cross bike. (Although cyclocross is a way fun sport in itself). Mostly because most off road races are more suited to the mtb.
Hard tail vs full suspension? They have made great strides in full suspension bikes in the last couple years, but I would start out with a hardtail and move to full suspension in a few years if you like the sport. The really good full suspension bikes are real expensive to buy and more complex to maintain/tune. Usually weigh a tad more too.
Disc vs Vbrakes? If you ride in the wet or mud a lot the discs are the way to go and they stop better under most conditions. Again great strides have been made in discs and I would probably go with them. Trek, Giant, Fisher, Specalized and all the bigs make pretty good alum bikes for a reasonable cost. I wouldn't buy top of the line until you have raced a bunch of times to see what you need most in a bike. Good luck.
If you are around 50 or so forget this info and get the heaviest bike with out of true wheels you can find. Aloha G

As previously posted on this forum, a cyclocross bike is a great way to go, but Tex is right, it will not be legal at all races. The Ironman distance off-road race last year actually stipulated 26" wheels. With Fisher and others building 29" (700c) mountain bikes, that will be a hard regulation to maintain. A mountain bike will handle the super steep ups and downs with less chance of a pinch flat and more gear options, while the cross bike will roll the other 95% of the course with road bike speed and not lugging the extra weight. My custom Sycip cross bike is under 18lb with race wheels. It also depends on the terrain. Rocky and root filled courses like Tahoe would more likely pinch the lower volume cyclocross tire, but Tinley's race and Kearn's race are cyclocross ideal. If you have to pick one or the other, probably lean towards a hardtail mtb, or the XC focused Fisher Sugar or Santa Cruz Blur. The neat thing about dirt equipement is that for less than the cost of a Kestrel, you can have both! Redline and Kona production cross bikes are all over the local cross series and if you keep an eye on ebay you can pick up a cross frame for a few hundred. Build it up from that old box of junk, slap a set of cheap Nashbar wheels on it, and have fun. As with triathlon, make sure you get a good set of wheels to race on and pay attention to tire weights and tread patterns. Find a local shop that does the offroad thing well and hang out with those guys. What they teach you about the 'pro' off-road set-up will save you hundreds and will actually be the faster set-up.

If you are heading into the offroad realm, work on your swim. The 'hole shot' gained out of the water will make the bike a lot easier as the really good off road riders will have to go around you, not the other way around.

Have fun!

lousav,
Cyclocross bikes will definitely not be legal in Xterra races. I also ride in the Mid Atlantic area, and if price were no object, I would get the Specialized epic (the S works model ~ $5k) with V-brakes. Unless you are riding in perpetually wet and muddy conditions, or are doing extreme downhilling, disk brakes just don't make sense. (They are much more difficult to maintain, heavier, and more expensive...nuff said)

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"The more you sweat today, the less you bleed tomorrow"

Mark C,
how do you know this for certain? I couldn't find anything on the Xterra website indicating 26" wheels only. Did I miss something? With NORBA and even the retro-UCI allowing 29" mountain bikes in the world cup races, that would mean a cross bike would be legal. I'm interested to hear if that's not the same for Xterra for sure. Although, the way they design courses, the mtb would likely be the tool of choice.

lousav,
Definitely go for a XC MTB, it's what they are made for. And, if cost is not a barrier, go with the Specialized Epic (there are quite a few price points on the Epic depending on components). The beauty of the Epic is that it pedals like a hardtail, no loss of power due to brain shock, but rides like a full suspension bike (detailed technical info on the Specialized website). Also, wait a month or two for the '04 version, as they've made it a bit lighter than the one I ride. As for discs, IMO its a weight vs. riding conditions question. In AZ where it's dry, I don't really need them, but I still ride them as I like the stopping power and am not really that concerned about the extra grams.

Santa Cruz (Blur) and Intense (Spider) also make a great XC bike with stable platform technology (no/little pedal bob).

Full suspension is also easier on my back.

Cyclocross and mountain bike races and du's are a great way to compete on a bike in the traditional tri offseason. I built up a 'cross bike from an old steel Schwinn hybrid frame and am chomping at the bit to start racing. Hup, Hup!

I did race a local 10 mile mountain bike race with my 'cross bike and it was fun, but there were parts of it that made me wish I had a mountain bike. The 10 mile course was for beginners, They also had 20 and 30 mile races (10 mile loop, 2x3 times), but after 10 mi, my butt was kicked. The best part was being one of the few brave souls with a 'cross bike. Even though this is old news in Europe, it's relatively new in the States. Instead of being chastised for riding my 'cross bike, people were actively cheering me on because I was riding it. That was really cool.

Now, that hasn't stopped me from thinking about purchasing a mountain bike or building one up to race the longer mountain bike events. One night I spent hours surfing the 'net to see how much it would cost me to build a steel (I still love steel) hardtail XC mountain bike. I used all my resources like Nashbar, Performance (with bonus point returns factored in), Price Point, Supergo, etc. and figured I could build said wish bike for about $750-800, brand new, with mostly Shimano XT parts. Not bad, I think.

If money was no object, I'd seriously consider a Jamis Dragon http://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/03_2dragon.html. Sweet steel with an A-list of components at 22.5 lbs.

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Sean

I agree with most everything said above. I am a longtime MTBer and a recent Triathlete. I hoe to do some offroad the year after next (IMFL next year)> I have a Santa Cruz superlight. I used to ride a hardtail Klein and as i got older (38) it got more painful to ride. I can ride the Superlight all day and still feel good. A hardtail may beat you up and you dont want that with a run still to go. I would definitely look at full suspension. At the beginning of spring there are usually test days by manufacturers. I would go out and ride all the bikes I could. I got disk brakes and love them. (Shimano XT)



Good Luck



el

Gang, we have our answer. No cross bikes at Xterra. I love what they [the RD] are doing, but that's even more retro than the UCI! Hopefully their stance will change. Until then I guess it's Conti 1.5s on the mtb bike.

Response from Dave:

Aloha Charlie:

Damn, the regulations should be on the website somewhere... But I can
answer it for you.

Yes we do allow the Fischer 29" bike.. but only for next year
(2004). After that we will go back to 26" wheel mountain bikes only.

Cross bikes are not allowed. I have seen some race at our Euro events and
they get slammed pretty badly. So I am sorry to say your best bet is a
good 26" wheeled mountain bike.

My other suggestion is to get some slick tires to lessen rolling resistance
and use those when commuting. A lot of our pro's will use them as well to
road train, but to get totally comfortable with the feel and position of
the mtbike.

Hope this helps and we look forward to seeing you.

Dave Nicholas

Hi Tex. I tried to post to lousav and there was some weirdness and couldn't so I'll reply through your reply.

I think that you are correct in your advice for lousav. I have had a Specialized Epic for about three months and love it. I formerly had a GT hardtail and there is no comparison. I have not done an offroad tri, but want to next season. My Epic (03) is a comp model with mostly xt and xtr (derailleur) parts. The brakes are Avid cantilevers, but they have really been fine, until I can upgrade to Avid mechanicals and a tubeless wheel tire comb. I did upgrade from the house brand bars to and seatpost to Easton carbon versions, bc the bike is heavy. But, it comes with a good seat (how often does that happen?) and great front fork (Fox RLT 80). I'm not that good off road, but the bike is very forgiving of my incompetence. I rode a basic Epic down a portion of Galbreath Mt in Washington state last year and the bike was really a savior. So, that's why I got one for home; I had rented the bike for a day from a Bellingham bike shop. That is a good way to try out a bike ($40 for a day), if money isn't too tight. Anyway, that's my testimonial for the Epic, for what its worth. Good luck. I really agree with Tex, mtb is addictive, but be prepared for a few cuts, bruises and great stories to tell.

jlb

Thanks for all the advice. I've done some research on the web, and I think I'm going with a hardtail with disc brakes. If the weather continues like it has been most of the year (rain, rain, and more rain) then the disc should come in handy. Going shopping this weekend!!!

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Lou Savastani
Drinker (with a triathlon problem)