Knowing nothing about mountain bikes other then they are bikes that apparently can ride on/in/over/around mountains. I’ve made the decision that next year will include some mountain bike racing.
I’ll be riding/racing from loose dirt rocky desert to hard packed forested trails.
I’m limited to either Felt or Scott and I’ve narrowed it down to these two classes of bikes from their respective lines.
Whoever is in whatever category I’ll be in, I’d like to apologize in advance for causing you to crash…again b/c I have no mtn biking skills what so ever.
Can’t help you on your choice, but I’ve done one Xterra race and it was a disaster. It was 2005 and I had never ridden a MTB off-road. I borrowed a bike and registered for the race. I’m a decent swimmer; I usually come out of the water in the top 20 percent or so of the field. In a standard tri, that’s not a problem. I just get passed on the road by stronger cyclists. On singletrack, it’s a huge problem. I got on the bike with some MTB’ers with some pretty mad skills. They ran me over, pushed me out of the way, and left me wounded. I crashed, ran into trees, had to walk up hills — it was great. I finally just started getting out of their way. By the third of three laps on the course, the fast guys (and gals) were finished with the bike and I could enjoy the final loop in relative tranquility. That race remains one of the toughest I’ve ever done. I crashed on the run. I was a mess when I finished.
I just bought a MTB myself, used from the classifieds. I use it for commuting and doing training rides on dirt roads and ATV trails around my house. I’m getting scared of getting run over on the roads.
And, just for kicks, I might try another Xterra. Just to terrorize the talented MTB’ers.
Of the two I would go for the Felt as its a little more XC in geometry, the Genius is more all mountain, slacker with long travel. IMHO neither is a bike I would consider for racing, you really dont want 150mm+ of travel for XC, you spend more time climbing and flats than descending and the slack head angles make them a bit of a dog on flat, twisting singletrack. My choice would be a 4" travel FS or hardtail 29’er. If you want to have a bike for more technical riding like South Mountain and occasional race then they would work fine.
I know some XC race on longer travel rigs, but you rarely see them in Pro or even Cat1 class.
My 2c
Coz he wants to grow strange facial hair and ride a singlespeed. Plus I came up with a really cool name for a team in 24 hours of the Old Pueblo, we have room for another rider and the girls in the body paint jerseys might be there…
I shave 2x per week, whether I need to or not. I can’t even grow a 5 o clock shadow in a week.
But I do want to be on the team with the girls who wear body paint jerseys.
i shall never forgive you for the sale of "THE BLACK BIKE THAT EAT SOULS
well I was trying to de-clutter the living room. I thought 1 road bike, 1 beater bike, 1 tt bike and 1 tt bike frame, 1 bike case & 5-7 spare wheels in the living room was a bit too much.
Besides, with everything being made offshore, customs wouldn’t allow souls to be imported anymore with bikes.
24HOP is usually in February, not exactly the height of summer. Its actually snowed some in past years. Plus if it rains like it did a few years ago you might get to use your swimming skills
If you’re interested in racing, then I would look at the Scott Spark. Better geometry, weight and components for xc/marathon racing and 4" of travel is plenty for daily riding in the desert.
Have fun. Just started and it is a lot of fun. Not an expert, but when looking for my bike I realized once I got into a decent hydraulic brake and shock the rest of the components were good.
whatever you do get a 29…and I would skip the dual suspension unless your doing downhill racing. 29’s roll so nice and they handle any technical section you might have and they are faster…and if you skip the dual suspension spend that dough on a super light carbon hard tail like the specialized stumpjumper or if you want super high end get the s-works.
I would think twice before buying a carbon bike as your first MTB rig. We all know you are a bad ass athlete, but you still will have some bike handling skills to learn. It would be a bummer to crash up a carbon frame just due to inexperience of straightlining a corner.
My advice:
Go with a 29’er. For less technical terrain they are faster and work well for taller riders
As little suspension as you can get away with. Less than 4" travel or a hardtail(no rear suspension)
Make sure you get a tubeless tire set up, no exceptions
Get the best front fork you can buy, Roxshox Reba or a Fox
Alum is probably your best frame material bet
Hydraulic discs, this is pretty standard now days though
I like the Scott Spark, but it is a 26’er.
Don’t let anyone talk you into a single speed yet. You have to be a VERY VERY strong rider to race with the geared MTB’s.
