I am in the process of looking for a new mtn bike. My old Schwinn Moab has seen a lot of miles. It is probably 12 years old and needs to retire. About 4 years ago I got into triathlon and I have learned much about tri/road bikes, but know little about mtn bikes. Hardtail or Full Susp? I don’t really want to do extreme downhill, but I have entertained the idea of doing an Xterra event and would like a bike that can do that. I do know that hardtails climb better, but I also know that some rear susp. bikes have a way to lock the rear triangle. I am looking to spend somewhere in the $500-$1000 range. I did find a bike at supergo.com that has peaked my interest (K2 team razorback $999 ) in my size. I live in Colorado, but live about 40 min from any real steep trails. I have friends who mtn bike so I occasionaly have gone over and ridden with them on the trails west of Denver. What are everyones thoughts.
I looked at the bike you had the link to and it seems like a good deal, I have never used that type of fork so I don’t know much about it. From your post I would say that a cross country bike is what you need, either a hard tail or a full suspension designed for cross country (shorter travel, lighter weight). Typically dual suspension bikes are heavier yet give you a comfortable ride which helps preserve your body strength on really rough courses/trails. Try this link http://www.mtbr.com take each review with a grain of salt. In the $500-$1000 dollar range at normal retail I would say shoot for a hardtail.
I really like the Giant NRS2 full suspension I bought last year. Right now performance has a sale on them for $1079 + 10% store credit if you have a performance card.
There were 2 sections that I remember where I could have gone faster if I had a full suspension bike (which I don’t)…
If I was buying a new bike I would buy one of the full suspensions with the lockout option. I know specialized makes bikes that can do it automatically for you…
I also would buy a bike with disc brakes. My rim brakes don’t do very good in wet conditions and I understand disc brakes are alot better in this area.