next year I would like to compete in a number of XTERRA offroad triathlon events. What type of bike should I buy? Soft or hardtail?
I know that I should purchase a bike with race geometry (vs a more relaxed recreational geometry). I’m mainly concerend with purchasing a soft or hardtail MTB. What are the pros on, what type of bike is winning the national championship year to year?
Anything else I should consider in my bike purchase?
Thank you all!!
Considerations are
That said for a male of average height get a good Hardtail 29er. Shorter money than a comparable fs rig and if you really get into it you’ll get an fs rig down the road and hang onto the Hardtail as a backup/ spare bike.
Oh yeah and I have a medium Niner Hardtail for sale in the classifieds if your interested.
How much money do you have to spend?
If you aren’t planning on spending more than 2K then buy a 29er hardtail (if you are over 66 inches tall)
jaretj
I am leaning towards this being a troll as it seems like there have been a lot of these posts lately. Your best bet is to type Xterra in that search box up and to the right. Lots of good information about bikes…a lot of it from very recent posts.
I’m 6’2" looking to spend about 1500, though my purchasing power is a little higher because I’m able to get 40% off MSRP on Specialized bikes.
I’m thinking of the Stumpjumper HT Comp 29, looss like a solid race bike to me. Though I wonder how much fast I’d be with a FS… if at all.
I have experiencing MTBing - seasoned cross rider and former cat 1 MTBer (that was almost 5 years ago now) … so I feel oook in the trails
dude, have a look at this and realize everything that is wrong with the mtb world…
http://ep1.pinkbike.org/...326/p5pb11235326.jpg
beyond that DO NOT google “transition dirtbag”, and “cannondale carbon scalpel” if the fear of realizing that your bike is not holding you back is holding you back
That’s a nice bike for the money. The fork may be a little weak for a cat 1 mountain biker but it’s fine.
You’ll find a lot of bikes of that quality in that price range. It gets to be a matter of opinion.
Personally if I was looking for a 29er I’d be looking at Niner bikes
jaretj
dude, have a look at this and realize everything that is wrong with the mtb world…
http://ep1.pinkbike.org/...326/p5pb11235326.jpg
Can’t follow what you’re trying to say. What am I missing that is in this pic?
if it is real rooty and technical, the suspension can allow you to keep the power on better through the really crappy sections. It’s heavier, so you lose some time on the climbs. The pivots wear out fairly quickly and can be a pain to find and replace, plus it’s another shock to service.
the 29er hard tail will soak up bumps a bi better than a 26 with the higher volume tires. The wheels are heavy and sluggish to accelerate though.
I have a 25 pound carbon 26 wheel FS bike, if it’s not too hilly I’m as fast as I was on my 26 inch 21 pound bike and my body is less beat up. I enjoy riding it more so I do more riding in the woods, which has helped my bike handling.
If the courses for xterra are pretty easy (our is here in westen ny) then a lightweight 26 inch hardtail is tough to beat for the money. For a rolling technical course, a singlespeed 29er hardtail can be just as fast as anything else and it’s easy to get a 20 pound bike for a low price.
dude, have a look at this and realize everything that is wrong with the mtb world…
http://ep1.pinkbike.org/...326/p5pb11235326.jpg
Can’t follow what you’re trying to say. What am I missing that is in this pic?
yes, that is the correct answer… the only thing you are missing is egg beater pedals and a specialized carbon toupe saddle …and a darkspeed pack /end thread
Bike looks good. But can’t quite tell what kind. Got a link?
Even at 40% off I don’t think you are going to be happy with the fork and components on the Ht Comp. If you were a beginner mtb’er I would say go for it. Since this is for next year, take your time and keep an eye on eBay and Craigslist. You should be able to get a good deal over the next few months.
What xterra races are you planning? IMO, no need for FS in the SE. As a CAT1 you’ll be at the tippy top in Xterra no matter what you ride.
what’s wrong with the picture? It looks like some really expensive high end bike that few people actually buy to smash around in the woods. I want a $10,000 bike to use for this kind of crap?
this one is felt nine frd
http://reviews.mtbr.com/review-felt-nine-frd-ultimate-carbon-hardtail-29er/2#slider-pro-2-8
having said that I would feel bad procluding a carbon jekyll :
.
you might be right, then again what do i know? , my dream mtb would be a tioga tension wire YETI (with a carbon toupe saddle and flat stem and cannondale magic motorcycle components) …
i started out racing on equipment like that in the late 80’s, it was such garbage. Half the time I’d win races because I broke the fewest parts. New MTB’s are pretty nice, I wish they’d put a little more energy into making stuff that lasts longer and works better in adverse conditions
i remember reading about brad bevan from about that time, and while he was the winningest triathlete of that time - it suprised me to read about how many races he had to pull out of due to equipment failures - derailleur, seat post, stem . … you could tell the industry was pushing the limit of weight vs strength…and that was just road biking
while suspension tech came a long way it still seems hard to beat a simple light hardtail for a cross country course
I started out on a full rigid steel bike. The biggest problem was parts falling off from all the pounding and vibration.
The new bikes still have poor water sealing on the bearings, a driveline that refuses to operate when packed with freezing mud and balky cable systems, but beyond that they seem to work pretty well. I still spend a ton of time working on my bikes especially after a long muddy race. I did a 6 hour in the pouring rain and wore the brake pads right down to the backing plates, then kept goin and braking with the steel on steel until the pistons stuck open. Enough already.
Cyclocross is sort of a walk down memory lane with the crappy canti brakes and tubular tires rotting in the garage
I agree about the hard tail, but I do like my rear suspension for our rooty, rocky northeastern singletrack
As JRoden stated in all of his replies, it really depends on the courses you are going to be racing. Over the last 7 or so years the XTERRA courses have gotten easier and shorter… 
I went FS as I’m not beat up as bad and ready for the run. Also went 26" as it is what I have ridden for 28 years. Many of the XERRA courses have gotten easier over the years and the XTERRA ASP course did not need FS. We tried to get local road tri peeps to give XTERRA a go… didn’t happen… if we do another event in WNY, it will be a true MTNbike course. (now if we can just got the local MTN bikers to learn to swim… 
)
XTERRA Ontario I was glad to have the FS and 26", had others after the race comment they wished they had their 26" for that course.
XTERRA Moab back in the day I wouldn’t even think of a hard tail with the drops and rocks they have there.
XTERRA Keystone also way back in the day… I rode it hard tail and was so beat up I could hardly finish the race… Totally a FS course
XTERRA Appalachia a 29er hardtail would be a good choice
XTERRA Syracuse 29er hardtail also a good choice
Training in the NE I also agree with JRoden, the roots beat you up and a FS allows this older guy the ability to be ready for the run and also ride again the next day
With the budget you have, I would totally look at a 27.5 FS. Light, nimble, fast, gives you the larger wheel cusion with the smaller wheel agility.
i don’t swim but would enjoy doing one of those as a duathlon if the entry fee was within my budget. I really like the off road duathlon format.
Many times a cross bike is the best option for a non technical course. The XC ski trails at Allegheny are a good example, riders on cross bikes have won the MTB race if they can make it down snowsnake without a flat
