Xterra starter bike (1)

Triathlon Forum
1

5 years of IM training has me looking towards trying some XTERRA races - i have been out of the mtn bike game for awhile - any suggestions for a decent hardtail bike around $1000? any thoughts would be appreciated…
thanks

2

bump so i can find out as well :slight_smile:
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3

At that price you probably want to look at the used market. A 29’er is going to be a little more forgiving, but if you’re short or live somewhere with really twisty single track, 26 might be a better option.

80-100mm of travel with lockout, hydraulic discs, tubeless wheels and Shimano XT or SRAM X-7 are things you might put on your wish list.

4

For the $1000 price tag your best bet would be to check out www.bikesdirect.com if you do not mind buying over the interweb. A $1k hardtail is going to be heavy and the fork and brakes will be low end technology. If you can go upwards of $1,500 you start to get some better options. I will say check out 29ers, they are taking over and not going away.

To give you an look at the $1k bikes out there you can look at this bike http://jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/hardtails/exile/12_exilecomp.html or this one http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=62111&scid=1100&scname=Mountain

5

I race a 2008 specialized stumpjumper comp. It was 1800. Just bought a trek wahoo 29er yesterday. It’s sick! For a starter bike it’s really well built. It was $589 dollars but a great hardtail. MY recommendation would be that bike, and throw on better components. I’d upgrade to the point of sram x-9 as that’s my favorite mtn component group with some avid hydralic disc brakes.

I’d also look into the used market for a specialized stumpjumper if they have it. I can abuse the hell out of it…believe me I do, and it still works really well. The reason? The components are nice. I had such bad luck with my first bike, a specialized hardrock because it seemed like every week I’d bust something. Better to invest the money in an ok bike with great components in my opinion.

6

5 years of IM training has me looking towards trying some XTERRA races - i have been out of the mtn bike game for awhile - any suggestions for a decent hardtail bike around $1000? any thoughts would be appreciated…
thanks

Sure. Since you are looking for a ‘starter’ bike I will suggest something simple and practical as well as decently serviceable. I am a firm proponent of full suspension mtn bikes, but a good no-frills hard tail fits the bill for you I think. I assume you want a small-moderate price and the most bang for that buck.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom29_pro_xi.htm

7

I bought this:

http://www.specialized.com/...&scname=Mountain

Rode and raced it all summer and then went to Xterra USA Nationals

Edit: I’m short at 5’4" and ride a lot of twisty technical trails

jaretj
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8

this is perfect - thanks guys
.

9

If you want to keep it local, this bike is 29er, has a decent Recon fork, hydro brakes and 3x10 gearing with full lifetime frame warranty:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/cross_country/29er_race/cobia/#
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10

I went through this in early summer and chose a Trek Paragon.

Love it.

11

I just bought my bike yesterday. I spent way more than I wanted. Hell I now have more money in my xterra bike than my tt bike. I came across a demo trek fuel ex 9 for $2200. It was such a good deal I couldn’t pass it up.

You might want to shop around your lbs for deals. I was looking for a $1000 29er hardtail and ended up with the ex 9. I just hope I like the xterra type event’s. They will be my b races for 2012.