I want to buy a mountain bike for trail riding…suspension onl in the front. Do you guys have any experience with good bike brands? Thanks a lot.
It depends a lot more on the parts than on the frame. Just make sure you dont get a huffy or a raleigh, nothing from wal mart.
We (my wife 5′ 6"" and me 5′ 11”) looking for bikes to go around the town and also sometimes for hiking (may be couple of times). Also we have a toddler daughter and planning to buy a trailer for her. Please advice on the model, make and also type of the bike which I should be buying. I live in Chicago area. Thanks in advance and appreciate your help.
Google " bikes shops + your zip " that will give you a map with all of the local bike shops on it. Visit the shop and tell them where and how you want to ride. Brand is not important but you want a comfort or hybrid bike with gears.
For a trailer I would look on the local ebay and Craig’s list for a used one. You can pick up a nice Burly or Chariot for cheap and resell it for close to what you paid for it when you child out grows it.
http://www.bicycletrailers.com/home.jsp
I want to get a decent bike now that I have the money to, but I an torn on whether to get a road/racing bike or a mountain bike. Which is better? Better yet, what are the pros and cons of both?
I don’t bike seriously, but I need something that will get me to school, to my friend’s house, everyday stuff like that. I’m not gonna race in the Tour de France or go all over the badlands…
Road Pro: Fast, great for conditioning, light, responsive
Road Con: less durable esp. wheels, limited to good roads, best used with all the extras like the right shoes, shorts, jersey, helmet, attitude LOL!
MTB Pro: Go most anywhere
MTB Con: Slow and heavier than road bike (smooth tires can make a difference)
Cross Pro: Quick and more nimble than MTB, nice for errands–ride to class, ride to store, etc. some ability to ride on dirt etc. Good choice for riding in street clothes and gear.
Cross Con: not as fast as a road bike and not as go everywhere as a MTB. sort of a compromise.
This is more of existentialist question. Are you a roadie? Are you MT Bike person. Buy the bike that suits you first. If you are a true bike enthusiast you will end up getting the other types someday.
And where can I buy it?
I am looking to by 2 bikes, a ladies and gents. Ideally priced under £250 each.
I know you can get budget bikes from Argos and Tesco etc but who sells the best budget mountain bike?
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/hardrock-2010-mountain-bike-ec019401
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/f6-2009-mountain-bike-ec016563
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/claud-butler/trailridge-2009-mountain-bike-ec018782
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gt/outpost-2010-mountain-bike-ec020914
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/fire-mountain-2009-mountain-bike-ec017215
Above is a few sugestions. I would recomend that Specialized or the Kona.
However, you are not going to be doing any difficult trails with these machines. You are looking at local trails, that are relatively well maintianed. You can do off road with these bikes, but it will not be fast and light. However, these are viable machines with OK components.
The posts that state the shortcomings of Tesco and Argos are corect. Be wary of Halfords as well. Machines are OK, but the staff are not good.
Luck
Well, a while back my chain broke off my BMX bike. I just heard recently that you can make a mountain bike chain into a BMX bike chain. Is this true? And if so, can you please give me a guide on how to do so? I know it would be alot easier to go and buy a new chain but I don’t want to.
Mountain bikes use a 3/32 inch chain and BMX bikes use a 1/8 inch. Go to Walmart and buy a new chain for $10. You will need to get a chain breaker while you are there $6.
I am looking to build a full suspension mountain bike. I am not looking for the absolute best, but I am looking for a relatively decent one. I would say I am looking to spend $1200. Can I get more for my $$ if I build myself or just buy a bike? What I would like to see is a list of components that would get me a complete mountain built from scratch. For those items can you tell me what are the top 5 names for the component you described? Thanks.
You can build a bike from parts but it’d probably be smarter to buy a used bike. I was once given a slightly damaged hardtail frame and built it up from parts I already had plus a few I bought. If I added up the value of all the parts I put on I probably could have sold the parts and bought a similar complete bike for less $$$.
Now I’m giving the bike away so I’m even less inclined to calculate how much it’s worth.
If you were building a hardtail I’d say go for it but FS bike frames cost more and a decent shock alone can be costly. Find a 3-4yr. old Cannondale Rush or Prophet or a Specialized FSR XC or Stumpjumper and go ride!