beginner bike (800 bux)
- Thread starter jas
- Start date
jhonybravo788
Likes Dirt
maybe that hard rock that's for sale in the classifieds?
wombat
Lives in a hole
At that sort of money I'd probably be looking second hand, but only if you can get someone who knows something about bikes to go along with you (the last thing you want is to get screwed). If yo want to go new though, try having a look at Norco, I can't remember which is there $799 model (bigfoot maybe?) but it was a pretty solid bike. I'll check the name next time I'm in the shop and let you know.
Edit: I just remembered, I've heard Mongoose may have something similar to Norco's supercross line starting up next year, and they may be starting pretty cheap too.....
Edit: I just remembered, I've heard Mongoose may have something similar to Norco's supercross line starting up next year, and they may be starting pretty cheap too.....
MAN..........for that price your not going to get much of a bike........
I've got a $1000 Giant Iguana and It's a good bike for someone who is new to MTB and dosn't want to spend much $$$.
The Yukon is not a bad bike but think about it.........If you are serious about MTB save up and buy a Iguana...........it's got better shocks and It's worth spending $200 more..............But don't get me wrong the Yukon is still a good bike......and get it if your only want to spend $800.
And one last thing, stick to GIANT Bikes, there good value and have the best selection of parts.............trust me I've looked around..........
I've got a $1000 Giant Iguana and It's a good bike for someone who is new to MTB and dosn't want to spend much $$$.
The Yukon is not a bad bike but think about it.........If you are serious about MTB save up and buy a Iguana...........it's got better shocks and It's worth spending $200 more..............But don't get me wrong the Yukon is still a good bike......and get it if your only want to spend $800.
And one last thing, stick to GIANT Bikes, there good value and have the best selection of parts.............trust me I've looked around..........
wombat
Lives in a hole
Don't get me wrong, I think Giant are a good company who have always offered great value, but there are now other brands who are offering bikes which are specced just as well if not better at the same price, especially in this segment of the market. Giant aren't as far ahead as they used to be.Aman said:
as nice as it is to own a new bike, there's a lot to be said for buying second hand.
you will end up with a much better spec, on a better frame for the same money.
down side is you kinda have to know what you're doing when you go looking.
one way of side stepping this is to look in decent bike shops for their secondhand stock.
some shops, especialy those that are MTB orientated, carry bikes that have been traded, or are on consignment for regular customers. this gives you the advantage of buying second hand with the peace of mind of getting a shop to look it over for you.
clubs are anouther good place to look. at race days you will see people with for sale signs around. ask around and get a general feel for what is on offer, and don't jump at the first thing that looks good.
once you know exactly what you want to use the bike for, you will have a better idea what to look for.
you will end up with a much better spec, on a better frame for the same money.
down side is you kinda have to know what you're doing when you go looking.
one way of side stepping this is to look in decent bike shops for their secondhand stock.
some shops, especialy those that are MTB orientated, carry bikes that have been traded, or are on consignment for regular customers. this gives you the advantage of buying second hand with the peace of mind of getting a shop to look it over for you.
clubs are anouther good place to look. at race days you will see people with for sale signs around. ask around and get a general feel for what is on offer, and don't jump at the first thing that looks good.
once you know exactly what you want to use the bike for, you will have a better idea what to look for.
Hi How about looking at the GT Chucker 2.0, Its retail is about $699 and its got a pretty good looking frame in a dirt jumping style with reasonable rims and cranks. I think its a good bike if you are looking new and are prepared to upgrade later, becuase the frame looks great.
Corey
Corey
G
Guest
Guest
norco ryde?
Dicky
Punter God
*warning before reading this post*
i usually have too much to say.
this is also just one guy out there doing his best to help you out, and should not be taken as the only information to listen to.
and away we go....
<- Buying A New Bike ->
first up, have a read of the 'buying a bike' article in the latest copy of Australian Mountain Bike magazine. it covers just about every aspect of mountain biking and their different shapes and sizes, without going too much into random technical details. this will help you figure out what you want to do with your new toy, and what sort of new toy to get.
oh yeah the guy who wrote the article is Mike Shaw, chief Red Bull Ride course designer and all-round good bloke, who works as a professional mechanic at the same shop i do. the man knows his stuff.
most of what everyone else has said on this page is spot on, although i will also say DON'T go with the 'stick to Giant' idea.
have a bit of a look around first, see what's out there. It may well turn out that a Giant is the best bike at that price, but you might find something better too.
posting a message here was a good move - this will give you the thoughts and comments of 'normal people', and most of us seem to know what we're on about, as opposed (on a small number of occasions) to a salesperson in a shop who can't wait to get rid of a bike that might have been sitting there for 6 months.
and yeah, that'd include me, i work in a bike shop. guilty as charged...
as mentioned by Wombat - take someone who knows stuff to the bike shop with you. they'll be able to translate the technical ramblings of us salespeople into normal ideas that you can understand, and be able to tell if they're trying sell you a slightly scratched Huffy with shiny stickers on it.
having said that, most salespeople these days are quite capable of speaking normally, and will do a good job of sorting you out with the best bike for your money and abilities.
what you'll probably find, once you've gone around to a shop or three, talked to a few people, read all the stuff on this page (and figured out what the hell i'm on about), is that you've boiled everything down into a list of maybe two or three bikes.
on that list, you've probably got a bike with good bits and an average frame, and another with a pretty beefy frame and average bits, both for the same sort of price. so which one do you get?
most of the bits and pieces on bikes in your budget are going to be pretty close in quality, so go for the bike with the better frame. it's going to stand up to a bit more use and abuse.
without trying to scare ya off, at some stage, you're going to crash and bust a part of your bike,
(it happens to just about everyone), and a broken brake lever is a fair bit cheaper to replace than a broken frame...
going for a new rig is also going to get you good advice from people who spend the best part of their day playing with bikes, a warranty on the frame (this is a major plus), some free servicing from the shop you buy it from, and maybe the odd discount on upgrading stuff later on...
not to mention a new bunch of local mates to go riding with.
and the shiny new toy factor is always good.
<- Second Hand Bikes ->
this can be a bit of a hazy area, and will include some bikes that seem like awesome bargains.
some of them will be genuine, but a few are also going to be either thrashed to within an inch of their life, and might have some cracks in the frame, or possibly have been stolen. it's not very nice, but it does happen.
having said that, just about every bike i've seen on this site's For Sale section is worth looking at. (i want a few of them myself :mrgreen:.) being able to talk to the owner (who will obviously be a real rider and not Joe BikeThief) will also give you the benefit of knowing what sort of life the bike's had, what sort of condition it's in, and how it handles doing different things.
<- So What Am I Supposed To Do With Dicky's Ramblings? ->
well, as much or as little as you like. up to you my friend.
whatever you go with, find out as much information as you can before you give your money to someone.
one last thing... welcome to this crazy sport mate. it's a hell of a lot of fun, no matter what sort of bike or skills you've got.
see you out on the trail somewhere :mrgreen:
i usually have too much to say.
this is also just one guy out there doing his best to help you out, and should not be taken as the only information to listen to.
and away we go....
<- Buying A New Bike ->
first up, have a read of the 'buying a bike' article in the latest copy of Australian Mountain Bike magazine. it covers just about every aspect of mountain biking and their different shapes and sizes, without going too much into random technical details. this will help you figure out what you want to do with your new toy, and what sort of new toy to get.
oh yeah the guy who wrote the article is Mike Shaw, chief Red Bull Ride course designer and all-round good bloke, who works as a professional mechanic at the same shop i do. the man knows his stuff.
most of what everyone else has said on this page is spot on, although i will also say DON'T go with the 'stick to Giant' idea.
have a bit of a look around first, see what's out there. It may well turn out that a Giant is the best bike at that price, but you might find something better too.
posting a message here was a good move - this will give you the thoughts and comments of 'normal people', and most of us seem to know what we're on about, as opposed (on a small number of occasions) to a salesperson in a shop who can't wait to get rid of a bike that might have been sitting there for 6 months.
and yeah, that'd include me, i work in a bike shop. guilty as charged...
as mentioned by Wombat - take someone who knows stuff to the bike shop with you. they'll be able to translate the technical ramblings of us salespeople into normal ideas that you can understand, and be able to tell if they're trying sell you a slightly scratched Huffy with shiny stickers on it.
having said that, most salespeople these days are quite capable of speaking normally, and will do a good job of sorting you out with the best bike for your money and abilities.
what you'll probably find, once you've gone around to a shop or three, talked to a few people, read all the stuff on this page (and figured out what the hell i'm on about), is that you've boiled everything down into a list of maybe two or three bikes.
on that list, you've probably got a bike with good bits and an average frame, and another with a pretty beefy frame and average bits, both for the same sort of price. so which one do you get?
most of the bits and pieces on bikes in your budget are going to be pretty close in quality, so go for the bike with the better frame. it's going to stand up to a bit more use and abuse.
without trying to scare ya off, at some stage, you're going to crash and bust a part of your bike,
(it happens to just about everyone), and a broken brake lever is a fair bit cheaper to replace than a broken frame...
going for a new rig is also going to get you good advice from people who spend the best part of their day playing with bikes, a warranty on the frame (this is a major plus), some free servicing from the shop you buy it from, and maybe the odd discount on upgrading stuff later on...
not to mention a new bunch of local mates to go riding with.
and the shiny new toy factor is always good.
<- Second Hand Bikes ->
this can be a bit of a hazy area, and will include some bikes that seem like awesome bargains.
some of them will be genuine, but a few are also going to be either thrashed to within an inch of their life, and might have some cracks in the frame, or possibly have been stolen. it's not very nice, but it does happen.
having said that, just about every bike i've seen on this site's For Sale section is worth looking at. (i want a few of them myself :mrgreen:.) being able to talk to the owner (who will obviously be a real rider and not Joe BikeThief) will also give you the benefit of knowing what sort of life the bike's had, what sort of condition it's in, and how it handles doing different things.
<- So What Am I Supposed To Do With Dicky's Ramblings? ->
well, as much or as little as you like. up to you my friend.
whatever you go with, find out as much information as you can before you give your money to someone.
one last thing... welcome to this crazy sport mate. it's a hell of a lot of fun, no matter what sort of bike or skills you've got.
see you out on the trail somewhere :mrgreen:
quick note, when taking someone along who "knows there stuff", make sure they actualy do.
when i was working at a moto shop i had to actualy talk this kid out of buying the bike his mate (who fully raced dude, y'know) thought was the best thing there, just so this guy would have something he was able to ride, and would do what he wanted, not what his mated wanted to do.
also note that a slightly lower parts spec, but better forks is also a good trade off. that way you get to replace the cheaper stuff as it wears out, and not have the expense of upgrading your forks to soon.
when i was working at a moto shop i had to actualy talk this kid out of buying the bike his mate (who fully raced dude, y'know) thought was the best thing there, just so this guy would have something he was able to ride, and would do what he wanted, not what his mated wanted to do.
also note that a slightly lower parts spec, but better forks is also a good trade off. that way you get to replace the cheaper stuff as it wears out, and not have the expense of upgrading your forks to soon.
wombat
Lives in a hole
lupine is very right, and I'm sure Dicky and all the other sales-people on the site can relate to this:
Couple come into the shop; a girl who wants to get into riding, and her boyfriend/brother/father/cousin/uncle/any bloke off the street. You then spend the next hour trying (and often failing) to actually talk to the person who is going to be riding and buying the bike, about what they want and need, while the hanger-on "helps out" by letting loose with some rippers like "nah, that one's shit, it hasn't got shockies on the back" or "yeah x-brand are sick, I had one of 'em when I was a kid".
I don't know why it is, but some women (men as well, but usually women) seem to feel that they're safer if they go into a shop with a man, even if the guy hasn't ridden in 10 years and has no idea about current technology. It's quite sad really, shops aren't big scary places where men hang out and grunt, in fact I more often that not find it easier to talk to girls, simply because they're more willing to listen and take in what you're saying, while many men feel that they will be inferior if they make a decision based on what the shop monkey says. Come on people, we're not used car salesmen!
Oh, and very good post Dickie. I'll have to pick up AMB too, hopefully this "buying a bike" article will be better than the majority of others, which seem to instill people with a false sense of confidence and purpose, and make them hard to deal with.
Couple come into the shop; a girl who wants to get into riding, and her boyfriend/brother/father/cousin/uncle/any bloke off the street. You then spend the next hour trying (and often failing) to actually talk to the person who is going to be riding and buying the bike, about what they want and need, while the hanger-on "helps out" by letting loose with some rippers like "nah, that one's shit, it hasn't got shockies on the back" or "yeah x-brand are sick, I had one of 'em when I was a kid".
I don't know why it is, but some women (men as well, but usually women) seem to feel that they're safer if they go into a shop with a man, even if the guy hasn't ridden in 10 years and has no idea about current technology. It's quite sad really, shops aren't big scary places where men hang out and grunt, in fact I more often that not find it easier to talk to girls, simply because they're more willing to listen and take in what you're saying, while many men feel that they will be inferior if they make a decision based on what the shop monkey says. Come on people, we're not used car salesmen!
Oh, and very good post Dickie. I'll have to pick up AMB too, hopefully this "buying a bike" article will be better than the majority of others, which seem to instill people with a false sense of confidence and purpose, and make them hard to deal with.
Avanti_Racing
Banned
hey about the yukon....
i got a specaized ground control COMP 4 sale, the frame for 350 heres a pic, u gt extras aswell, this frame size is large and i started riding it at 13 aswell its in perfet nick, heres a pic....
i got a specaized ground control COMP 4 sale, the frame for 350 heres a pic, u gt extras aswell, this frame size is large and i started riding it at 13 aswell its in perfet nick, heres a pic....
Avanti_Racing
Banned
hey about the yukon....
i got a specaized ground control COMP 4 sale, the frame for 350 heres a pic, u gt extras aswell, this frame size is large and i started riding it at 13 aswell its in perfet nick, heres a pic....
e-mail : intensem1__@hotmail.com for details, this ady has a double underscore in it
i got a specaized ground control COMP 4 sale, the frame for 350 heres a pic, u gt extras aswell, this frame size is large and i started riding it at 13 aswell its in perfet nick, heres a pic....