new to all mountain.

[sasquatch_rider199]

okay so im looking to purchase an all mountain dualie, but to tell you the truth, i dont know too much about AM. i have ridden HT dj and stuff for many years now, so im not a noob to MTB all together, but any help/advice would be good. eg whats good, whats not, what to look for, what to stay away from? that sorta stuff

im really only looking for a base level sorta thing, as im not realy wanting to fork out major dollars as of yet. so unless i can find a major bargain, i'll be looking second hand i guess.
i pretty much wnt something that'll be comfy to ride for a couple of hours, wont be too bad on the climbs, but i would like something that i will also feel comfortable at speed flying down hills
i dunno if thats too much to ask..

after a quick browse, i found this,

http://www.mymountain.com.au/p/1052148/trek-ex5.html

what do you know about them? good? bad?

thanks in advance for you help. i hope i havent missed anything out

 

[Nerf Herder]

Firstly ... welcome to AM ... best "bang for buck" category IMO.

Now ... when you say AM ... do you mean ...

1) Epic XC, with rocky descents ... but pretty much sticking to the ground ? or

2) Mainly XC, with climbing thrown in ... where descents are technical ... with some air time (say 2-3ft ledges ... or small kickers to flat at speed) ?? or

3) Do you mean, passable XC ... but can be painful, with technical downhill, babyheads and air time ... say 3-5ft ledges ??? or

4) Its basically a short travel Downhill rig or FR rig ... that you want to be able to pedal around on ... but only just to enjoy the Descents and gaps, ledges and all things awesome associated with rock and dirt

I'm guessing 1 & 2 ... given your choice of the Trek ... suggest also the Giant Trance ... can get a second hand joby for pretty cheap ... infact ... PM coming
Knowing we ain't all rich ... if you can save up a little more for an EX8 ... then I'd do that (disclaimer: I didn't know the ABP had filtered down so far ... so that EX5 at least still have the latest pivot tech which is prolly the important thing at that price).

People call this the "Trail Bike" segment ... but my Trance is a little more then a trail bike IMO. If I had to go a new rig, I'd go the EX9.

For 3) ... which is what I like ... I have a bullit ... but I reckon a Reign X would be what I'd get if in a budget ... alot of my mates have Reigns for XC and AM. I've also seen some people use it for 4) ... but I wouldn't.

For 4) the Spez SX trail seems the goods ... have a look for Floody's thread in PYR ...

Obviously lots of boutiques and other makes ... but seems like Price is your main driver. If you can afford new, but looking for something not soooo exccy ... NOX have a distributor in Australia now, and the rigs I've seen and ridden are pretty frigging beefy but with reasonable weight ... They have a 5.5" enduro bike which I've seen do trails I wouldn't touch on my Trance.

[URL="http://www.southboundimports.com.au/flux5.html%5B/URL%5D"]Link Here

Enjoy

 

[pistonbroke]

This may suit you down to ground
http://www.bikepedia.com/Quickbike/...&Brand=Cannondale&Model=Jekyll+1000&Type=bike

I have one in great condition if your interested. The lefty fork has just been serviced, new cables, chain. Comes with XT cranks, carbon riser bars, tubeless Maxxis crossmarks tyres on Mavic 819 tubeless rims. It is a great all mountain or trail bike. I am selling it as I just brought a new XC bike. This bike has hardly been ridden in the last 3 years. Climbs ok and is amazing going down hill. I may even be able to deliver it to bairnsdale some weekends.

 

[ridemtbsnow]

My AM bike is a GT Force 1.0 and I wouldn't swap it for anything.

I use my GT for everything ranging in solo 6 hour races to downhill runs.

I'm going to keep in parked in the shed for the Otway Odyssey this weekend though as it's a touch too heavy to be pushing up steep fire tracks.

 

[retroenduro]

Based on the 'couple of hours riding with some good descents' sounds like you want to get a Specialized Enduro - perfect bike! Im not biased honest.....ok so probably a bit expensive over here but there were a couple of good 2nd hand ones kicking around in the for sale section for about $1600.

 

[Slowman]

How tall are you? I'm 6', if you're between 5'7" and 6' I'm selling my Wheeler Hornet 10 19". I tried to sell it just as frame and forks a while back but I have rebuilt it just to sell it. 90-130mm travel Fox TALAS RLC fork and switchable between 125 and 150mm rear travel - you can see the frame and fork in the for sale section. It will come with XT level gear. Up soon.

 

[sasquatch_rider199]

thanks all for your help. given me some more to think about

Nerf Herder, form what you described, i would say a mix between 3 and 4.
and i am seriously considering you bike, it looks the goods

im a bit over 6ft, probs around 6ft 2? but its been a while since i measured myself. what size would i be looking at getting? i have no idea about sizing and that, maybe i should do a bit more reading ha

thanks again for your help, keep your thoughts coming, its much appreciated

Chris

 

[Nerf Herder]

thanks all for your help. given me some more to think about

Nerf Herder, form what you described, i would say a mix between 3 and 4.
and i am seriously considering you bike, it looks the goods

No probs Chris ... and given above ^^^ the Trance prolly isn't the right rig anywho ... and your a bit taller then me too so prolly looking for a Large ... good luck anyways

 

[ntj]

go a nomad

I suppose it's a pretty obvious one, but this is where Santa Cruz Nomads are great. They're boring on xc courses like Awaba, but anything a bit more techy than that and it's pure fun. Nomads can also be called on for downhill only, but there are better bikes out there for that. I even like riding Manly Dam on mine (when legal).

Be careful though, it might make you get all cocky, lull you in to a false sense of security and eject you over the bars onto some sandstone making you curse and bleed.

 

[SB]

As Nerf said Sx trail for more aggressive AM.
I am riding one with 160 uturn Lyriks, Mavic 823 Tubeless, wide bars, 50mm stem, 24/36 Gravity Moto cranks and will be busting it out for 50kms this Saturday At Forrest. I have been riding it AM style for a few months now and cant fault it, climbs good and rips on the flat or DH. I dont think I would enjoy the ride as much on a XC style bike.

 

[crank1979]

I suppose it's a pretty obvious one, but this is where Santa Cruz Nomads are great. They're boring on xc courses like Awaba, but anything a bit more techy than that and it's pure fun. Nomads can also be called on for downhill only, but there are better bikes out there for that. I even like riding Manly Dam on mine (when legal).

Be careful though, it might make you get all cocky, lull you in to a false sense of security and eject you over the bars onto some sandstone making you curse and bleed.

Or even better, a Pivot Firebird!

 

[Wiffle]

Nerf's info is all good; given his descriptions for 3 & 4, here's a few suggestions.
Giant Reign and ReignX
Trek Remedy and Scratch
Cannondale Rize 140 and Moto
Norco Fluid and LT
Mongoose Teocali and Khyber
GT Force and Sanction
Marin Attack Trail
Gary Fisher Roscoe
Specialized Enduro/Pitch and SX trail

The list goes on... Happy searching!

PS Oh and the Pivot Mach 5 and Firebird, but may be outside budget!

 

[crank1979]

PS Oh and the Pivot Mach 5 and Firebird, but may be outside budget!

The Mach 5 and Firebird are both very different bikes as well. The Mach 5 much more XC oriented wile the Firebird is a more fun bike.

 

[Wiffle]

The Mach 5 and Firebird are both very different bikes as well. The Mach 5 much more XC oriented wile the Firebird is a more fun bike.

Yeah I know, I've spent good amounts of time on both. The Mach 5 will happily do Nerf's 2 & 3, whilst the 'Bird is more 3-4. And now back on topic...