Any mountain bikers on here? Need some guidance.

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
I am getting back into mountain biking/trail riding. I have a cheap mountain bike that I have used for several years for cruising around campgrounds and hitting real easy/mostly flat trails close to my house, but it will not stand up to the beating that more difficult trails are going to dish out. I'm looking at purchasing a higher end bike. I am browsing the used market heavily because it seems you can find some pretty good deals. My budget is $500. A couple questions.
1. Any particular brand I should stay away from? Or a particular brand that I should zero in on?
2. What type of things do I need to look for on a used bike? Obvious damage/abuse aside, where/what are some parts/places that could be broken but not easily noticed?
3. Is there a brand new bike that is worth while that I can get into for that money?

Hoping for some guidance on here. Went to a bike shop near my house and they kept trying to put me on a $2000 bike. Sorry, but that ain't happening!!

Experience wise, I used to ride a lot back in the early 2000's. But I sold that bike in 2006. Since then I have only road beginner trails. I have two partners I will be riding with, both are relatively new to biking as well, so we won't be getting into anything crazy anytime soon.

Thanks for the help.
 

perfectroadglide

Ten Pointer
$2000.00? $500.00 budget? A good entry level Mt bike with good components will start north of $2000.00. My Lemond road bike was $2000.00 in the year 2000. Expensive sport. Less the bike weighs, the more expensive it will be.
 

brownisdown

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I have a Giant Talon 2 that I bought new for a little more than your budget and it's been great. I would look at it or the equivalent specialized at your budget. You are going to have to up your budget right much to start looking at rear suspension bikes. In your price range I would stick to Giant or Specialized personally. It may be different now but Trek in that price range wasn't nearly as nice. I would avoid diamondback.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/bikes-talon-2020
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
$2000.00? $500.00 budget? A good entry level Mt bike with good components will start north of $2000.00. My Lemond road bike was $2000.00 in the year 2000. Expensive sport. Less the bike weighs, the more expensive it will be.
Maybe I should be a little more specific. I am not looking at doing any 150-200 mile events. I am looking at very moderate riding (5-10 miles) on trails that are fairly benign in difficulty. This is something I will do 10-15 times a year at most. I borrowed a Cannondale from a friend last week. Really nice bike, it was a hard tail, which didn't bother me at all. I rode it 8.5 miles. He told me he would sell it to me for $800. It was around $1500 or so new a few years ago, he said. That's more than I want to spend at this time. I figure if a $1500 bike loses 50% of its value in a few years, then I should be able to find a decent used bike in my budget. Maybe I am wrong? Should I just save up a few more pennies?
 

brownisdown

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I also bought a 29" model in mine because it is mostly sand at my house. I really like the taller 29 inch tires after having them.
 

alt1001

Old Mossy Horns
Not a mountain biker per say but I bought one 3 years ago for NF hunting. I posed the same question to some shops here in WNC and this is what I ended up buying and haven’t been disappointed yet.

 

ABolt

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
To get a decent bike in that price range, you will have to go used, possibly quite used.

That being the case, I'd probably get the Canondale from your friend for $800. It's a great American-made bike that will last, seems to be a very fair price (50% off for a 2 year old bike), and since you would be buying from a friend who knows its history, I'd feel better about this deal than buying something from a stranger off of Craigslist.

My son still rides my 1998 Canondale F400 regularly...

Just my $.02...
 

Triggermortis

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I have a Giant Talon 2 that I bought new for a little more than your budget and it's been great. I would look at it or the equivalent specialized at your budget. You are going to have to up your budget right much to start looking at rear suspension bikes. In your price range I would stick to Giant or Specialized personally. It may be different now but Trek in that price range wasn't nearly as nice. I would avoid diamondback.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/bikes-talon-2020
True this. Giant is going to give you good bike for the money since they make their own frames. They don't have to farm that out. So, in the price range you mention for a new bike, it's gonna be one to check out. Have a couple of friends that bought some used bikes from the bike park down near Charlotte area for a pretty good price, but I can't recall the name of the park. They use them for a year , keep them up and serviced and then sell them.
 

wcjones

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
True this. Giant is going to give you good bike for the money since they make their own frames. They don't have to farm that out. So, in the price range you mention for a new bike, it's gonna be one to check out. Have a couple of friends that bought some used bikes from the bike park down near Charlotte area for a pretty good price, but I can't recall the name of the park. They use them for a year , keep them up and serviced and then sell them.

Is it the whitewater center? They have a ton of trails
 

wcjones

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Find a good used hardtail. You can get them cheap if you go that route. I bought a 2014 Raleigh talus 5 last year for less than 200 bucks. It sold new for around 700. Bought it from a older guy who only rode it on gravel trails. It does what I want it to do.

Do some research...there are plenty of good hard tails out there to be had in your price range. Don’t think you have to spend a ton of money to enjoy mountain biking. The first guys who enjoyed the sport didn’t have any suspension at all.
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
Find a good used hardtail. You can get them cheap if you go that route. I bought a 2014 Raleigh talus 5 last year for less than 200 bucks. It sold new for around 700. Bought it from a older guy who only rode it on gravel trails. It does what I want it to do.

Do some research...there are plenty of good hard tails out there to be had in your price range. Don’t think you have to spend a ton of money to enjoy mountain biking. The first guys who enjoyed the sport didn’t have any suspension at all.
I kind of feel like this is just like buying a new rifle. Sure, I can drop a couple grand into a super high end set up, but in the end, a Ruger American would do just what I need it do.

I just found out one of the paramedics in my area whom i frequently interact with is a hard core biker and works part time at a bike shop. He told me he can get me into a good bike for that money, he's going to keep his eyes out and let me know when someone trades one in.
 

snakeskinner

Twelve Pointer
You can definitely get what you are looking for for $500. I got a tubeless, disk, rigid carbon fiber framed 29er for $300 on tiranglemtb.com forums. I've also bought and sold bikes on craigslist. Facebook marketplace is also a good place to look. Even though I am short I went with 29" cause they roll over stuff better but had to compromise on a larger frame. I don't ride any official trails. I only ride gamelands access roads which are flat. FYI I am no expert. I would consider myself much like you.
 

PPosey

Twelve Pointer
Find a good used hardtail. You can get them cheap if you go that route. I bought a 2014 Raleigh talus 5 last year for less than 200 bucks. It sold new for around 700. Bought it from a older guy who only rode it on gravel trails. It does what I want it to do.

Do some research...there are plenty of good hard tails out there to be had in your price range. Don’t think you have to spend a ton of money to enjoy mountain biking. The first guys who enjoyed the sport didn’t have any suspension at all.
This, take some time and look, you do not need huge tires, disk brakes and full suspension. Look hard, read old reviews online. I bough a great bike for both my kids for 300-400 within the last couple years. They looked as new, excellent condition and were 1,000-1,500 new. I still ride my 1993 Cannondale 21 speed and trash kids on new wonder bikes on local trails.
 

FITZH2O

Old Mossy Horns
I wouldn’t get a hard tail again, there aren’t padded shorts thick enough to counter the rooty eastern trails. Maybe they aren’t as bad out west or piedmont.
 

waitup

Four Pointer
You will have to look for it, but you can find a decent bike at that price. I would recommend going hardtail (for price and maintenance), and make sure it is upgrade-able. Today that would be a tapered head tube, disc brakes (hydraulic, not cables), probably tubeless tires (lower air pressure and less pinch flats), and a 1x drivetrain. One site that will have a much larger selection of legit bikes compared to Craigslist or Facebook is www.pinkbike.com/buysell/
 

Jaybird

Twelve Pointer
You will have to look for it, but you can find a decent bike at that price. I would recommend going hardtail (for price and maintenance), and make sure it is upgrade-able. Today that would be a tapered head tube, disc brakes (hydraulic, not cables), probably tubeless tires (lower air pressure and less pinch flats), and a 1x drivetrain. One site that will have a much larger selection of legit bikes compared to Craigslist or Facebook is www.pinkbike.com/buysell/

Good advice right here. Manufacturers change standards over time and parts become unavailable. I’d try to buy a hard tail that’s no more than about 5 years old with either 29” or 27.5” tires. I’d also ask the seller how long it’s been since the fork has been rebuilt since that can set you back $150. I bought my wife a bike that blew the fork seals after about 6 months and the rebuild would cost more than we paid for the bike.
Depending on your fitness level and the elevation change where you ride you might be happier with a 2x setup for a while.
 

Matty

Six Pointer
Contributor
I'm a little on the fringe with my MTB preferences (single speed hardtail, often with a rigid fork), but it's possible to find something that will fit what you are looking to do.

As others have said, used is likely your best bet. DO NOT go full suspension with your budget (unless you find someone unloading a $2-3k FS for $500...then jump on it! Low budget FS bikes are typically 1) terribly inefficient, 2) needlessly heavy, 3) require more maintenance ($) an 4) have very low end components compared to a HT at the same price point...and they are completely unnecessary at the USNWTC trails.

Depending upon your height, I would look at a 27.5-29r and if possible look a the + sizes (27.5+/29+) to soften the ride. If you are taller than 5'9 you can go 29 and not have handling issues.

Your price point will likely have you in an aluminum HT, look for a 1x drivetrain to save maintenance and some cost, don't get hung up on hydraulic brakes...a good cable actuated disk brake (Avid BB9 or similar) is better than most low $ hydraulic setups (except shimano...their cheapest hydros are better than even most high $ SRAMs). Stay FAR FAR AWAY from low end SRAM/Avid hydros!!! I can't tell you how many issues I have had with those @#^%^$#ing things!!!!

While I am a very strong advocate for supporting your local independent bike shop, you might want to look at bikesdirect.com, I have purchased a couple of bikes from them for my wife while we were deciding if MTB was a long term hobby or a flash in the pan. They have a few things going for them that might get you into a decently appointed new bike at ~ your price point...they sell direct, their frames are the cost saver...they are heavy AL HTs, and the cockpit is low$, but the components are usually pretty solid. I would MUCH rather have a good drivetrain/brakes/wheelset with a low $ frame/cockpit than the other way around. The user experience on a hardtail is really driven by those components.

This one is a touch above what you are looking to spend but has SRAM NX 1x drivetrain, Shimano Hydros, decent wheelset, etc, but if you want new, you will have a tough time doing better for the $. Gravity 29er

Another option, assuming you want a challenge and want the least amount of maintenance as possible, you could go with a singlespeed MTB. That's a whole 'nother can o' worms that I can expand upon if you are interested. I dabbled in SS for the first time 8 years ago and now only own one bike with gears and that is my road bike. When there are 8 bikes in the garage, the minimal maintenance is a god send!!!

If you are still reading, one other option is to build a bike from parts...If you are interested in this, I have an unbranded carbon 29r frame (Same as Scott Scale) that I retired when I got my latest steel hardtail that you can have. I may also have a spare wheelset sitting around (nothing fancy but I believe I have a WTB wheelset with GEAX Sagauro tires). There may be a few other odds and ends that I can dig up (seat post, stems, seat, handlebars).. You'd be lacking drivetrain/brakes/fork and a few odds/ends, but a little ebay work and you should be well ahead of the game at budget...minus the sweat equity. ***GSO pickup required!***

Here's a pic of the frame when it was my SS race bike.

BlackBetty1.JPGBlackBetty2.JPG
 
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ellwoodjake

Twelve Pointer
I'm no expert on this, but another thing you will want to consider is the type of pedals. I went with a buddy years back on a bike he loaned me, and I had to wear these special "shoes" you guys know what I'm talking about. Every point of interest we encountered, I wanted to explore a little further, but was unable to. All we could do was pedal and pedal 😕
 

Ho ace

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I know a couple of guys who found what they are looking for on Pinkbike.


I am a pretty avid XC rider and am happy with my 29 hard tail. Average ride is 18-20 miles of a mix of gravel and/or single track. I don’t race but ride for exercise and get a little satisfaction in sometimes passing guys on climbs and being on the Strava leader board.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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