Haro X3 vs. Haro X6

Hi all,

I'm a total newbie and this will be my first real mtb. I have had a few walmart bikes in the past, and have just mainly done a little gravel/dirt roads but nothing extreme. I did a little research on both, and they seem to be great for the money. But the X3 is just a little heavy and the rear shocks arent so great. I didn't find much on the X6. I found a used X3 for about $850 and a new X6 at for $900 at richard's bikes. I am planning to do a little more trails this summer. Just do get you guys an idea of my size, I'm 5'7 and 160lbs. I'm sorry if I'm asking anything stupid, but any help would be very much appreciated.:thumbsup:

ldanny said:

Hi all,

I'm a total newbie and this will be my first real mtb. I have had a few walmart bikes in the past, and have just mainly done a little gravel/dirt roads but nothing extreme. I did a little research on both, and they seem to be great for the money. But the X3 is just a little heavy and the rear shocks arent so great. I didn't find much on the X6. I found a used X3 for about $850 and a new X6 at for $900 at richard's bikes. I am planning to do a little more trails this summer. Just do get you guys an idea of my size, I'm 5'7 and 160lbs. I'm sorry if I'm asking anything stupid, but any help would be very much appreciated.:thumbsup:

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You didn't actually mention what you want to do with the bike, what kind of trails do you intend to ride , are they going to include a lot of climbs or are you mostly interested in bombing downhill , jumping etc. the more info you give the better.

As for sizing you most likely need a 16" bike (size small for most models). Haro bikes are notoriously large for their stated size so I'd definetly go with small for any of their models. An important piece of advice to a first time bike buyer is don't compromise on sizing, if its not your size don't buy it even if you think you are getting the best deal in the world. Bike fit is one if not the most important apect getting a new bike and wil affect how well you will able to control the bike on the trail and how fast you can improve your skills.

As for the bikes themselves , the X3 has changes over the years so without stating model year its hard to know exactly what your looking at. Last years (05) X3 was a full blow freeride bike meant for real extreme riding ,it has a lot of suspension but its very heavy as well. Going downhill would be great but it would suck to climb with a bike like that. The older X3s and the X6 you are looking at are intended to be more of a all around package. They are still on the long travel and heavy side compared to other models out there but climbing would be easier.
In my own opinion for someone with just dirt road experience both these models are way too extreme. Unless you intend to go out and huck 6 feet drops you have no use for this much suspension travel and you will pay dearly for it on the climbs. To stay with the haro theme ,take a look at the Shift series (R3 or R5) , they will suit your needs much better.

Thanks for the advice, I'm planning on doing a little bit of everything, jumps, and climbs. The X3 that I found was a 2006. How should the bike fit on me? thanks