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Can I get a good shock for 300 bucks?

1K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  denmikseb 
#1 ·
I am about to buy a Giant XTC2 and it comes with a RockShox Dart 3, 100mm w/Lockout. I road it in the parking lot and it just didn't feel good. I weigh 230 right now and probably wont get down below 215 for a long while. Originally I was going to be buying a used Yeti that came with a Fox Shock but that fell through. I now have 300 extra dollars to spend on the XTC2 and want to get a better Fork. What should I get? I will be riding in Florida and I don't think there are any "big" jumps around unless I make the long drive to Santos. Having a lock out is a feature I like becuase I will using it to commute as well and need to be able to just get the power down to the pedals to get to work. I've looked at some of the manufacture sites but not quite sure what would work best because I am new to the MTB scene.

Thanks!
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
On my road bike I site 99% of the time so I understand how we are "supposed' to ride and I understand why we should ride that way. On my mountain bike though I want to be able to have the fun I had when I was a kid. I will be riding this to work as well as hitting the Florida trails. I want to be able to have fun no matter where I'm at and that means being able to hit little curbs and hills on the way to work as well as jumps and stuff on the trails. I just have been so confined on my road bike to the...well the road and now I have these ideas for being able to go anywhere once I get my mountain bike. I just want to make sure I have the best equipment to do that.

I wonder if the bike shop will allow me to only have to pay the difference in the price of an upgraded shock rather than me having to buy a completely new one.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Thanks so much for th responses. To be more specific trailville, the shock was very mushy. I tried turning the nobs on top to make it stiff but that really didn't seem to make a difference. My biggest concern was that when I stood up to pedal hard a lot of power was lost with the front end mushing down.

Also, I do admit that I'm a noob to mountain biking but I'm not a noob to bike riding in general. I grew up riding bikes and not just to get to my buddies house. I road freestyle and ramps and streat. I know what I'm doing on a bike so when I finally get a mountain bike I expect the learning curve to be steep and so I want a fork that will be able to handle me at that time.

Thanks again for input guys. I will check on getting stiffer springs for the Dart3 and I will also check into the Tora and the Recon.

When you order new shocks do you get to specifiy what weight springs they come with?
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
I went to the Rock Shox website and although I'm not familiar what is good or what is great I picked some shox that were in the middle. The XC REBA and the All Mountain Pike. They are way too much for my pocket. The is a reality check that I'm not liking very much.
 
Discussion starter · #2 ·
This sucks!!! 9 looks and no help. Has this question been asked before maybe? I'm sure it has but there are a lot of links to threads to be searching around and I'm sure not all of them weigh 230 lbs. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
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