[Piggerish]

I've been mountain biking pretty solidly for a year and a half now and think it's time to invest some actual money into a good bike. Some background information : I ride singletrack at the various mountain biking locations around here. Mostly XC but I tend to be pretty aggressive. Most of the time I shuttle with a friend to skip the awful uphill portions of the trail and from there we ride down to the other parked car. What I'm thinking will fit me the best is a really durable XC bike that can handle moderately aggressive downhill sections while being able to ascend fairly well. Little help would be appreciated, I like to try to push the speed and enjoy the drop-offs and obstacles in the way. The only thing I am sure of is that I will need a full-suspension.

Budget : $1,500-2,000
Height : 5'11"
Weight : 170
Age : 18

 

[Whafe]

Interesting to hear you call it mostly XC, but you shuttle to the top generally..... When you talk drop offs, what height are these generally? This will help us build a picture of your possible needs etc...

From reading your post, I am thinking you need something some what stronger than a general XC bike, possibly moving into the All Mountain category....You are young, so your riding will progress rather quickly I would think, and the drops will become far bigger..... Possibly check out the Giant Reigns..... Or another option could be to check out the MTBR classifieds, you may well be able to pick up a good 2nd hand bike.....

 

[Piggerish]

Well I call it mostly XC due to the technicality of the singletracks and more often than not if we want to hit one of the lines again we'll pull off onto a service road and ride back up. I have been to Whistler twice and from what I remember, their downhill was far more aggressive than the trails I have been doing. The drop-offs range anywhere from one foot up to three feet, I'd like to go higher at some point but it always feels like my bike is just going to explode, and for the most part it has. How would an all mountain bike fair on something more aggressive such as Whistler? Or would that require downhill.

 

[tomsmoto]

you want a 5-6 inch trail bike.. xc bikes are like roadbikes for dirt. they're not for drop offs and shuttling trails.

xc bikes are 3-4 inch bikes with a focus on being light and fast, not durable.. you certainly dont want a bike like that.

 

[jdrides]

All Mountain or Trail Bike...depending on who's bike's you are looking. 5-6 inches of travel is good however there are good bikes at 5 (127mm) that are worth considering. You probably already know which bikes you like...just test them out as best you can. Good advice too...2nd hand is always good too. Pawn, Craig'slist etc. I have a pretty sweet Bullit I am looking at getting rid of...6 inch rear and 5 inch front. It's out of your $ range though...

 

[LCW]

Piggerish - have a look at the HiFi's... mine weighs 26.2lbs... 5" travel - very efficient pedaling/climbing - yet soaks up the rough trails with ease

cheers