[Sinner]

Hello all . Well a week ago I thought I was going to roll into the bike store and spend 300 bucks on a mountain bike . I was wrong . First thing is I'm just looking for a good bike to putt around the city with and yeah maybe do some dirt trial riding here and there . I am now thinking to spend around 5 to 600 $ to get a decent entry level mountain bike . The new problem is everytime I walk in the bike shop then leave to research the bike I look at there seems to be a couple new choices . I realize I have to get on the bikes and see what bike rides the best for me but at the same time I kind of need a better starting point and don't want to buy one and then think "damn I didn't know about that bike" . I'm looking for some info on what bikes you guys think are the best bang for my buck in the 500 to 600 range . The couple I looked at and was thinking about are the Cannondale F5 , RH disc specialized , the other ones some people told me to check out are the Garry Fisher Wahoo Disc and a GT . Treck So what is the best bike at that price out of these or am I missing one ? someone told me the Cannondale F5 is a great frame but you get cheap components and with the other bikes you get better components but a lesser bike ??? Help please cause this is getting way to hard ,:madman:

 

[mrpercussive]

Best bang for buck? you definitely gotta take a look at Ibex bikes... They're awesome frames with great components to boot...

http://www.ibexbikes.com/Bikes/ALP-650-Details.html

 

[Bhaltair]

Wow that Ibex does look pretty sweet!
I'm opting for a used bike myself - hoping to get more bang for the buck that way.
I'm personally looking at the Specialized FSR XC used. There are tons of used bikes on Ebay and most seem to be pretty good. I must say though if my bid doesn't go through now (it's about the same as what that ibex is costing now) then I just might do that!

 

[Becane73]

http://www.forgebikes.com/

Used bikes are definately the best bang for the buck.

 

[corleone]

Hello all . Well a week ago I thought I was going to roll into the bike store and spend 300 bucks on a mountain bike . I was wrong . First thing is I'm just looking for a good bike to putt around the city with and yeah maybe do some dirt trial riding here and there . I am now thinking to spend around 5 to 600 $ to get a decent entry level mountain bike . The new problem is everytime I walk in the bike shop then leave to research the bike I look at there seems to be a couple new choices . I realize I have to get on the bikes and see what bike rides the best for me but at the same time I kind of need a better starting point and don't want to buy one and then think "damn I didn't know about that bike" . I'm looking for some info on what bikes you guys think are the best bang for my buck in the 500 to 600 range . The couple I looked at and was thinking about are the Cannondale F5 , RH disc specialized , the other ones some people told me to check out are the Garry Fisher Wahoo Disc and a GT . Treck So what is the best bike at that price out of these or am I missing one ? someone told me the Cannondale F5 is a great frame but you get cheap components and with the other bikes you get better components but a lesser bike ??? Help please cause this is getting way to hard ,:madman:

With the 'dale you will get a frame made in America maybe you care about that, maybe you don't I sure don't. All of the bike frames will handle your riding without an issue. And you really will not be seeing much of a difference in componentry either. The only way to get a higher componentry at the same pricepoint is to go with an internet only bike...
http://www.ibexbikes.com/Bikes/ALP-650-Details.html
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_comp05.htm
or an 06 bike on closeout...
http://www.rscycle.com/s.nl/it.A/id.7921/.f?sc=7&category=56
.
If you don't want to go with an internet or closeout bike then the best thing is to ride those bikes at your LBS and get the one that fits you best. You can also go used like ebay craigslist ect., just remember that you will not recieve a warrant that way.

 

[mrpercussive]

note then when looking at 06 closeout bikes with SRAM stuff... The 06 and 07 SRAM are different. 06 SRAM x9 is an 07 SRAM x7... 06 SRAM x7 is an 07 SRAM SX5 and so on...

i personally wouldnt recommend the forge bikes though. Their hardtail bikes although specced with components well for the price still comes out to 34lbs... thats saying something...

i would however look into the RScycles IH 06 closeouts though. Some of their higherend bikes like the 7point3 and the MKIII are hard to ignore because of the price... But for that price, you could also get an Ibex which IMO is a better deal. But note that my opinion is biased as i'm riding an Ibex and have with dealt with them. Their customer service is awesome... Give them a call, and the owner of the company picks up the phone...

 

[Becane73]

note then when looking at 06 closeout bikes with SRAM stuff... The 06 and 07 SRAM are different. 06 SRAM x9 is an 07 SRAM x7... 06 SRAM x7 is an 07 SRAM SX5 and so on...

i personally wouldnt recommend the forge bikes though. Their hardtail bikes although specced with components well for the price still comes out to 34lbs... thats saying something...

i would however look into the RScycles IH 06 closeouts though. Some of their higherend bikes like the 7point3 and the MKIII are hard to ignore because of the price... But for that price, you could also get an Ibex which IMO is a better deal. But note that my opinion is biased as i'm riding an Ibex and have with dealt with them. Their customer service is awesome... Give them a call, and the owner of the company picks up the phone...

Can you give me a link to where it says Forge bikes are 34lbs?

I really don't know much about Forges except for what I read around here so any information would be helpfull.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=255849

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

Here's your link

Straight from the Forge web site:

http://forgebikes.com/forgespecs.html

32.7 lbs, not 34.

Bob

 

[Becane73]

Straight from the Forge web site:

http://forgebikes.com/forgespecs.html

32.7 lbs, not 34.

Bob

Ah thanks Bob.

mrpercussive,

If you're going to give people advice then you should get your information straight. :nono:

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

He was close

It's still a 33 lb bike. Now we can all register this one in the deep recesses of our minds where usleless information is stored and later used to add fuel to the flames of these life altering debates.

It's getting a bit silly, isn't it?

Bob

 

[Becane73]

i personally wouldnt recommend the forge bikes though. Their hardtail bikes although specced with components well for the price still comes out to 34lbs... thats saying something...

i would however look into the RScycles IH 06 closeouts though. Some of their higherend bikes like the 7point3 and the MKIII are hard to ignore because of the price... But for that price, you could also get an Ibex which IMO is a better deal. But note that my opinion is biased as i'm riding an Ibex and have with dealt with them. Their customer service is awesome... Give them a call, and the owner of the company picks up the phone...

The 2007 Iron Horse Warrior 5.0 hardtail is listed at 36.1lbs
http://www.ironhorsebikes.com/Warrior5.html

Here's a more reasonable one.
2007 Iron Horse 3.0 listed at 31.8
http://www.ironhorsebikes.com/Maverick3.html

If you are going to put down another brand you better have some good information.

 

[Sinner]

Thanks for all the great stuff . so I just went by the bike store and was turned on to yet another bike The Garry Fisher TOSS (tassajara) Its a 06 model and is on sale for 519 $ It dosn't have the disk brakes but from what I was told is the brakes on the cannondale 5F are mechanical not hydrolic so there almost the same as regular brakes .. I also liked the "lock out" feature on the front forks Anyone have any opinions on this bike and the price ? don't forget I'm in the 5 to 600 dollor price range .

 

[corleone]

It is a nice bike...as for the price I don't know. I guess it depends on where you live...last time I was in an LBS the 06, not on sale, was selling for like 575, but it may have been selling for closer to the MSRP where you live. Again if you are going through an LBS just get the bike that fits you the best. While that is a better deal than you are going to get on an 07, it is not a good enough deal to pass up a bike that fits you better.

 

[corleone]

http://www.forgebikes.com/

Used bikes are definately the best bang for the buck.

Whoa, forges are selling in the 5-600 range now??? Jeezus.

 

[Flyer]

My 2 cents:

At your price range, stick to IBEX. Iron Horse HTs are ridiculously heavy. An XC/All Mountain HT should be in the 25 lbs range- no more. IBEX seems to be the best deal under $1K. Once you cross that mark, there are better option but under that, IBEX has decent components and light frames.

GTs and Schwinns used to be good values many years ago but seem very Walmart-like now. If I had about $700 to spend, I'd probably buy an IBEX Hardtail.

I bought an Iron Horse HT for the GF- big mistake since it is a tank. I don't know what I was thinking. I assumed it was a HT so it couldn't be that heavy- nice move

I also hear that IBEX is good to deal with.

 

[Becane73]

My 2 cents:

At your price range, stick to IBEX. Iron Horse HTs are ridiculously heavy. An XC/All Mountain HT should be in the 25 lbs range- no more. IBEX seems to be the best deal under $1K. Once you cross that mark, there are better option but under that, IBEX has decent components and light frames.

GTs and Schwinns used to be good values many years ago but seem very Walmart-like now. If I had about $700 to spend, I'd probably buy an IBEX Hardtail.

I bought an Iron Horse HT for the GF- big mistake since it is a tank. I don't know what I was thinking. I assumed it was a HT so it couldn't be that heavy- nice move

I also hear that IBEX is good to deal with.

A lot of people have misconceptions about bike weights and such brought about by slick marketing and word of mouth. I don't know how much lighter you expect an Ibex or anybike with the same components to get. In reality most alloy frames of the same size are all within 1lb of each other.

Also target weight and actual weight are different alltogether. The actual weight of a bike with pedals can be very different from the target weight of a bike without pedals. Ibex does not weigh it's bikes with pedals and does not post their actual weight.

Check out the Iron Horse Azure World Cup 25.3 lbs for a Full Suspension bike. That's crazy light for a production bike. Ibex's lightest FS bike is listed at 27.4 lbs
http://www.ironhorsebikes.com/AzureWC.html

 

[Flyer]

I can tell you this- the IH HT frame is way overbuilt. The welds are cheap-looking but the frame looks very beefy and heavy. I'm going to be swapping out that frame soon and will post a weight. I seriously doubt that it will just be a lb heavier than the new frame (around4.5 lbs). That IH frame looks heavy and I will not guess here but I would not be surprised if it is 8 lbs or more. Wait, I did guess

I hope their high-end bikes are nicer. I'm sure they are since they are not cheap. I'll have to look at some close-ups of their higher-end bikes.

EDIT- I don't mean "overbuilt" as in overy well built. It's just that the tubes are really fat and there are a lot of thick welds. All that may contribute to a much heavier frame. The tubes look heavier than even the Ventana X-5 (not that one should compare the two- I'm just comparing the size of the tubes).

 

[LeMarque]

Whoa, forges are selling in the 5-600 range now??? Jeezus.

Where's that info from? Price is still $299.00 on the Target site and one could probably find a 10% coupon online...

Love my 5xx even tho there's STILL to much snow on the ground for me to ride it; and more coming.

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

Misconceptions

A lot of people have misconceptions about bike weights and such brought about by slick marketing and word of mouth. I don't know how much lighter you expect an Ibex or anybike with the same components to get. In reality most alloy frames of the same size are all within 1lb of each other.

Also target weight and actual weight are different alltogether. The actual weight of a bike with pedals can be very different from the target weight of a bike without pedals. Ibex does not weigh it's bikes with pedals and does not post their actual weight.

Check out the Iron Horse Azure World Cup 25.3 lbs for a Full Suspension bike. That's crazy light for a production bike. Ibex's lightest FS bike is listed at 27.4 lbs
http://www.ironhorsebikes.com/AzureWC.html

You happen to have a few of your own. First off, IH has a reputation for heavy frames and overall builds, particularly on their lower end offerings. In the years I've been reading and posting here, this has often been the case. You don't have to believe that, but it's true for a number of their bikes. An example would be the 2007 Iron Horse Warrior 5.0 Hardtail which comes in at a portly 36.1 lbs. according to the IH web site:

http://www.ironhorsebikes.com/Warrior5.html

They make a fine product, but it's typically on the heavy side. Secondly, many bike manufacturers list their bike weights sans pedals, including Ibex. Ibex posts actual weights on their bikes (sans pedals) once they have one in the warehouse to weigh accurately. The bikes that have "Target Weights" are those bikes that have yet to be shipped from where they are manufactured and have been given an approximate weight based on their spec (It's possible to calculate this weight based on individual components used in the build and the frame. It's simple addition of numbers). Once the bikes hit the warehouse, they are weighed (sans pedals) and a true weight is posted on the web site.

Just thought I'd clear up a few of these ol' misconceptions! I hope this another helpful addition to the trivial info files that lie deep in the recesses of the brain as discussed earlier in another thread. :thumbsup:

Bob

 

[taikuodo]

Hell, my Steel Ht now has a really low end suspension fork stuck onto it better than rigid], it still weighs 27.2 pounds.
This is of course, vintage LX, vintage XT, araya rm 17 rims, etc.

I would imagine it is not hard for ibex to build their bike to be 28-29 pounds with an ALUMINUM.
yep ALUMINUM frame... er.