[transam4life]

First off I want to say high to everyone since this is my first post.

I have been a bike mechanic for pretty much the last 3 seasons during my time off from college. I basically got in the business because I needed a job one summer and my best friend was leaving his job at the bike shop so I took over for him, but I was never really into bikes before then.

Well for the past 3 years I didn't even own a bike, I basically just worked for the money, not so much because I was into bikes. But just last month I sold a lady a new hybrid and she wanted me to throw out her old bike. I thought to myself that it was going to be a 30 year old POS, but it ended up being a mint ~5 year old Specialized Crossroads...so I took it home.

So I have been biking around with the crossroads quite abit and I'm having alot of fun, plus it saves gas. I like to ride in the trails, but since my bike is a hybrid and a full rigid, it is not so comfortable off-road. I do however like the fact of how smooth the 700c wheels roll on the road.

Well so all this has gotten me interested in getting a new bike. From what I hear the prodeals through Giant are amazing so I should be able to get a very good bike for very cheap. I could probably just sell my current Crossroads for ~$100-$150 on ebay, and then use the money for a new Giant mountain bike. At our shop we deal A LOT with road bikes, but very little with mountain bikes so I need some help as to what would be good for me.

My question is what bike should I bike looking for. I do about 75% on the road and 25% in the dirt trails. I won't be doing any jumping or anything of that extreme. I would like to buy a dedicated mountain bike for when I hit the trails cause the hybrid isn't cutting it. I figure I can always put skinny tires on a mountain bike, but can’t really do much with a hybrid. Plus I might just get an FCR flat handle road bike in the future for the streets.

So what should I be looking at as far as a mountain. Should I go for a hardtail or full suspension? I know that is full suspension isn’t meant for comfort, but I hate bobbing around every time I go over an object on the trail, but then again I have a full rigid hybrid now. Should I go big (over $1k) or just buy some entry level hardtail like a Rincon to make sure I’m not into this as just a phase.

So I’m thinking of either…

Going big and buying either an NRS or Trance Full suspension…

OR

Going small and buying either a Yukon or Rincon to make sure I’m really into mountain biking before I blow money.

Either way I can probably sell whatever I buy for what I paid a few years down the line so its not that big of a deal.

…….Also should I wait for the 2006 lineup to come out to see what Giant has to offer, or just buy a 2005 now. From what my boss said the 06 line comes out in Feb 06.

Thanks for the help.

At our shop we deal A LOT with road bikes, but very little with mountain bikes so I need some help as to what would be good for me.

 

[messofzero]

i ride an 2003 NRS3, and it has done me good so far. i ride a lot of trails, but the NRS (up until recently) was my commuter and my street bike too. What i love about the NRS is that it feels like a hardtail, and i run more pressure on the back than i really need, so the rear suspension only comes into play when i need it.

i would mos def say you should:

a: buy a yukon or an iguana (both hardtails) and save yourself a couple of bucks.

or

b: do what i did. buy an NRS, adjust the suspension so it rides like (or close to) a hardtail on the streets, and slap some semi-slicks on it.

also, dont forget you work at a bike shop. i can imagine you get some kind of discount, so take advantage of that! saving money by buying a rincon would be cool, but my roommate had a rincon and rode it into the ground after about a year.

 

[transam4life]

i ride an 2003 NRS3, and it has done me good so far. i ride a lot of trails, but the NRS (up until recently) was my commuter and my street bike too. What i love about the NRS is that it feels like a hardtail, and i run more pressure on the back than i really need, so the rear suspension only comes into play when i need it.

i would mos def say you should:

a: buy a yukon or an iguana (both hardtails) and save yourself a couple of bucks.

or

b: do what i did. buy an NRS, adjust the suspension so it rides like (or close to) a hardtail on the streets, and slap some semi-slicks on it.

also, dont forget you work at a bike shop. i can imagine you get some kind of discount, so take advantage of that! saving money by buying a rincon would be cool, but my roommate had a rincon and rode it into the ground after about a year.

Thanks for the help.

Yeah I'm thinking of just going with a hardtail and seeing how I like in the trails. I think a full suspension bike would be to much for me since I'm just starting out. Like I said the prodeals through Giant are amazing so I could always sell whatever I buy in a year or two and not lose money.

How much of a difference will there be from the 2005 models to the 2006 models...is it worth the wait? I guess I could just ask the Giant rep, but he only comes around every so often.

I'll probably wait for the 2006 Iguana to come out so I can see the specs (hopefully they go with a new color as well, not a fan of the gray on the 2005). It comes with just regular Deore components which should be more than enough for me. Btw...how is the Marzocchi EXR fork on the 2005 Iguana...is it better than the Rockshox Pilot C they had on the 2004?

 

[DiRt DeViL]

Does your employer requires you to ride what he sells? If not buy whatever brand/model you like it he does then go with a midrange NRS.

I know a guy that works for a Trek/Fisher/Klein/Cannondale/Orbea/Lemond dealer and he's required to ride what they sell, that's why I ask. One of his bikes is a Specialized P2 and had to remove all the Specialized decals in order to ride it, he's also sponsored by the shop.

I would stay away from base models because if you like riding (you'll most prolly will) will eventually want to upgrade it or get a new better one spending more dough in the process.

 

[LyNx]

This I guess is a tough one....... If you aren't really sure if you'll really get into MTBing then it's tough to lay the dough down for a nice rig and prob better to get the HT /cheaper option. However if you think you'll get into it and can get a good deal cause of your situation then going the full suser way is it. I don't see that you could go wrong w/ a Trance4 to start off with, if you're getting a "deal" on any GIANT bikes then you'll prob be able to pick a T4 up for around a 1K. The frameset is the same throughout the 4 levels of the Trance, so if you decide you're really into this MTB thing then you can just upgrade the components on the Trance, if not you have a great bike that will last a good while.

I'm super happy with my T3 and I do quite a bit of road getting to places and trails. The ride is superb off-road - decends like you wouldn't believe and climbs just as well. If you are doing the type of riding where you'll know that "hey today I'm riding road" you can easily up the pressure in the rear shock and it gets pretty damn stiff, yet will still give some suspension on the rougher stuff. Get a 2nd wheelset and mount some nice 1" or 1.5" semi-slicks and you'll be easily set. I say 1.5" cause if you happen to "need" to go off-road while you have them on they'll still work very well in that situation, but also work excelent on the road. Have fun and know that GIANT has definitely gotten it right w/ the Maestro suspension bikes.

 

[Warp]

I'd go with the Yukon or even a Rainier in your case. If you like MTB, then you look like a candidate for a Trance or NSR.... but be sure you like MTB first.