[Flamingtaco]

Story summary:

Son outgrew a mint 2011 Trek 4300 bike I got him for his birthday in one year. When they say weeds... he grew a full foot. IN ONE YEAR.

A few months back I picked up a beater 4100 to swap out frames after getting paint... long story short, nothing was left undesecrated by the PO, NOTHING. Whole bike is a wash, frame included. $100 down the drain.

Where I am: Have a mint 4300, just need a larger frame.

My favorite LBS has three frames in stock:

2008 Giant Boulder
2008 Giant Rincon
2008 Giant Yukon

I am trying to get as close as possible in performance/weight to the double-butted Trek Alpha frame. Doesn't seem any of these three are butted anywhere?

2008 Boulder... Giant mentions ALUXX whatever for a light frame, but this was a $300 bike... see a lot of comments on it being a heavy frame. Although my son is 5'11", he doesn't weight a lick over 150. I am worried a weight penalty might put him off riding, he's not into it like I am.

2008 Rincon... priced a bit higher, $400-500, but... another ALUXX frame...

2008 Yukon... priced higher again, seems to be the same frame as the Rincon, but this frame costs a bit more...

Thoughts on how these might compare to the Trek 4300 frame? Are all three beginner frames (non-butted, heavy)?

Thanks,
David

 

[Flamingtaco]

No one has ridden any of these frames? Oh well, couldn't wait as they are disappearing quickly. My LBS got a confimation for the frame I need, pulled, tagged and ready to box up tomorrow.

My boy says he hates the color (olive/black), but I can't pass up $50 for a frame with full warranty, especially since the $100 I paid for the beater 4100 that was going to be a frame loaner is going to remain a beater. The (new frame) bike will look better than the mint 4300 I bought for his birthday 14 months back. New headset, bottom bracket and fork, and he gets an upgrade to disk brakes. I told him he can use his allowance to powdercoat if he wants, I'm not going to repaint a new frame, even if it was lime-green and pink.

Be proud of your s**t, no matter what, because it's your s**t, I say. "Meh", the teenager says. No, I don't actually use that word with my boys.

 

[threebikes]

scandal is a great frame
26er

 

[Phatkat]

I have a 2007 Boulder SE all built up, cuz well, why not? It's awesome. The frame is pretty light, unless a person is just nitpicking. I have it built with a Tora U-turn, Cane Creek head and brakes, Firex crank(3x9) and Mavic Crossland's. It's fast, and a ton of fun.

 

[Brian412]

I don't have any experience with a Trek 4300, but I do have a 2008 Yukon. The Yukon, for what it costs, it a great bike. Mine has the Dart 1 fork. Pretty entry level bike but it took a beating. I rode this bike hard for several years on some rough single track and the fork and frame has held up great. It is on the heavy side but it didn't bother me too much. (medium frame; I'm 5'10, 165lbs.)

I've since upgraded to a Giant Trance X. I've upgraded many components on the Trance and put the old Trance components on the Yukon. The Yukon is still my backup bike, and it's used by a friend of mine that doesn't have a mountain bike. It's still going strong!

 

[AndrwSwitch]

I'd be pretty surprised to see straight-gauge tubing on an aluminum bike. Whether or not they advertise it. Some people claim they can tell by tapping along the tube - the sound changes with the wall thickness.

With the Boulder and the Rincon, I'd be concerned that the frame might not have enough reach. Although the 4300's short in that dimension too, so kind of a wash.

Don't worry overmuch about the weight. A fancy carbon frame weighs under a kilo. A cheap aluminum frame weighs around 4 lb. So the difference is less than 3 lb, or 2% of your son's weight, even less when you look at the full system weight, including bike. And you're starting from a cheap aluminum frame. So in reality, it's probably a swing of no more than half a pound. BFD.

Anyway, try to nail the reach. I've seen good prices for frames advertised on bikeman.com and chainlove.com, which was my plan until I rode a couple bikes that were too different to get far cannibalizing my 26" Hardrock.