What's a good inexpensive N* bike.

There are tons of used freeride bikes on Craigslist or Ebay.
You can't get anything decent new for that price.

+1 to what he said. I picked up a nearly mint Iron Horse Sunday for $1,000 (needed bled brakes, a spoke nipple and tires, only a few scratches on the frame) and recently sold a Big Hit FSR for $480 (needing a full tune up). Now is a great time of year to be a buyer.

The first time I went out to N* they were renting the old Warp. They were really crummy bikes if I'm honest, but I still had a blast and was hooked. Doesn't take much to have a great time at N*!

Santa Cruz Bullit

All kinds of VP frees on pinkbike for under/around $1200 too.

You can probably find an SX trail for comparable prices.

used reign x / ironhorse 7point / ih sunday all for around that cheap.

I rode an ih 7pt with a fox 40 in auburn and thought that bike would be fantastic at northstar!

There's at least one Rocky Mountain that shows up on Chainlove pretty often -- $1500 or so.

Found a Demo 9 for a reasonable price.

Is that a bit of overkill?

I have spent some time on Boondocks, and it was hard work on the Giant rental. Don't think I have been on Dogbone and we avoided the ugly stuff on Karpiel. But my buddies are riding it on DH bike and I might start to follow them.

No such thing as overkill at northstar

Would a newer Heckler do okay on N*?

ron m. said:

Would a newer Heckler do okay on N*?

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A six-inch travel bike is fine for all of the single black diamond runs and the easier double blacks (Boondocks, Sticks and Stones, and Upper Karpiel), but I'd recommend a 170 or 180 mm of front travel for the more technical double blacks (Lower Karpiel, Dogbone).

You'll have more fun on a true DH bike

bicyclemech1 said:

Tired of paying for a rental and having to work on it for 45 minutes just to get it to shift and get the suspension set.

I've only got about $1200, and am 6' tall, 195lbs.
Recommendations for a good bike for Northstar.
TIA,
Gregory

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I've seen lots of older V10s going for $1000 or less on CL. I figure one of those would work well for ya.

You could do it with a Heckler, but a Bullitt would be a better choice. Also, a Bit Hit would be a good inexpensive option.

You can ride most stuff at North* with a six inch travel bike, but mo' is better.

Entrenador said:

There's at least one Rocky Mountain that shows up on Chainlove pretty often -- $1500 or so.

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It was just there yesterday. Various Kona bikes show up now and then too.
Keep an IE tab on Chainlove during the day.

get a used DH bike. Stay away from all mtn and double chain rings
Your will more fun if the bike has a low fork angle.
n* is hard on bikes, any bike could be ridden there
lots of people wont bring there all mtn bike
there because its too hard on the bikes

I'd try to find a bike locally vs. Pinkbike, ebay etc. My buddy purchased a few DH bikes from ebay & Pinkbike and they sure were beat despite the glowing ads.

I have an Ellsworth Joker with a Marzochhi Monster T that Ive been thinking about parting with....(it will fit you well) PM me if interested...

I'm leaning towards DH.
I've come across some decent deals on Freeride stuff
Giant Faith
Kona Stinky Primo
I rode both the Faith and Sunday over the last couple seasons and I think my struggles had more to do with the size of my balls than the ability of the bike.
No such thing as overkill for N* sounds like good advice.

Northstar is fast enough, open enough, and rocky enough to shine with a big bike. Get a full on DH bike - nothing less then 180mm of travel f/r. Also, I don't get why people always describe sticks and stones as an easy trail/AM trail. The top is pretty flat, I agree, but there are steep twisty rocky sections that are way more fun to do fast on a DH bike then techy and slow on an AM bike. No idea why you would ever purposely underbike yourself at a resort.

7" Stinky's are readily available and cheap.

Would a well set up 7"rear/180mm front work well?