[Firestorm450]

For the past few weeks I have been going to mountain bike trails in the various parks in michigan. I really like riding over what I believe you consider AM trails, (hilly paths, 2' drops, log and rock obstacles, as well as fast downhill paths. I currently own a target bought schwin hard tail bicycle. Im sure an lbs sold bicycle would be much better, but I dont know what to look for. I would like a full suspension bicycle, but im not sure whether I can afford a decent one. I would like to spend about $300-$400 on a bike, but may go up to $500. The ignition series seem to be good, but I really dont know. Any help in choosing a bicycle would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

- James D.

 

[dumpy]

Get yourself a nice hardtail

I would recomend getting a hardtail in that price range. Pretty much everyone else on here will agree. Any type of rear "supsension" in that price range will do more harm than good. A good policy to follow is to not buy a FS under a grand. A good hardtail will teach you to be a better rider too, so when youi get that first FS you will have a good solid foundation. $500 should get you a good, solid, fairly reliable beginner hard tail. Go check out some local and shops and they can steer you in the right direction. Just try and find a good shop. Good luck and welcome to the sport.

 

[emvath]

I agree. Although I think you can get a decent fs bike for 800 maybe (giant warp for example), you would probably be better of going hardtale for that price range. For $500 you can get a decent hardtale from a quality builder (specialized, giant, kona, haro, etc.) with an acceptable level of componants and fork. Ride it for a few years until you are good enough and the bike is trashed enough to warrant spending more money. Then you can become a dumb tech junkie like a lot of the rest of us and not be satisfied with your new $2,500 full suspension bike

 

[Udrija]

Surprised Dogonfr hasnt been here yet to recommend Ibex yet :lol:

 

[perttime]

Definitely a hard tail, in your price range.

Find a bike that is the right size for you.
Priorities:
1. SIZE
2. frame (size, strength)
3. decent fork
4. wheels
5. the rest of the parts

Sometimes people find good second hand bikes.

 

[Firestorm450]

Ok, I went to my lbs, and they reccomended the 2006 giant raineer, it will cost about $680. It is a hard tail, I forgot most of componients of it. Would this be a good buy?

thank you

James

 

[corporatehippy]

James - where in MI are you located (and which shop do you go to?) .. I'm in SE michigan and can recommend a few.

The Giant Raineer is a good, solid bike. But you should shop around because there are alot of brands with bikes in that range that might offer a different fit or component package, etc..

On the Giant, a friend of mine rides the Raineer all over Michigan and she has been very satisfied with it for the past couple of years.

 

[Maida7]

Yes the giant looks like a decent bike. I suggest you test ride several brands and models in that price range and find the one that FITS you best.

 

[be350ka]

Surprised Dogonfr hasnt been here yet to recommend Ibex yet :lol:

In due time my friend, in due time.

Okay, I'll help him out a little here

 

[Firestorm450]

I went out today and bought the raineer. It makes a clicky noise when in 3rd gear, the chain is rubbing against the derailer on the crank gears. Should I try adjust it, or take it in? Other than that it seems like a much better bike, thank you all for the help.

James

 

[oldskoolbiker]

That was fast for the gears to be out of whack. The gears will usually need adjustment after some riding when it's new because the cables will settle and stretch a little, but not on the first day. I would take it back to the shop and get them to adjust things right.

In the mean time you can turn the barrel adjusters on the shifters to tighten the cables some. Just turn the adjusters clockwise to tighten the cable and counter clockwise to loosen the cable.

 

[perttime]

chain is rubbing against the derailer on the crank gears.

So your chain is on the big chainwheel (front). Does it rub with all combinations of big chainwheel / rear cogs?

In case you did not know: you should keep the chain running "straight", i.e. using big chainwheel/biggest cog or small chainwheel/smallest cog bends the chain sideways and is not healthy for the parts in the long run.

Adjusting the gear cables is not hard but a look at some instructions first might be helpful if you have never done it before. It is no rocket science or brain surgery.

 

[Firestorm450]

It turns out that the chain guard on the largest gear was rubbing on the derailer, so after 2 trips to the store they figured that out. My parents helped me buy the bike, which allowed me some extra money, which I spent on clipless pedals (egg beaters) and tahoe shoes. I have to say that getting out while stopped is very hard. I guess I'll have to take them out before I stop, which will be hard when I get stuck on a root going uphill.
I can only take my feet out when twisting my ankle towards the bike, if I adjust the angle of the clips that are on the shoe, can I adjust it so I have to move my ankle outwards. if so, do i need to move them toe-in, or toe-out? im thinking toe-in.

thank you

James

 

[dan0]

It turns out that the chain guard on the largest gear was rubbing on the derailer, so after 2 trips to the store they figured that out. My parents helped me buy the bike, which allowed me some extra money, which I spent on clipless pedals (egg beaters) and tahoe shoes. I have to say that getting out while stopped is very hard. I guess I'll have to take them out before I stop, which will be hard when I get stuck on a root going uphill.
I can only take my feet out when twisting my ankle towards the bike, if I adjust the angle of the clips that are on the shoe, can I adjust it so I have to move my ankle outwards. if so, do i need to move them toe-in, or toe-out? im thinking toe-in.

thank you

James

practise on the road first, untill you get used to them you're going to fall alot. have the shop where you got the shoes & pedals set them up for you. you pretty much want the cleat under the ball of your foot and your feet should be parrallel to the chain stays. I'm not familiar with the shoes you got but hard soles help. untill you get good at it , you can unclip way ahead of rough areas and ride unclipped. 99% of the time I fell because of the clipless I was barely moving if at all. usually someone stops short in front of you, or you go to stop and forget, and it usually happens when someone is watching
get some good gloves too

 

[perttime]

I can only take my feet out when twisting my ankle towards the bike,

Not sure what exactly the Eggbeater cleats look like, but with Time pedals you have to be careful to put them on the right shoes. Otherwise you get a very different angle for releasing. Is there a "Right" and "Left" cleat?

 

[Maida7]

Not sure what exactly the Eggbeater cleats look like, but with Time pedals you have to be careful to put them on the right shoes. Otherwise you get a very different angle for releasing. Is there a "Right" and "Left" cleat?

Definitely check this out. I have eggs and I turn my heel outward to unclip. IMHO eggs are very easy to get in and out of and never get clogged with mud.

 

[Firestorm450]

Yeah the cleats were on the wrong feet. I changed the cleats over and it is now much easier to get out of them. As you had said earlier about my gears being out of whack on the first day was weird. my other problem is much worse, its really quite funny actually. Well, I was practicing taking my feet out of the cleats, and falling over. On one try I attempted to get my left foot into the pedal. The pedal gave way and I thought "oh crap, my pedal fell off, but as i looked down i saw that my left crank had fallen off... how funny is that . Well i figured i would try to ride it with one leg seing as i can now pull up on the pedal. riding with one leg is very hard, espechially on the up stroke. after a few minutes i took another trip to the bike shop for another nut to hold on the crank. im just hoping that nothing else happens like this while im on the trail. I could imaging trying to pull my front wheel over something, and it falls off, or the handlebars come off.

 

[dan0]

sounds to me like the bike shop let you down, that bike should have been assembled and tested before it left the shop. I don't know if you've read any of the rants against "wallmart" bikes but the biggest complaint is poor assembly/setup. I would bring the bike in , leave it for a day tops, and DEMAND they check every nut, bolt and adjustment. if the bike was torqued properly that crank arm would not fall off that fast, and the derailliers shouldnt go out of adjustment for at least 5 or 6 rides, sounds like they gave you the floor model and no one ever tightend everything up. If they give you any trouble ask them how much a lawsuit would cost if that crank arm fell off during a steep downhill:nono:

 

[tahopp]

Yeah the cleats were on the wrong feet. I changed the cleats over and it is now much easier to get out of them. As you had said earlier about my gears being out of whack on the first day was weird. my other problem is much worse, its really quite funny actually. Well, I was practicing taking my feet out of the cleats, and falling over. On one try I attempted to get my left foot into the pedal. The pedal gave way and I thought "oh crap, my pedal fell off, but as i looked down i saw that my left crank had fallen off... how funny is that . Well i figured i would try to ride it with one leg seing as i can now pull up on the pedal. riding with one leg is very hard, espechially on the up stroke. after a few minutes i took another trip to the bike shop for another nut to hold on the crank. im just hoping that nothing else happens like this while im on the trail. I could imaging trying to pull my front wheel over something, and it falls off, or the handlebars come off.

Im in SE MI. as well. Just curious, what shop did you get the bike from?
Tim

 

[Firestorm450]

from the klm on rochester north of auburn.