Recommendations For Full Suspension Mountain Bikes

[MT930]

Nothing extreme now I'm in my mid 40's looking for a good all around Mtn bike.
We have some of the best trails in the country here & I could drop some pounds.

For up and down riding comfortable light and reasonably priced $1200 or under.
80% trail 20%paved

I found this one it fits in the back of planes or small cars It would be the ticket for back country Flying. Whats Up with it? looks cool what's the down side ?

Montague Paratrooper Tactical Folding Mountain Bike: The Bike






My Current Bike is 20 Year old, Educate me on the new stuff

[porsche4life]

Thats a Hardtail.......

Quite a few choices from all the majors.... $1200 should get you in the bottom of the barrel FS disc brake bikes....

[porsche4life]

Scratch that.... 1200 is a little low. You looking to buy new or used?

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by MT930

Nothing extreme now I'm in my mid 40's looking for a good all around Mtn bike.
We have some of the best trails in the country here & I could drop some pounds.

For up and down riding comfortable light and reasonably priced $1200 or under.
80% trail 20%paved

I found this one it fits in the back of planes or small cars It would be the ticket for back country Flying. Whats Up with it? looks cool what's the down side ?




My Current Bike is 20 Year old, Educate me on the new stuff

I really like the way that folds. I often take a mountain bike in the back of my Pacer. I have to remove both quick release wheels, then very carefully shoe horn the bulky frame in being careful not to scratchthe airplane or rip the seats/interior.

I do not own a modern full suspension bike, but I do know that I do not like the extra weight and squishy feel the rear suspension bikes I have tried out exhibit when simply pedaling along on flat terrain. If you do not plan on riding mostly rough downhill terrain at high speeds, I am guessing you would be happier skipping the rear suspension.

[gtc]

This would be an awesome bike if you can get it for the opening bid:

2006 Turner Flux Mountain Bike // Large Full Suspension Shimano Fox King Trail | eBay

[vash]

Ibis is making a 29er full suspension. Unstoppable with a strong rider.

[jhynesrockmtn]

My 7 year old Santra Cruz Blur is still the bomb. New they are way out of that price range new, but used you should be able to get a deal. We picked up an almost unused 5 year Juliana, the womens version close to the Blur recently for my girlfriend for $500. Was probably closer to $1,400 new as equipped.

Not mine, pic of an 08 from the web.

[Joe Bob]

Don't some have a way to lock the rear suspension while ridng on the flats?

[porsche4life]

Yes, most of the better shocks have a lockout... My bike is a hardtail, and I lockout the front fork on long road sections....

[Dantilla]

I've been absolutely thrilled with my full-suspension Cannondale.
No way, however, could it be purchased for $1200.

I wasn't planning on spending as much as I did, but after riding a few bikes back-to-back this one was irresistable.

[willtel]

Originally Posted by gtc

This would be an awesome bike if you can get it for the opening bid:

2006 Turner Flux Mountain Bike // Large Full Suspension Shimano Fox King Trail | eBay

Agreed. I have an older Turner XCE that is perfect.


Turner XCE by willtel, on Flickr

[algs911]

$1200 is pretty darn low for a nice, full suspension mountain bike. $1200 may get you in to a nice 29er hard tail (uses 29 inch wheels, instead of 26 inch wheels). For the type of riding you plan on doing (ie., not SUPER STEEP technical trails) a 29er may suite you well. The 29 inch wheels do roll over terrain much easier than a 26 inch wheel.

For $1200 and full suspension you're looking at about the bottom of the barrel. The components won't be very good, and at best you'd get cable actuated disc brakes. For the same price you'd get a pretty descent 29er hard tail with hydraulic disc brakes.

The best advice I can give (I raced for 18 years and worked at a bike shop while in college) is to find a great LBS (local bike shop). Make sure the people in the shop are nice and treat you well. They'll fit you on the right size and type of bike that will suite your riding well. It'll also come with free adjustments for a year or so, plus a good percentage off of a water bottle and cage, pump, tube, patch kit, mini-tool, bag to carry stuff in, helmet, gloves, etc. Don't forget to factor that stuff in too.

It'd be nice to find a couple of LBSs near you as well, then you have more of a selection.

Really, pretty much all the major brands sold at bikes shops are GREAT bikes and they all make bikes in various sizes and price points. There's a lot to chose from.

Some bike shops will rent you a bike (for, say, $75) for a day, then apply the rental price to the purchase price of a new bike. Perhaps try that out.

Have fun!

Al

[VincentVega]

My 7 year old Santra Cruz Blur

That's great advice. Your $1200 price point is right in the middle, you really need to spend more for something 'nice' and you generally dont get a lot more bike compared to the sub 1k models. Not that you cant have a great time on a $1200 bike but you'll get a ton more bike in the used market.

I'm in the same boat btw. Nothing wrong with my old Proflex other than I want a newer bike.

[algs911]

"Nothing wrong with my old Proflex other than I want a newer bike." - If you're using your Proflex for VERY light trails and around town, it's fine. Otherwise, mountain bike technology has come a LONG way in a very short amount of time.

I had a first generation Santa Cruz Blur. Great bike. However, I just upgraded to a newer model and I can hardly believe the difference! It's really amazing how much the shifting, braking, geometry, and fit have changed in the last four or five years. The new models are FAR superior to anything older.

Used bikes can be tempting, and there are GREAT deals out there. It's tough unless you know what you're looking at and for. For example, a top-of-the-line ten year old bike is pretty darn out of date (IMHO). I'd rather ride a $2500, middle range bike; it's just better.

Of course, this is only my opinion and there are always exceptions. I mean no offense to anyone.

Al

[Jim Bremner]

I worked for Santa cruz for 12 years. My favorite bike EVER from them was the Heckler 5" travel bike.

The Blur has a fault. to make VPP work the system has to BIND. it tears up bearings big time, ANY VPP will hammer the poo out of bearings. Lock out shouldn't be on a bike. would you lock up the suspension in your car?

Do you REALLY need full suspension. if your riding groomed paths that are smooth just buy a GOOD 29'er hard tail.

If you're going to hammer trails with rock gardens and 1' or more steps up or down at 15mph uphill or down time to look at a sigle pivot bike or a DW linked pivot or IBIS.

When the BLUR VPP came out to Santa Cruz I told an Engineer where the bike would crack. "Where did you get your ME from" was his answer. "You don't have one, I know more than you" 9 broken frames later "We're working on a fix" first fix was a bandage. second fix works pretty damn well but I would still want more bearing strenght on the links.

Reality if your looking at a folding bikee it will be a lmtd use bike and it should be fine for 1-2 rides a month. If ou want 1-2 rides a week look for a better bike

[Flieger]

Now I could see the engineers not getting the pivot points strong enough first time round, but why do you say that a VPP (which I think means virtual pivot point, or 4 bar linkage here) must bind? It may be true that using single degree of freedom bearings in all the pivots will result in a little bit of binding but it should be so slight as to not be an issue. And if one uses spherical bearings (heim joints) the problems can be all but eliminated.

[Bill Douglas]

Bike shops always seem to be having sales "Last years models 40% off (or 50%)".

And go for what is light, brand name, and Shimano componentry of the best grade for your money.

Did I mention light.

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Now I could see the engineers not getting the pivot points strong enough first time round, but why do you say that a VPP (which I think means virtual pivot point, or 4 bar linkage here) must bind? It may be true that using single degree of freedom bearings in all the pivots will result in a little bit of binding but it should be so slight as to not be an issue. And if one uses spherical bearings (heim joints) the problems can be all but eliminated.

to make a VPP work it travels a crooked path. when your in sag you're in this "J" pattern at the bottom of the curve of the J. Your pedaling force locks up the travel unless bump force overides it. so it's "locked up" that is BIND. now add in fancy pants shocks with lock out and it HAMMERS the bearings. the bike should have been made with needle bearings and tougher links.. The bandage cure was REALLY pretty smart. they added in Titanium links that acted as a spring.

The first upper link was a cnc alloy link and they would fail in the valley of the cnc lines in the middle of the link from a wide to narrow path.

First one I saw failed I called all the way up to #9 and the funny thing with #9 was that the owner tried to weld it up! Next try was bead blasting the edges and valley off the link. they lasted longer. but the skinny ti links work well.

I still think that they need wider bearings.


Santa cruz fired me due to "We can't afford to pay you what you're earning from your sales" My commision was 3.75 %

[Flieger]

To me that just sounds like the bearings need more shock/impact load resistance. I wouldn't classify that as bind. Sounds more like anti-squat kinematics.

[Jim Bremner]

take the shock off place a sharpie in the drop out and mark the travel on paper.


/ = no bind

J = bind.

I'm not bitter. I made a great start in my life hawking them.

I like the single pivots better.

I also like IBIS and Pivots bikes.

Your car's wheels move / not J

J isn't the best way. and if you're using J you better build/spec well to make it work.

I've been toying with another design and there's a guy that I respect and we both came up with a very close idea at the same time. I will work with him to get a prototype made. it won't be a J type but a altered /

To be best a VPP is an upside down ?