Thread: $2600 to spend......advice?

riding a Spec 06' Stumpy FSR. its the 1st mtn bike ive owned, and have ridden it for 2 full seasons in mtns, 1 season on the wicked streets of Chitown
so far ive destroyed the rear suspension thrice; needed a rebuild twice, and cracked the hollowlink along the weld once. forks been rebuilt once (the superduper crappy Black fork). new drivetrain due to blown up derailleurs and shattered shifters. need new wheelset badly, missing about 3 spokes on each wheel, flat spots everywhere.

anywho, want/need a burlier bike. looking at freeride/dh bikes, but do alot of XC trails. think i may buy a 7-8" bike and try and self-remedy the Spec with the new bike maintenance book i got

i found a TRANSITION BLINDSIDE for $2600
any other suggestions?

after my tax returns, work bonus, and rent deposit i have $2600 at MOST to spend

thanks
B

oh yeah, due to warranty issues, im pretty hesitant to buy USED

That amount give you a ton of options.

You might even think about going budget on a freeride bike, selling your Stumpy, and taking whats left and buying a sweet trail bike. Best of all worlds.

I would say the Blindside is a little too DH specific to fill the role you described. That's not the kind of bike you want to ride XC with. The Dirtbag is a little more versatile.

For that price point take a look at the Giant Reign X or an Iron Horse 7Point. Both are great pedalling 7 inch frames that come in at pretty reasonable prices.

Check out the Giant Reign X1. Great bike that meets your specifications and your budget.

Santa Cruz Bullit.

Originally Posted by iscariot

Santa Cruz Bullit.

There are some bikes that think they can do it all but that bike is THE jack of all trades.

I had one built up as a full on DH race bike then got a new dh bike so I put full fox float suspension and light components on it and it turned into a 29 pound trail bike.

I think you should give it to me and be happy in the goodwill you have created for yourself. I'd even give you a framed signed certificate stating how great a person you are.

i dont support the eastcoast, sorry

ok, more info on myself
this year i got a pass to Keystone for the summer, so will be concentrating on getting into DH as much as possible. i have another Massive roadtrip planned through the regulars of Fruita GJ and Moab, and then "most" of California
my Stumpy can handle pretty much everything Ive ridden, but would like a bike to kick some ass on the Gnarlier shuttle rides like Hazzard CO UPS LPS Porc Rim
In Cali im Hitting up Downieville and some other DH style rides

i am looking into the giants now, rode a trance that i liked back when i bought the stumpy - looks like i want a little more travel
i dig santa cruz', but cant get a good deal on one, unless MSO or someone has an old one on sale from last year. feel they are a little too expensive for me. i took a superlite out when i bought the stumpy, and it was the favorite XC i rode - the Bullit is titties, but the way I would set it up would cost $4000 msrp, waaay too much
as for DH/Freeride bikes, ive only ridden the demos at the Stone and WP. all i can remember is the Kona Stinky Deluxe, i think. I liked it alot, but had nothing to compare it to. - the Stab looks fairly comparable and within price range

so basically, im gonna hold onto the Stumpy for everyday riding, and am looking for a more DH/Freeride specific bike. im pretty bike jongish, so dont know much/anything about the better components




and was kidding about the EC, i really dug riding in NC, WV, Tenn, and KY last year

Buy this for gnarly shuttles/lift served:

http://boise.craigslist.org/bik/618081425.html

Sounds like you are learning to DH (I'm in the same boat). You'll break stuff and change your mind a few times as you learn so might as well do it cheap.

Sell your stumpy for $1200 on craiglist. Leaves you $2800 to buy this and some body armor.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...in/1283/29371/

I'd say get a Transition Dirtbag.

You can get yourself a REALLY nicely setup Dirtbag for your budget plus what you can get out of your Specialized.

The only change I'd really make to my dirtbag is to put on a front deraileur and small chainring for climbing. I am kinda waffling on the front fork (Zocchi 66 RC2 ETA, I think I should have gotten a 66 RC2X instead)

Mine has a chainguide and E-13 bashring, and I have a shit-ton of confidence in the bike.

Overall I've been QUITE pleased with this bike.

for freeride, if you wont go used, I like the Ironhorse 7point(in your price range). It sounds like you really beat on frames and Iron horses are BURLEY. good set of components for the $$ and great pedaling frame too!

Edit: dbag is a great option too, rides well etc...I would be worried about components though on it for that price range

Go-ride has a medium '07 7poitn5 for I think $2499.
Pretty SWEET deal.

giant glory 8 (not the glory dh)

Buy my uzzi

Bullit or Transition Preston.

Originally Posted by kidwoo

Buy my uzzi

oh man thats a sexy bike... Im deciding right now whether it'd be a better option to upgrade my gary fischer ged to your uzzi, or buy a snowmobile for next season. decisions, decisions...

Originally Posted by couloirman

oh man thats a sexy bike... Im deciding right now whether it'd be a better option to upgrade my gary fischer ged to your uzzi, or buy a snowmobile for next season. decisions, decisions...

Tough call. Both are cheap(er) at the moment.



One will help you live longer and the other will make your ass fat however

Originally Posted by kidwoo

Tough call. Both are cheap(er) at the moment.

One will help you live longer and the other will make your ass fat however

Not only will it make my ass fat(ter), but it'll tempt me to push farther into avy terrain earlier in the season. Ill let you know in the next few days about that uzzi, Ive been dreaming about that ride for a long time now...

the uzzi is the ONLY bike that intenses' website wont load, awesome
i almost did there SCHWEET demo last year, if they do it this year i will for sure
ironhorses' are an option
im buying my bike through broform.com, so i get a deal
no burly bikes though, and their website is gay....do they still have a 7.5?
the broform only has a .3, which i think id break

I'll throw in my 2 cents as I was in a similar spot a couple of years ago. drum roll please.....you should buy 2 used bikes! Trying to get a bike to cover both full on downhilling and cross country riding is sort of possible, but I think it will limit you in both aspects.

if I am reading correctly you're just learning to downhill.... having a big (8" travel) bike with a nice slack head angle will make the learning curve go much smoother. some of the 7 inch bikes can be ridden for both CC and DH, but you've got to really be a good rider to pull it off. you give up aspects of a good DH bike (big travel, huge breaks, slack angles, low BB, etc) and you give up aspects of a good CC bike as well (snappy handling, efficient pedaling platform, light weight, etc).

just my 2 cents, good luck.

Perdicament?
Breaks?
peadling?
Can be rode?

Save your money, and buy 'hooked on phonics'.

Please.

engrish minor
better advice would be to not post hammered

buy my 05 turner dhr instead and save 600..shoot save 800 ill sell it for 1800

size medium with boxxer team and dhx 5.0 remote resi
holzfeller cranks,5050 pedals,azonic outlaw wheels/hubs,fsa dh400 bar,dh300 stem,fsa bb,mrp chainguide,chris king headset,hayes mag hyd. disc brakes(8 inch)tompson elite post,wtb saddle,maxxis rubber and sram/xt shifting

Buy my 07 SX Trail. It is sick and does everything. It wont fail. PM me if at all interested.

Looks like I started an impromptu faggot party.

Sorry bout that.