Thread: Mountain Bike for CO Front Range

Looking to pick up a new bike to explore all around the Front Range with my home in Boulder - so M-F I will be doing afterwork rides then drive to other areas on the weekends.

Use to be really big into 'freeriding' and jumping, then moved to the city and picked up road biking for 6 years, now I am looking to go on long trail rides (average of 2-4 hours with an occasional all-day weekend ride) with technical trails/climbs and some downhill with smooth jumps and drops (nothing major, 3-4 ft).

Would like a bike with lockout shocks and going full suspension for the first time. My price range is $2,000 - give or take a few hundred if it's worth the extra bit. Took a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp out for a test ride last week and really liked it. Also looking into the Specialized Pitch but haven't been able to ride one yet. Going to visit most of the shops around Boulder tomorrow to test as many bikes as I can.

Seeing as I have been out of the mountain biking loop for a few years I have a decent amount to catch up on with components and mt bikes in general. I am sure many of you are much more knowledgeable than I will ever be.

Any suggestions between these two - or another bike I should consider?

Thank you!

For the Front Range, a 5 or 6 inch travel bike is a great choice. Today's 5" travel bikes pedal great and rip the downhills. There are also a tremendous amount of great bikes that fall into this category.

The first thing I'd say is that "lockout shocks" are a thing of the past for a trail bike. The platform damping and newer suspension designs minimize bob effectively without losing compliance over the bumps.

If I was looking to spend $2k, I'd seriously consider picking up a good used bike that is a year or two old. There are some tremendous values to be had in the used bike market, especially in the People's Republic where it seems that everyone upgrades their $5k bike each year and takes a 50% hit reselling the old one.

Bikes I consider to be among the top in this category:

Turner 5 Spot
Banshee Rune
Yeti 575 or ARC5
Ibis Mojo

29er singlespeed with a QR15 or 20mm axled fork. You can build a really nice one for $2,000. You can go just as fast on the DH as those guys riding a 575 or a 5-Spot or a Mojo, and you will stomp them on the climbs once you are strong enough to live with a SS gearing.

^mustachio not included at $2k

find a year old giant trance x1. xt build, fox suspension, climbs awesome, 5" travel, decends incredibly. should be sub $2k.

really most 5" modern trail bikes rule.

KTM 300 XC-W

Originally Posted by creaky fossil

29er singlespeed with a QR15 or 20mm axled fork. You can build a really nice one for $2,000. You can go just as fast on the DH as those guys riding a 575 or a 5-Spot or a Mojo, and you will stomp them on the climbs once you are strong enough to live with a SS gearing.

you're too fucking funny.