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Isaiah
05-08-2007, 01:24 PM
Looking for pre-owned his and/or hers mountain bikes for mostly leisure city and some country riding. Can anyone comment on Oryx and Mongoose brands? I know nothing about bikes and what's good or bad.

Some shops I've been to have said rear shocks are good (enhance ride comfort) and some have said they're bad (consume alot more energy when pedalling). Any advice is very much appreciated.

Just for clarity, I'm not looking to do any hardcore riding, just go out for the ocassional cruise and maybe out to banff or nosehill once in a while.

bobby_lu
05-08-2007, 02:04 PM
might as well call yourself..Isaiah "mountain bike" Rider..ok that was stupid

Q-TIP
05-08-2007, 02:09 PM
personally I believe you will get much more bike for the money if you opt for a hardtail bike. they may not be as comfy, but it is noticable when you have nicer components on the bike. Mongoose and Oryx used to both be very nice brands, however both of them have been bought out in past years by a company called pro-cycle. hint, this company makes CCM bikes too. Out of the two, oryx has kept it's quality up much better than mongoose, however if you are looking for a decently priced bike of excellent quality look at a lower-end DeVinci from calgary cycle or ridley's.

I used to sell DeVinci's and I can honestly say that I would always look at them first. Plus, they are canadian. If you want any more info feel free to PM.

PS. spend a thousand dollars and I can promise you you will be ten times more likely to actually use the bike than if you go the cheaper route. I can explain later if you want.

syeve
05-08-2007, 02:26 PM
Originally posted by Q-TIP


PS. spend a thousand dollars and I can promise you you will be ten times more likely to actually use the bike than if you go the cheaper route. I can explain later if you want.

Prob not what you want to hear, but it's true. If you see yourself biking more than even ten times a year it is worth the extra $$$.

I have both hard and soft tails. I paid a lot of money to NOT lose any energy pedaling up hills on my full susp (brain shock)

If I had $1k I would go hard tail for sure, you will end up with a heavy, pedal bobbing beast if you go full susp with that amount of cash.

Ever thought about a used bike? I got a 2003 Specialized stumpjumper for sale ;)

Isaiah
05-08-2007, 04:32 PM
Originally posted by syeve

Ever thought about a used bike? I got a 2003 Specialized stumpjumper for sale ;)
I am actually looking for used bikes, however I'm not even considering spending anywhere near the $1k range. I'm looking for a decent bike that will last me a few years but nothing more.

Q-TIP, thanks for the info on Mongoose and Oryx.

hedge
05-08-2007, 05:57 PM
Go to Bow cycle (in bowness), they have a huge store and I think you may be pleasantly surprized at what you can get. I got my wife a lower end mountain bike last year with decent components, a no-name suspension fork and cable-disk brakes for less than $500.

They will be blowing out last years stock so You may find some good deals too.

I agree with the above posters, don't even consider a dual suspension bike that's less than $1k... it will ride like a pogo stick, and isn't necessary for the riding it sounds like you want to do.

Isaiah
05-10-2007, 11:23 AM
Thanks hedge. Further advice welcome.

JRSC00LUDE
05-10-2007, 11:47 AM
I have to agree with the above, 1K is the range for a "good"bike that will last you a few years of regular pedalling basically trouble free (general maint. of course). I wouldn't recommend spending under $500 in any case. If you're just doing paved trail/commute you can still do well for $500.

If you are going to plan on riding a lot and getting off road, think of it this way - what's more enjoyable and comfortable, jogging in some $10 runners from payless or jogging in some $150 quality shoes from the running room or something?

I started with a $500 bike about 5 or 6 years ago and now out of the three I own the cheapest would retail over $1000 and it's just a bmx. The x-country and freeride goe waaaaay up from there.

Mitsu3000gt
05-10-2007, 02:17 PM
have a look at www.buysell.com and usedcalgary.com

Alot of people buy nice bikes, never use them, and sell them.

4G63Power
05-10-2007, 03:21 PM
You can also check out www.pinkbike.com for used bikes.

syeve
05-10-2007, 03:58 PM
Bow also has an online classified section...lots of good bikes on there.


http://www.bowcycle.com/cgi-bin/classads05/classifieds.cgi

Unknown303
05-10-2007, 05:01 PM
Pinkbike is a amazing site. I've been a member on there for ages and they always have good used bikes for sale.

I would recommend a full suspension bike. I myself love mountain biking and have always had really expensive bikes. But for a couple just getting into biking i would still highly recommend investing 1000 to 1200 per bike. Ridley Cycle in Kensington has a nice line-up of Giants which i have only recently became a fan of. They have bikes that range from 700 and up, Most of the full suspension bikes they offer start at about 1200 though but they usually run a lot of specials and are always clearing out older models for cheap.

Giants rear suspension design is really geared towards increasing pedal efficiency, with the design they have incorporated into their linkage system on some models they have drastically reduced the effects of pedaling on the suspension.

Well hope that helped a little.

Isaiah
05-10-2007, 08:15 PM
Wicked advice guys. Thanks to everyone who replied.

syeve
05-11-2007, 11:53 AM
Originally posted by Unknown303
I myself love mountain biking and have always had really expensive bikes.

:rofl: :rofl:

Unknown303
05-11-2007, 05:22 PM
Originally posted by syeve


:rofl: :rofl:

What?

doublepostwhore
06-06-2007, 10:54 PM
You sound like a douche by saying that .."you've always had expensive bikes".
I had the first banshee scratch ever sent to alberta... who cares?
First Supernova ever sent to calgary.
And the first sherman flick.


Who the fuck cares?


I second the notion of not wanting to spend less then 5-6 bills on a bicycle. If you were to build a turbo kit... you wouldnt buy a junkyard special ecu would you? No you would buy the best money could afford.

After all the difference in price with bikes has a HUGE correlation between maintenance and ride confort. you will spend way more on a junk beater fixing it, then buying a nice car from the begining right?

Apply the same logic.

codetrap
06-07-2007, 09:16 AM
I went through a similar arugment with my wife when we bought our bikes. Hardtail, or no..

After doing a bunch of research, we decided to get both hardtails. The reasoning was easy. For the same dollar amount, you get better shifting components, better front suspension, better hubs, and the ability to put on disc brakes.

I got a Rocky Mtn Hammer, wife got a Rocky Mtn Fusion. Both of us are really happy with them, and I use my Hammer to commute from Coventy Hills to DT. She uses her fusion from some singletrack, and just general putzing around. Both are light enough that they're easy to handle, yet strong enough to stand up to harder abuse should we decide to do something a little rougher.

Personally, I think it's more important to get better components vs a rear shock. After all, what's going to frustrate you more over time.. a potentially sore bum, or not being able to get into the gear you need, when you need it?

The other thing was that for commuting around the city, a rear shock absorbed WAY too much of the pedal energy on the ones I tried. When I stood on the pedals, the whole bike felt "soft" and flexed too much for my taste.. I prefer something where it feels like the power I'm putting on the pedals is actually making it to the ground.. For in town use, on pathways and city riding, rear suspension really isn't worth the tradeoff, or price increase.

You can always buy a seat post shock, and nice cycling shorts with good padding in them for a reasonable amount. To retrofit a bit with better components is usually not worth the cost as it'll amount to a new bike in the sub 1G range.

I had a look at this years Fusions when I was at the bike shop recently, and they're looking like pretty nice rides.

syeve
06-07-2007, 09:28 AM
Originally posted by codetrap
I went through a similar arugment with my wife when we bought our bikes. Hardtail, or no..

After doing a bunch of research, we decided to get both hardtails. The reasoning was easy. For the same dollar amount, you get better shifting components, better front suspension, better hubs, and the ability to put on disc brakes.




And that's the exact reason to get a hard tail (unless you're some hard core purist that refuses to sacrafice even a few ounces)

The petal bob you speak of is also exactly why you should get a "cheap" full susp. For a comuter/single track your bikes are a great choice. LOVE the Rocky's.