Mountain Bike Advice
So apparently I am the only person in the state of Utah who doesn't own a mountain bike. I have access to some of the best trails in SLC from my house at Corner Canyon. I'd like a mountain bike for fun but to also have the option of doing a off-road triathlon such as Xterra.
I've been casually shopping mountain bikes, but they are even harder to pick than my first road bike was. My SLTC homies recommend a hard tail bike for racing, whereas my weekend warrior mountain biking friends recommend full suspension for technical trails.
I'm looking to drop somewhere around $2-3k. Here are my questions:
- Hardtail or full suspension? I've ridden my buddy's full suspension. It was certain nice and comfortable but seemed slow. I could have run the distance in the same time. I would like the option to do a race with the bike.
- Wheelsize? Most of the recommendations are for 29 for improved stability. The 26 I rode seemed twitchy.
- Groupset? I am all about bang-for-your buck and like 105 or Ultegra on my road and tri bikes. What is the equivalent on a mountain bike?
- Any recommendations on brands and models? It looks like the major players all have competitive offerings. I don't have any brand loyal -- my road bike is a Giant and my tri bike is a Cervelo.
General advice on making the jump into mountain biking would be appreciated. I'd also love to hear from anyone who has done an off-road tri.
Thanks!
Gabe
Comments
I used to do a lot of Xterra Races in the 00's, including WC on Maui from 2001-8. Haven;t ridden my MTB since 2010, so my advice might be dated.
Gabe in my first life, before I converted to triathlon, I raced MTB competitively at high altitudes on Volcanoes, mountains, etc......At about age 31, started to have babies, and my wife said no more concussions, so, it was then I converted over. Still have a $6,000 FSR SWORKS in my garage......
I prefer rear suspension, but I recommend the one with the back inertia valve brain that automatically locks the rear suspension when you climb to avoid losing power in the flex of the suspension on the uphill (if you have the budget.)
Full Dura ace (XTR) is my preference and, though very common and accepted, I prefer NO disk breaks due to mechanical issues I always ran into under tough conditions. Wheel size - 29.
There are a lot of good choices out in the market today. Read the reviews and pick one. I am biased towards Specialized when it comes to MTB.
SS
If all of your friends ride Mountain Bikes, then get a Mountain Bike. BUT, I'll throw another idea at you. I have a Mountain Bike that I got a few yrs ago. This year I got a high end Fat Bike which has essentially made my Mountain Bike obsolete. Like, I can't imagine a scenario where I would rather ride my mountain bike... My fat bike can go ANYWHERE and it weighs about the same as my mountain bike. It does great on trails and you can ride with anyone on any terrain. And you can ride it in the winter in the snow as well! Some races even have fat bike divisions, but if they don't, you can still enter with the fat bike. And if you're really crazy, you might just want to do your next Ironman on it... Just sayin'. FWIW, here's the Fat bike I got: http://salsacycles.com/bikes/beargrease/2015_beargrease_carbon_xx1
BUT, if you insist on getting a mountain bike, first question, what is your budget? And how big are you?
The opinion I posted in the link above still stands. But, I'll add more emphasis now. My Fat Bike is a 1x11. I love it. I have plenty of range and it is a much simpler system. If I was buying a mountain bike now and was looking to get exactly the spec I wanted, I'd go with 1x11. If I just wanted the most reasonably priced option, I'd probably get a 2x10 since that is the most readily available on eBay.
I'm was very happy with my 29'er hard-tail (Specialized Stump Jumper http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/archive/2011/stumpjumper/sjhtcomp29er ). I thought I got good power transfer, especially for long-ish climbs and rail-trail types of routes. It's especially for cross-country types of mountain bike race courses. I've not ridden a full suspension bike. They are a bit heavier, but much faster through technical stuff, especially fast technical downhills with a lot of rocks and roots. I'd ask your buddies what they think is best for your local terrain and the types of riding you expect to do. Then ignore what they say and just be the weird guy riding along side them on your fat bike.
I have ridden and raced both hardtails and full suspension bikes. If you are buying your first MTB, you should go full suspension. The technology for suspension systems has greatly improved over the past few years, and full suspension bikes no longer have little efficiency loss with the bobbing up and down. Also, most modern rear shock systems have a lever your can flick to open the suspension up fully (mostly used on downhills), or close it down (mostly used for climbing). I agree with SS that Specialized makes one of the best full suspension systems out there with its "brain" technology. It has been a while since I had one, but I used to have a Specialized Epic that I loved. There are some other really nice brands out there, though. For a while, mountainbike team was sponsored by Niner, which makes some really nice full suspension bikes (I had and really liked the Jet 9). My team is currently sponsored by Intense, which started making some nice trail bikes. I really don't race mountainbikes anymore since I got into tris, but a few guys on the team have the Intense models and rave about them.
Regarding size, go with a 29'er. The difference in the ability of a 29 v. 26 to roll over things is profound. Sure, the 29 takes a little more effort to get rolling, but once it does, it rolls fast.
Regarding components, we could have a whole Shimano v. SRAM debate (I like Shimano for road bikes and SRAM for mountainbikes), but that is not necessary. If you go with Shimano, the XT groups have really, really improved and the technology from XTR has really bled down to the XT group (XT is probably your best option for quality v price for Shimano). For SRAM, XO used to be the top of the line and is what I had on my race bikes. I think SRAM now has a new top of the line (XX, maybe?), but you can't go wrong with XO or X9 and, like XT, the technology has really bled down to from the top of the line to the X9 line (like XT, probably your best bang for the buck).
I will disagree with SS on disc v. rim brakes. Disc brakes are the way to go. The stopping power between the two is not comparable, particularly under the conditions you encounter on a mountainbike (whether it be mud, dust, water, etc.). Also, with discs, you can use one or two fingers to pull the lever and get great braking modulation, which I feel is very important for a mountainbike.
I think that's all I have for now, but please let me know if you have questions.
I was leaning towards a hardtail just because I was told that was faster for racing. Most of the trails in Utah are fairly technical, so it sounds like a full suspension will actually be faster overall. I hadn't looked at Specialized bikes, but after getting multiple recommendations from the wicked smart guys ^^^ I'm going to now. Sounds like 29 is definitely the way to go.
I'm 5'11" and 168 pounds. My Giant is a medium-large and my Cervelo is 54". I'd like to get something around $2-3k. I usually go for bang-for the-buck, since I only started seriously riding just over two years ago and have a ways to go before the bike is holding me back.
John's post really has me thinking. With the winters in Utah, it would be awesome to have an option to ride outside when it is snowy. The only outdoor rides I got in December through February were during trip to So Cal. Reading about the Beargrease bike you have, it sounds like it I could get a twofer since it is a "dirt friendly fatty." And it would be a great conversation starter: "why are you riding a fat bike?"
A couple quick Google searches turned up fat bike races in Utah. My mind was blown when I read an article about "bikepacking." I love backpacking and cycling, so why not combine them! I'm going see if I can find a dealer locally that sells the Beargrease to take it for a test ride.