Anyone ride Mountain Bikes here?

[GreenState]

Awesome great to get new.

Getting a warranty?

Now is the time to ask for all the "free" upgrades from the bike shop you are buying from.

Ask for at least :

Better tires

Better brake pads

You mentioned the seat so maybe look at a more suitable seat.

IMHO bike shops markup on a new bike is about double .... gotta pay the rent , electricity , employees etc ...

That may be your opinion, but that's not reality. Possibly on the lowest of the low end bikes, but as you go up and price the margin on bikes drops sharply. It's not just the cost of the bike, there's still shipping, receiving, unpacking, assembling, adjusting, and putting the bike on the sales floor. The shop is only (maybe) clearing a few hundred bucks on this bike.

Shimano only makes one compound of brake pad for the brakes that came on the bike. Why would you suggest 'better' brake pads? Heck, it's already been discussed that there are hardly hills where he lives....

The tires are more than adequate for the bike and rider. Getting rid of tubes would be of greater benefit than replacing tires.

And by all means, if you want your bike shop to think you're an *** and treat you like such, go ahead and ask for a bunch of free stuff.

If you want to get on their good side, keep your business local and drop off a cold six pack of their favorite beer just before closing.

 

[Surly1]

Good choice on the Taro. Had a Honzo for a short time and really liked (but I'm just personally not a 29r fan). It's a fun bike for being a 9r though. Not sure exactly where you are getting it at, but if your budget permits you might want to ride the Explosif also (if they have one). I prefer the steel frames in hard tails a little more than aluminum. Also like the 27.5 over the 9r.

Don't worry about upgrading anything right now, just ride the crap out of it. You will either love the sport or not. No point spending more money, til you find out how much you will like this sport. If you love the sport, you will be getting another bike anyways cause you can't have too many. If you want to spend some money, get a good pair of pedals and shoes. I'm partial to platforms and a pair of 5.10s for my riding, but most people in MN think clipless is the only way to go. I recommend to anybody and everybody, platforms (flats) and good shoes for many reasons. for example, people that can't bunny hop without their clipless setup, flat out can't bunny hop correctly. Also don't forget to get a helmet that fits, you will crash eventually.

And for what it's worth, we do have hills in MN. In fact most of our trails have some really punchy, albeit short climbs. We don't have the miles of sustained fireroad style up hills you get elsewhere, but we do have some gnarly little climbs on the trail (check out hillside cuyuna or Duluth).

If you ever need somebody to ride with in MN, shoot me a PM. If I'm around, let's head out. I'm out in southern Oregon doing some shuttle runs this weekend tho (and if Spirit Mt opens next weekend I'll be up there).

 

[donbrown]

Also don't forget to get a helmet that fits, you will crash eventually.

Always be safe.

Have split quite a few helmets !!!

All those injuries creep back into your body as you age .... at least they are for me and my buddies

Also would suggest some gloves so they rip instead of the palms of the hands

IMHO auto mechanic work gloves work petty good , for me the dedicated bike gloves wear out really fast on the fingertips.

I like these for $5 http://www.harborfreight.com/mechanics-gloves-large-93640.html

 

[99slpss]

Good choice on the Taro. Had a Honzo for a short time and really liked (but I'm just personally not a 29r fan). It's a fun bike for being a 9r though. Not sure exactly where you are getting it at, but if your budget permits you might want to ride the Explosif also (if they have one). I prefer the steel frames in hard tails a little more than aluminum. Also like the 27.5 over the 9r.

Don't worry about upgrading anything right now, just ride the crap out of it. You will either love the sport or not. No point spending more money, til you find out how much you will like this sport. If you love the sport, you will be getting another bike anyways cause you can't have too many. If you want to spend some money, get a good pair of pedals and shoes. I'm partial to platforms and a pair of 5.10s for my riding, but most people in MN think clipless is the only way to go. I recommend to anybody and everybody, platforms (flats) and good shoes for many reasons. for example, people that can't bunny hop without their clipless setup, flat out can't bunny hop correctly. Also don't forget to get a helmet that fits, you will crash eventually.

And for what it's worth, we do have hills in MN. In fact most of our trails have some really punchy, albeit short climbs. We don't have the miles of sustained fireroad style up hills you get elsewhere, but we do have some gnarly little climbs on the trail (check out hillside cuyuna or Duluth).

If you ever need somebody to ride with in MN, shoot me a PM. If I'm around, let's head out. I'm out in southern Oregon doing some shuttle runs this weekend tho (and if Spirit Mt opens next weekend I'll be up there).

I decided to back out on the Kona Taro as I tried a New left over 2014 Scott Aspect 910 29er Before I went to get the Kona this past weekend and it also felt like a nice bike, and from what I could tell it seemed to be just as nice as the Kona but I could be totally wrong also I guess! But I picked up the Scott for $899 regularly I think $1,399 at REI.

So any thoughts on the Scott Bikes?

 

[donbrown]

I decided to back out on the Kona Taro as I tried a New left over 2014 Scott Aspect 910 29er Before I went to get the Kona this past weekend and it also felt like a nice bike, and from what I could tell it seemed to be just as nice as the Kona but I could be totally wrong also I guess! But I picked up the Scott for $899 regularly I think $1,399 at REI.

So any thoughts on the Scott Bikes?

Reviews on the internet mtb sites say it is a great frame.

Look at brake pads to improve the ride: there are 5 types of pads



Ceramic Hard (pair)



Semi-Metallic (pair)




Sintered (pair)




Kevlar



Ceramic Pro (pair)

 

[donbrown]

IMHO get better tires


The old Racing Ralph tread on a
new mission. Rapid Rob is an attractive option for beginners in
the Active Line. With 50 EPI carcass and LiteSkin sidewall.



http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/off-road_tires/rapid_rob


You can go, to various manufactures and look a t various tires


http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/tyreapplication.shtml

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/off-road_tires

http://www.wtb.com/collections/29-tires#

For my bike I rode on Bontracr XR series andwore out in 2 months. Went to Continental and were even stickier and woreout in a month.

Now on WTB weirwolf on the front and Bronson o the rear.

Bronson is holding up well and sticky after 2 months The Weirwolf s too hard of a compound ad washes out on turns even deflated to the lowest rec pressure. Weirwolf is pretty great shape better than 75% tread left after 2months.

I used to run KENDA"S when my friend was sponsord by them ... mybe look at them since they were pretty nice on 26"

http://www.modernbike.com/kenda-29er-tires


Popped too many spokes on the stock Bontracer MUSTANG RIMS .. Exploded freehub on a SLX hub

Riding on 3rd set of rims this year and second set of WTB st tcs i25 rims

MAybe onna get a set of rims and HOPE hubs or Chris King and get a wheelset built ... maybe
I guess all the rage are STANS rims but my friends who ride like me are having failures on STANS.

I am trying to declare in this post there are lots of options which are possible ... and it is your ridng style and $$$ to determine which option is best.

 

[Surly1]

You did good with the Scott. I know a few guys that ride them (more XC racer) and they like them. No point in worrying if it is the "right" bike now if it is already purchased. For my style I prefer the Kona a little more as the geometry is quite a bit different. But for a majority of the stuff you will ride in MN the Scott will be a great bike (most of our trails are more XC oriented). If you head up to Duluth (Spirit Mt in particular) the Scott may be a little twitchy and not fun, compared to slacker AM/trail bike.

As DonBrown mentioned, you may want to look into diff tires. I've seen lots of people in MN run the Slant 6 you have on the bike, and tend to like them. Especially in mid to late summer months when the trails are really dry and rock hard. There are a lot of choices out there, mostly depending on conditions you are going to ride in. If you are gonna hit Cuyuna, you may want to look into a different tire for sure, if I remember correctly the trails up there will slice the Slant 6's pretty quickly (and any other light XC type of tire). For Cuyuna I run a few diff tires, but always make sure I have a good casing on them to eliminate the slicing.

Otherwise, ride the bike replace/upgrade what you start to determine you need as you go. First step is done, you got a bike; now get out and ride it if it ever dry's out and warms up a bit in MN (FYI MN trails close when wet, and you will be lynched by trailwork people if caught on muddy trails).

 

[Surly1]

Riding on 3rd set of rims this year and second set of WTB st tcs i25 rims

MAybe onna get a set of rims and HOPE hubs or Chris King and get a wheelset built ... maybe
I guess all the rage are STANS rims but my friends who ride like me are having failures on STANS.

Stay away from Stan's rims if you ride rough stuff and jump a lot. I have blown thru a few myself. They tend to be too light and bend, unless you are under a certain weight and only do XC stuff.

I have had good luck with Spank wheels, but have destroyed one. Went to set of Mavics on the park bike this year, will see how they hold up.

And for the money, you can't go wrong with Hope's for your hubset, unless you really want to spend the cha ching on the King's.

 

[roughrider99]

Stay away from Stan's rims if you ride rough stuff and jump a lot. I have blown thru a few myself. They tend to be too light and bend, unless you are under a certain weight and only do XC stuff.

I have had good luck with Spank wheels, but have destroyed one. Went to set of Mavics on the park bike this year, will see how they hold up.

And for the money, you can't go wrong with Hope's for your hubset, unless you really want to spend the cha ching on the King's.

Up here in BC Stan's ztr flow ex rims with hope hubs, is a popular option, cheap good strength and that's riding DH. I spent the money on mavics, broke one hoop coulda bought 2 hoops already of any other brand for my one mavic hoop.

 

[donbrown]

I have 26" wheels built on HOPE hubs .... HOPE hubs are very nice.

Does hope make centerlocks for disc brake applications?

Are PAUL hubs still good?