Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More - View Single Post

08-25-2004, 07:49 PM

libuser2d@yahoo.com (Libuser) wrote in message news:<7b060655.0408251234.182fa9a6@posting.google. com>...
> Hello,
>
> I am looking for a basic, inexpensive mountain bike to ride around
> town. I would rather not pay for the cost and trouble that come
> with suspensions. So far I only found the Trek 3500 (MSRP ~$250).
> There are no such things in the Gary Fisher and Specialized
> catalogs. Do you know similar bikes from other manufacturers?
>
> Thanks.

There are very few rigid fork mountain bikes on the market these days.
You found one of the few. Your idea of avoiding the front suspension
is wise. Inexpensive suspension forks are mushy, heavy, and are not
needed for city riding. But if your goal is around town riding, you
probably should be looking at comfort/hybrid/city bikes. They give you
the more upright position, and low gears of a mountain bike but with
narrower, less knobby tires that have less rolling resistance. A trek
7100, specialized crossroads or similar bike might be a candidate. If
these "comfort" models may have a too upright position for your tastes
you could get the bike shop to swap out a stem with less rise. Having
owned both mountain and hybrids, I can't imagine why anyone would want
to slog around on knobby, low pressure tires when riding on pavement.
Finally, if you are set on a mountain bike want a real steal, you can
look around for one from 4-5 years back or so when more low end bikes
still had rigid forks.

08-25-2004, 07:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
WTD Posts: n/a	Re: basic mountain bikes libuser2d@yahoo.com (Libuser) wrote in message news:<7b060655.0408251234.182fa9a6@posting.google. com>... > Hello, > > I am looking for a basic, inexpensive mountain bike to ride around > town. I would rather not pay for the cost and trouble that come > with suspensions. So far I only found the Trek 3500 (MSRP ~$250). > There are no such things in the Gary Fisher and Specialized > catalogs. Do you know similar bikes from other manufacturers? > > Thanks. There are very few rigid fork mountain bikes on the market these days. You found one of the few. Your idea of avoiding the front suspension is wise. Inexpensive suspension forks are mushy, heavy, and are not needed for city riding. But if your goal is around town riding, you probably should be looking at comfort/hybrid/city bikes. They give you the more upright position, and low gears of a mountain bike but with narrower, less knobby tires that have less rolling resistance. A trek 7100, specialized crossroads or similar bike might be a candidate. If these "comfort" models may have a too upright position for your tastes you could get the bike shop to swap out a stem with less rise. Having owned both mountain and hybrids, I can't imagine why anyone would want to slog around on knobby, low pressure tires when riding on pavement. Finally, if you are set on a mountain bike want a real steal, you can look around for one from 4-5 years back or so when more low end bikes still had rigid forks.