any mountain bikers needing advice...

[M4arc]

good day. i used to mountain bike several years ago... i quitted due to an accident during a competition. Recently i am planning to ride again, any advise what's the exact frame size for me ? i am 6 feet tall. I want a frame that fits for long ride and occasional downhill ride.

Shall i go full suspension or hardtail ? shimano XT / XTR for my groupset.

tks

Where do you live and how much do you plan to spend? How much to you currently weight? What type of riding do you plan on doing? Do you plan on racing?

A freeride or downhill bike will not be comfortable for long rides. You can look at some of the 5" travel XC bikes like the Pivot. You might also want to check out the Gary Fisher Superfly 100.

But I think we need to know the answers to the questions above before we go any further.

[ccoker]

agree...

[M4Fundi]

My wife's team just came in 5th in the 24 HOURS of MOAB Just had to brag on her

[M4arc]

My wife's team just came in 5th in the 24 HOURS of MOAB Just had to brag on her

Good for her! I was a nine year veteran of the 24 Hours of Canaan and 5th was the best placing we ever came in.

[M4Fundi]

Canaan... isn't that one usually cold and muddy?

Last year's Moab was miserable. Cold windstorms Granny Gear had to buy 1000s of masks for everyone so they didn't get silica poisoning b/c there was so much sand in the air

This year the weather was absolutely perfect (unfortuantely only about a 1/4 of the sponsors/vendors present and much reduced #s of riders, especially women It was a bit of a cockfight this year w/o the scenery of past years)

[M4arc]

Canaan... isn't that one usually cold and muddy?

It can be! One year it rained the whole time and the mud was so bad you had to drag your bike downhill! You simply couldn't ride certain sections of the course.

Another year it snowed (in June) after being in the 70s earlier in the day.

Thats West "by God" Virginia for you!

[ron_m4]

I would go FS for sure, how much travel you want is a preferential thing
5" is pretty standard these days
as for sizing, at 6ft, around a 24" effective toptube, maybe a 110" stem, dependent upon your leg length and ratio of leg to torso

XT (XTR is a LOT more money and is only marginally lighter)
I am a big fan of SRAM for shifters and rear ders, X9 in this case
hydraulic disc brakes are pretty standard and a must
go with a 7" rotor up front, 8 if you are over 200lbs
suspension: Fox pretty much owns the market

brands of frames, Titus, Ellsworth, Intense, Knolly, Ventana, etc.
pick the frame, then build to your specs

if you want a 2K bike, go mass produced (Specialized, Trek, Kona)
if you want to spend north of 3K, look at customs (above referenced frames)
no sense spending 4-5k on a stock bike when you can have a handbuilt one to your specs...

I am no longer in the biz and have no financial interest in my old shop, but, these guys will take care of you

www.hammerheadbikes.com

tell them Charles sent you

hi sir, i am confined with shimano parts only since its only the most widely distiributed here in the philippines. ( is Deore groupset enough? )

Frame brands likewise are vellum, specialized, cannondale, jamis , merida are my choices since the distributors only carry these brands ( i might miss some names ).

Am willing to spend a little over 2k maybe.

weekend ride is about 40kms for me.... race? mmmm.... maybe cos i have tried several novice racing and so far i did well for my 200lbs built.

[travistheone]

Another bicycle expert checking in. wrenching for 7 straight years so far. If you are spending over 2000, you should be satisfied with nothing less then deore. It is good stuff, don't write off SRAM if you find any. I would stay away from cannondale, (crack-n-fail) because of their seemingly ever changing ownership and bussiness policy. Specialized is a good bicycle, a small step up from the Jamis. No Treks over there?

[doughnut]

It can be! One year it rained the whole time and the mud was so bad you had to drag your bike downhill! You simply couldn't ride certain sections of the course.

Another year it snowed (in June) after being in the 70s earlier in the day.

Thats West "by God" Virginia for you!

I raced 24hrs of Snowshoe in '01 and the mud was like glue. You could literally let go of your bike and it would stand upright. I would peridically have to stop and pull hand fulls of mud from my fork and seatstays. It was Awesome!

[BiggLee71]

Thanks CCoker.Your knowledge is much appreciated.I've been DHing since the sports inception.