Mountain Bike Gurus!
 

Now that I've morphed into a fat slob sitting around not doing chit except for banging out proposals for clients, I decided to buy a mountain bike and get a little exercise in between work and working on the T-Bird! I bought a Cannondale F5/16" frame! I know nothing about mountain bikes and, from the little I've been able to distill from friends that do, they tell me I should have bought the Giant bike(better components!)but I'm pretty happy and I like the way it rides! Besides, I figure once I get good enough to tell the difference I can always sell it and upgrade or just upgrade the parts that need upgrading since the frame seems to be pretty well built!

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ondaleF5-6.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...nnondaleF5.jpg

What do you think?

John

Defintely think you should have gotten a taller bike, unless you're 5'0"?

Cannondale is(was?) made in the USA, and I believe Giant is foreign made, so that's not a bad deal, there. Components are upgradable, if you really need them. But unless you're competitively racing, I doubt it.

My brother used to race MBs for a while, was ranked 1st in the nation (in his class) for a couple years running. He then raced two seasons in college, and is now taking a leave of absence from the sport for a while..

-Todd

Still need to adjust the seat post and the frame was made in the USA! I could have opted for the 18" frame but since I'm not going to be doing a lot of downhill I felt the smaller bike would be easier to throw around on the trails! Giant is a Chinese company that OEM's for everybody else! I already went for a little ride and I like the bike but what I don't like is the way the gear shift is set up! I hit it sometimes with my thumb and it downshifts! I guess I just gotta be careful!

My roomate from MANY years ago used to be the marketing director for Mongoose and I remember her buying her husband one of the first chrome moly frames! John Tomac model or something like that!

John

Hey John. That frame looks to be a 16 or 15 inch. How tall are you? Ok here is what I do when I ride. I jack the seat way up on straights or uphill climbs as you want 90 percent full extention on your legs. Downhill you put the seat farther down. The bike is as good as you need it too be. If you get serious you can get another one, or upgrade parts as you need. I'm not a fan of the Giant bikes as they tend to ride crappy for me. If you have a question on anything mountain bike related, fell free to ask. Also if you need some parts I just may have something that would fit your bike. On a side note, I would have the Cannondale frame over the Giant any day of the week. Plus it's US made.

Apart from the fact that I really liked how the frame was built, I also like the idea that it is US built but even Cannondale is building frames in China!:(

My friend Jon, who is a member on here but lurks mostly, is a pretty good MBer as I've heard stories from other friends of mine of him hucking off of 20' cliffs! I can't even imagine hucking off a 5' cliff!:eek:

Jon tells me that was when he was REALLy into MBing and he's now getting back into it but he wants to build a downhill bike:

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...e/prodimg4.jpg

Beautiful bike but DAMN the frame alone is $2,500!!:wow:

I can't imagine what the bike will cost after he has all the other components on it which, I'm sure, will be the best of the best!

Jon came over and showed me the proper seat location(Just like you said!) along with readjusting the brakes and gear selectors so now I don't hit it accidently! He also thought that, for the money, the bike was a pretty excellent deal and perfect for me to grow into!

Thanks for the offer of help! I'm sure I'll be taking you up on it at some point but for now I just need to be able to get up the hill without thinking my heart is going to fly out of my chest at the top!:willy:

John

Yeah that Intense is about 7k. I cannot believe how much this stuff costs these days. Great downhiller, but not a great trail bike or street bike. Too heavy, too much suspension travel and built for abuse. This is the one I built up. It has 6 piston front calipers. That's more then my damn car. This is my trail/street bike.

http://img2.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/8f5f0b8f65.jpg

Try fixing the pic! I just got a little red x!

John

I think it's working now.

WOW!!! Totally worth the wait! BEAUTIFUL bike!!!

I actually got to see the frame that Jon bought and it is impressive to say the least! He took all the stickers off the SOCOM frame so it looks pretty stealth. He told me he should be receiving the front fork/shocks and stem in the next few days. Marzochi or something like that! He also said something about Hope hubs and building his own wheels?

John

Yeah Hope's are good as are King's, but pricey. Marz forks are great. I'm waiting for my revalved Fox's to come in right now. Building your own wheels is the way to go, but I'm real happy with the Crossmax, stiff, good hubs, and strong. It needs to be to hold my 220 lbs of fat. heh.
Nothing beats going on some killer trails and having a blast.

Hopefully, one day I'll be able to ride without almost puking!:willy: :wow: :lol:

John

Yeah, that takes time. :wow:

i could never get into MB, where do you put your smokes, lighter, and a 126oz super jumbo mug of mt dew? then that whole pedaling part, how are you supposed to eat the 3/4 pound 4 stack bacon cheese burger and dip the grease soaked frys in ranch dressing...uphills and corners must really be a PITA. :D

Smokes. lighter and Dew go on the helmet with the drink tube!

Cheeseburger and Fries? That's what a front basket is for!:lol:

John

Here is my bike John. Pulled it out of storage and ready to get back into it. Needs a good cleaning:woot:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/P9110108.jpg
And of course made in the USA
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...2/P9110112.jpg

I don't envy your first ride!:lol:

John

Mtb
 

All though I do not have a car yet I am in the process. I love this site if I only had a 100k laying around I would fit right in. In the mean time I do dabble in the MTB seen. Here is a pic from this passed weekend. I do pedal also but its not near as fun as taking the chair lift up and bombing down... Love the site keep the pictures coming. My pic was to big will have to get another.

AHA! You're one of those "Downhill" crazies!!!!:lol:

John

Jon,

MTB is one of the best hobbies / sports there is. I've never stopped riding and get cranky when i miss a ride. I've finally started upgrading my old Moot's Titanium frame.

Wife bought me a new Rock Shok Sid 'Race" shock.

I've just bought a new set of Mavic Cross Ride wheels my last set of Cross Max ceramics lasted over 10,000 mles. The are still good but i can't get a new free wheel for the back wheel so I bought another set.

Also just ordered new Race Face Cranks, SRAM XO 9 speed components.

PS - the Moots frame is considered a soft tail as there is no pivot point but it actually has 1 1/2" of travel to comfort you ars when your riding the cross country trails.

www.moots.com

http://www.moots.com/bicycle.php?ID=8


this is my bike as of last week - going to put all othe new stuff on tonight after i Paint the garage and put in a new sump pump.


http://www.sportmachines.com/albums/..._09_08_025.jpg

Nice Bike Marty! Don't get paint on it!:lol:

John

actually when the stripper pole fell on the bike i was really upset.

Do I need to send you a 'New Model Army" T?:lol:

John

it may help - so send away please

I blew out my Rock Shocks this weekend and went with Fox forks with a King headset. I also had new XTR shift pods put in. You need to get these and not mess with the sram stuff. It's way better shiffting now.

Hmmmmm....one thing I do notice is that when I up or down shift with the SRAM it will shift gears but as soon as I put any kind of pressure to the cranks it shifts gears again! Is this an adjustment issue or a design flaw?

John

nope just a adjustment issue

It's an adjustment issue. I'm not a sram X/0 fan due to the chain stays being carbon fiber. I have had friends break those off during rides as they tent to get nailed by trail debris and such. The XTR stuff is very reliable and the new shift pods are killer. Way too expensive though, but killer none the less. You can shift up twice and down shift twice as well if you like. I never had that before the last weekend, and that was a thrill for me. I'll grab a few pics this morning to show you.