ok ladies... talk to me about mountain bikes, please!

[caligurl]

i jokingly told hubby we needed mountain bikes cuz the roads around here have been so bad sinde the rain... (rocks larger than baseballs strewn across the road... sand up to 6" deep in places... other places just a LOT of sand ) and no sign of the lazybutt city getting the sweeper out to take care of them!

well.. that's all it took for hubby to start looking at mountain bikes (he had been out on a borrowed one with his buddies and enjoyed it... so had been talking about wanting one)

i really don't see myself liking to go down dirt trails.. (i'm a bit prissy if you haven't figured it out).... but i wouldn't mind giving it a try.. and there are a LOT of trails in the national part that would be fun to do on a mountain bike!)

so far i've only looked at specialized but then came here to ask... i don't get the difference between rockhopper and hardrock (except the color)

this one is kinda pretty in the blue:

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkM...sBikesHardrock

i'm not all into the pink like the majority of you all are.. but i told hubby i wouldn't mind having a pink mountain bike! maybe some of the other sites will have one??????????

so anyways... after all my wordiness.... if you mountain biker ladies could just give me some input... OH.. and i don't want to spend a lot of money cuz i don't even know if i'll like it!!

[Veronica]

Difference between Hardrock and Rockhopper - better components. If it were me, I'd go Rockhopper.

Has Joshua Tree started letting bikes on it's trails?

V.

[caligurl]

hmmmmm well... i think so?????????? i swear i've seen the little signs at the beginning of some trails that say bikes (but no dogs ON trails)... i'm pretty sure that one trail out of jumbo rocks (where we always stop for a potty break) says it's a good bike trail.... i will definitely check!!!!

darn... i don't like the blue color of the rockhopper (i'm SUCH a pita about looks/color of the bike!)

[Veronica]

You could always try the non WSD model in a small size. It comes in red or silver.

I looked at the park website. They have lots of jeep roads and 29 miles of trail will be opening as soon as Congress gives its approval. Lucky you!

V.

[caligurl]

i just looked at giant... didn't see any thing that floats my boat on the site (but i know they look different on the web than in person)... looking at trek.. a couple of PURDY ones (not pink though)

we LOVE riding through the park on our road bikes! not too much traffic... a nice climb into it.. and even nicer (nicer????) climb to key's view!!!!

we always see a ton of vehicles with bikes on them going into the park! AND.. it's a bit cooler cuz it's a higher elevation (so that's good in the summer.. but bad in the winter! lol!)

[caligurl]

ya.. pink... i surprise myself! i think a pink mountain bike would be cool... so gurly! lol! but my most favorite bike color is actually matte black (and i found a couple at the trek site)

ok... light components... uhm.. i know NOTHING about mountain bike components! so i don't have a clue what i'm looking at! (i'm looking at if the bike is pretty or not right now!) again:

OH... and i already have moutain bike shoes picked out! the pretty ones by specialized! and i would probably get speedplay frogs.. right? good choice???????

[singletrackmind]

Pink??
I prefer Easter Egg Green!

Lots of friends had and raced Specialized Stumpjumpers and liked those but I don't know about the others. Basically I'd look for a decent parts group, decent fork travel/responsiveness and weight. You CAN ride a 35# bike up a hill but it's so much easier to ride a 27# one and even lighter than that (but that gets into bucks, typically). I talked to several LBS when I was first starting out until I found one that treated me like a mountain biker, not some woman tagging along with her boyfriend (who didn't even ride at the time). Most shops have scales for us semi-weight weanies (and yes, I know where I can lighten the set-up by 10# but my hips aren't giving up an inch).
Do get rid of the toe clips!!! Blech!

[DirtDiva]

I'm no Specialized expert (have never even ridden one), but thinking back to my recent bike shopping browsing I'd say the geometry is similar and the rockhopper comes with a better spec than the hardrock. I'm sure you can check it out at the Spealized site.

As far as Shimano components go, XTR/XT is top notch, LX/Deore are next and Alivio/Altus/Acera are the more entry level stuff. They have a few other categories, but those are the ones you're most likely to see on whatever is in your LBS. Some bikes will have components made by SRAM. I guess they make quite good stuff, because they tend to be on more expensive/higher end bikes.

You will need a smaller mountain bike than road bike as you generally want a bit more standover height and it's really hard to get the front wheel off the ground if the top-tube is too long. Most companies go down to about a 15 inch frame: if I remember correctly, you're not that tall, but if you're a real shortie you might want to look at Gary Fisher, Giant, Kona and Marin as they are all decent enough brands that make extra small frames. You're shopping at a good time of year - the sales should be coming up!

Most importantly, remember that dirt is good! (Hmm... May have to have "dirt is good" as my sig file...)

Hope that all helped. Have fun!