Which MTB to Choose?

[crimsongirl]

Hi All, I am pretty new to this forum and would just like to say what a great place..!!!

Quillfred, I was in the same position as yourself and reading from the forum most of you guy's have loads of different cool mtb..!!! I have been looking for myself as I had a hardtail but felt every bump with my husband having fs. I of course now wanted a fs bike and ready to upgrade. I felt hardtail to be just a little uncomfortable doing long distance. Being as I am only 5'2 I ended up going for a woman specific one. Tried the speciliazed, giant and scott but ended up with the Juliana Santacruze one and broke the bank .

Unfortunately here in UK we don't get that much choice and not many bike shops have them in stock but I managed to find one and to be honest it came head between the Juliana and the Titus.

http://www.titusti.com/womensfit.html

Juliana won with price and I just could not afford the titus..!!!.. (shattered dreams nice bike if you got the dosh..)

We are off today to do a ride try the new girl out and its my first time out on a full suspension. I hope it lives up to what I except..!! Should do with how much it cost..!!!.. Then again I always say, go with what is comfy because at the end of the day its you that has to ride and enjoy it..!!!

[bcipam]

I disagree....They don't really take more know-how to use them. You use the same way you use any brakes.

1. Pull the lever to brake.
2. Don't pull the lever if you don't have your wheel attached (insert the brake spacer when you remove your front wheel when transporting the bike).

That was a joke right???

OK my message was not understood by most but this is what I needed and wanted to say. First of all by all means get disc brakes. Again I like them, use them on my bikes. Great stopping power - much easier to control bikes down long descents. And yes its as easy as one finger on the brake lever.

Thinking back as a newbie to these brakes, I just remember some issues I had with them. Of course Vbrakes have issues as well. I could remember having difficulty at times when I removed the front wheel for transportation trying to get the Vbrake engaged again. It seemed I just didn't have the strength to pulled the brake cable across but I finally learned how.

Anyway to disc brakes both mechanical and hydraulic. Of course hydraulic cost more. One consideration. And if there is a problem, unless you know what to do, you will have to see a mechanic. The mechanical brakes are fairly simple. Now not to say I haven't had any problems (took me alittle while to figure out how to insert the brake pads).

Unless someone is actually riding in muddy, wet conditions and doing steep, technical downhills, Vbrakes are quite sufficient and for most have tremendous stopping power (unless you are a big gal like me). If it's a matter of money, you will save in not getting disc (but make sure the bike and wheels are "disc ready") and when you are ready - this is an area that can easily be upgraded. Spend your money first on components, shock and fork and then worry about the brakes.

[SadieKate]

Unless someone is actually riding in muddy, wet conditions and doing steep, technical downhills, Vbrakes are quite sufficient and for most have tremendous stopping power (unless you are a big gal like me). If it's a matter of money, you will save in not getting disc (but make sure the bike and wheels are "disc ready") and when you are ready - this is an area that can easily be upgraded. Spend your money first on components, shock and fork and then worry about the brakes.

I completely agree with this. Well said except for the "wet conditions AND doing steep . . . " It really should be "OR." Picky, picky, picky.

[Nanci]

I love my Avid mechanical discs, and they aren't any more confusing/hard to deal with than V-brakes. Great for mud. Great for long tough downhills. After riding Black Mountain in NC, and having my forearms dying from lactic acid on the descent, I knew discs were the way to go on the next bike.

I went from HT to FS, and I love my bike, Titus Locomoto, but he's kind of heavy. I would probably take that more into consideration on a next bike.

Nanci

[snowtulip]

As with everything, every person is different. I have a hardtail and a full suspension. I must say that I prefer my hardtail and will do drops and downhill on my hardtail. I've also done fairly well with the hardtail while riding with full suspension people. One of my favorite times on the bike was getting a lot of slack from hubbies friends for bringing my hardtail to enjoy Porcupine Rim (moab, utah) while they all had fs. I kept them in site most of the time, sure you lose some speed, but the responsiveness on my hardtail is great.

Saying that, keep in mind that I think I love my hardtail because it's steel, when I had an aluminum hardtail, it sure hurt.

I bought my full suspension because of some knee issues, but found that strength training helped. I know that fs does help incredibly for people who suffer from knee and back issues.

Either way, I hope you love your bike!