I want to pick up a MTB so that I can do some commuting & then some off road stuff. I ride the road when the weather is better, but I want to expand a little. I saw a '02 K2 Razorback 3.0 for sale for $749 & I thought that this might be a good place to start. The K2 has a 5yr warranty which seemed pretty good.

The bike has Shimano LX deraileurs & Deore shifters, cassette & cranks, WTB wheels and Manitou Mars Comp 80mm fork. They have a medium which I think would be fine a fit calc said I needed a 16" frame. Any thoughts or comments with the K2? Also, how can I get info on K2 geometry to figure stem length? (My reach is about 65cm.)

My roadbike had Ultegra & I was hoping to get something that was close in quality, and dependable with out breaking the budget. Thanks!

I thought about getting a K2 (Razorback Team) but looking at other bikes now. Nothing wrong with it because it is a sweet ride. But I can get a better deal on a few other bikes. A friend of mine rides the one your looking at and he loves it.

You can go to thier website and get the geometry. <a href ="http://k2bikes.com/02site/mountain/razorback_3.html"> 2003 Razorback 3.0 </a>

I also considered an older Razorback. Two things in the reviews disuaded me. One, the rear suspension travel is very short in comparison to many of the newer designs...less than two inches while 3 is more common now. Another, there was a frame cracking issue that was addressed by a beefier headset area in 2004.

I want to pick up a MTB so that I can do some commuting & then some off road stuff. I ride the road when the weather is better, but I want to expand a little. I saw a '02 K2 Razorback 3.0 for sale for $749 & I thought that this might be a good place to start. The K2 has a 5yr warranty which seemed pretty good.

The bike has Shimano LX deraileurs & Deore shifters, cassette & cranks, WTB wheels and Manitou Mars Comp 80mm fork. They have a medium which I think would be fine a fit calc said I needed a 16" frame. Any thoughts or comments with the K2? Also, how can I get info on K2 geometry to figure stem length? (My reach is about 65cm.)

My roadbike had Ultegra & I was hoping to get something that was close in quality, and dependable with out breaking the budget. Thanks!

You say that you're reach is about 65cm, is that for your road bike? If so, you'll need to add about 3cm to that for proper mtn. bike fit. I know it seems a bit counterintuitive at first that you'd want a longer cockpit on a mountain bike than a road bike, but your road bike is normally ridden either on the hoods or in the drops, which evens things out.

I also considered an older Razorback. Two things in the reviews disuaded me. One, the rear suspension travel is very short in comparison to many of the newer designs...less than two inches while 3 is more common now. Another, there was a frame cracking issue that was addressed by a beefier headset area in 2004.

I appreciate the feedback. As a 50+ rider with no intention of getting too extreme, I'm wondering if this will be a factor. Another consideration is the $749 price on a $1500 bike (granted it's not this year's model, but you get the warranty).

Maybe you can help with the suspension travel issue that you raised. When does this become a factor worth considering? Also, with the frame cracking, do you know how K2 has handled this? (I have no problem with a replacement, especially if they upgrade me).
Thanks!!!