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My new bike!

5K views 32 replies 29 participants last post by  Otruba_843 
#1 ·
Hey everyone!
Today I went to the trails at Lake Stanley Draper here in Oklahoma for the first time and had a blast. I was riding a genesis walmart bike that I picked up for $40 before I had looked into any nicer bikes.
Despite the torture of a stiff spring fork, set for a 160lb rider, and only weighing 130, I still had a ton of fun riding the trails.
I had been debating on what hardtail 26" bike to buy (and if I should invest the money into buying one in the first place) but had been looking at the Diamondback Response and was really interested in it. Between all of the bikes I was considering, it was the most affordable because it was on sale at REI. I stumbled upon one at Dick's a week or so ago and realized that it was the same price as the one online, so I told myself if I liked the trails at Draper then I would go ahead and buy the bike.
Well needless to say I did, and here it is!

2012 Diamondback Response XE






I haven't got to ride it off road yet, but so far it feels really nice. Obviously it's way, way lighter than the genesis, which is great. With that bike you couldn't get the front wheel up more than a foot or so if your life depended on it. The Diamondback comes up with hardly any effort, which will be great for the trails.

I've heard from everyone that this is a good beginner bike with a very solid frame and decent components, so it should do me a lot of good for a long time!
 
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#15 ·
Nothing better than the feeling of starting out with your first real mountain bike. Congrats. You might want to play with saddle height until you have just a slight knee bend on the full down stroke. This will help you get the most power out of every crank and you'll feel less fatigued on longer rides.
 
#18 ·
Congrats on the purchase. I went a similar route when I got started--first a department store bike, then an entry-level MTB, then a custom build, then ...

As others have said, raise the saddle. To test this, find an extended incline and pedal up it seated and with the saddle high. Then, drop the seat, ride down, and pedal back up with it still low. The difference should be obvious and immediate.

However, if your trails are relatively flat with only short ascents (like an interval course), you don't need a high saddle and might actually prefer a mid-range or low saddle. But generally speaking, a high saddle is vastly more efficient.
 
#19 ·
Hey all. I'm new to mtbr and was looking for some opinionos. I'm looking on buying a new bike but I just want a sense of what others think between the two bikes I'm considering. Right now I'm looking at either the Scott Spark 640 ($3300) or the Yeti sb66 race alloy ($4300). My first choice which i was dead set on was the Scott because I really liked the twim lock feature along with the sleek design. This is pretty much a trail bike. But the Yeti threw a wrench into the mix because it is simply awesome. It is supposedly a bit more durable and has the amazing "switch technology" feature allowing for automatic suspension adjustment for climbs and descents. It works by having the bottom bracket pivot rotate eccentrically relative to the swing arm rotation. Its really interesting. This is obviously a bit more expensive but I just don't know what would be best for me. Both bikes sound awesome. I'd mostly use it for alot of XC and DH. What are your thoughts?!
 
#20 ·
shizzle, your query probably merits its own thread.

And Beginner's Corner might not be the place for you as it doesn't sound as if you're new to trail riding, although I gotta say that XC and DH applications are very different and usually require very different bikes as a result.
 
#21 ·
You're definitely right that they are really different riding styles but I'm trying to go for something that could be (not idealy) used as an all around bike. Something I can use to do either of those styles in addition to trail riding. I would say I would mostly use it for Trail and XC with the occasional DH.
 
#23 ·
Hopefully you are enjoying your new bike. I myself live in Oklahoma also and ride draper frequently. I actually just got done putting in some laps @ bluff creek. With the work they are doing to draper it will be a nice trail to rack up some miles on your new bike!!
 
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