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Cant decide on bike, help a newb out!

525 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  subliminalshiver 
#1 ·
So i do mostly urban riding around where i live, (long beach, CA) and have a Giant STP. Love it, ride everyday. But moving soon and have been looking into buying a full suspended bike. Ride a lot of motocross and love the looks of the DH bikes, found a specialized big hit on craigslist for $1000, doesnt seem to high? But i dont know much about it. And i was on Jenson the other day browsing and ran across the Jamis Diablo 1.0 for $1150. I would spend the extra $ if its a better bike. For the most part i would mildly ride it but would head to Mammoth a few times also. So any opinions on the two would be great, Thanks! :cool:
 
#2 ·
You should really figure out what kind of bike you want first because the Big Hit is DH and the Diablo is more all-mountain. A DH bike can be pretty heavy and typically I see them in the back of pickup trucks ridding shuttles. The Jamis Diablo I am not too excited about since Jenson had so many they dissassembled them and sold off the vaious parts as OE items. The Diablo is only available in one size assembled and thats the 15.5 or small. From these two bikes if I had to buy one I would go with the Big Hit with the FSR suspension used after I figured out the size. If you decide you are going with a big bike you will need to do a bit of your own research to figure out value. Forks can be very expensive on the big bikes and a worn out fork or a fork thats been swapped out and replaced with an inferior fork might escape your attention.

You live in a fairly populated area and if you are willing to drive a bit you should be able to find a decent used bike. If you havent already discounted the idea of staying with an all-mountain bike I think it would be worth taking a look at the Specialized Enduro and the Giant Reign. You should be able to find something pretty decent in the $1200 range. Pricepoint also has their Sette Flite at $1200 which is pretty attractive. Dont be swayed by price and buy something that is the wrong size or wrong bike.
 
#3 ·
Makes sense and

I would suggest you wait to see what others are riding in the new area (it's not mentioned where). Terrain might better dictate the right bike(s) as opposed to buying a cool-looking bike that is too much or too little for your new area. Just my .02, Jim
 
#4 ·
You're talking about a broad-spectrum of bikes there. You gotta figure out what exactly you're gonna use it for, in a very pragmatic way. Don't lie to yourself thinking you're gonna need that DH rig for the two trips to mammoth you might do this year unless you're cool with blowing that kind of cash on something you only need twice a year. You can rent a much nicer bike for less money if that's the case. That DH rig will have you in tears the first time you point it uphill on one of your local trails.
 
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