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Clydes looking for some advice

3K views 26 replies 14 participants last post by  R+P+K 
#1 ·
Hey Guys, first off let me give you the low down on myself. Just started riding in Cincinnati in July 2012 (I am experienced on a bike from earlier years) on a 2006 Trek 4300 and I am now ready to buy a new bike. I am 6'4 ~275lbs. I want to buy a 29er, and I have a budget of ~$2K +/- $200. I ride mostly in the Cincinnati area and venture west a bit to IN.

Knowing my range what is the best bike I can get that will handle me, but also the occassional jump (~2 feet)? I am open to FS or HT, just don't know what can handle a beating, so I figured I would come here and hear the debate and suggestions.
 
#14 ·
Great bike= $5000
Cardiologist=$500,000

We all can afford a good bike...
I agree that any bike is pretty inexpensive compared to an inactive lifestyle.
However if you can't enjoy yourself on a $2k bike, I'd have a hard look at your priorities.

You typically pay a premium for names like Specialized and Trek, I'd stay with smaller brands where you get more for your money.

If I were looking for a 29er at your budget and with my stereotype of cincy trails, I'd probably get something like this: Sette Razzo XT 10 Speed 29er Alloy Mountain Bike at Price Point
and hold back the rest of your budget for some better wheels once the ones it comes with start getting beat up.

The Marin rift 29 would be high on my list for a suspension bike. Also the SC tallboy:
2013 Santa Cruz Bicycles Tallboy D XC Complete Bike - Competitive Cyclist
if not for the Avid brakes would be a good choice.
 
#3 ·
I'm exactly the same size as you and ride a Stumpjumper FSR 29er.
The Camber is around 2200 bucks. A word of warning... I was breaking spoke nipples like it was my job and the rims that come on these bikes are too narrow for big guys. The seatpost is subpar, the bars on mine were kinda narrow but I don't know what the new ones come with.
My Stumpy was the last bike I bought off the rack. The way I see it, why buy two sets of wheels and two handlebars and two seatposts?
Are you tight with your bike shop? Would they sell you a bike and then pro rate the wheels and put Flows or MTX33's on it?
 
#5 ·
I have only been to the bike shop a hand full of times. The only I would consider having a good relationship would be the Trek dealer since I get my bike serviced there. As for the Camber, I have looked at them and I do like them I just don't know much about wheels in general to say anything. I guess that is my biggest unknown when picking bikes, I am good at knowing components and suspension, but wheels are an unknown to me. Also, I would love to buy a StumpJumper, but I think the cheapest one is 2500 and up and I am not looking to drop that kind of dough yet.

I wouldn't mind a HT to be honest. I just don't know which ones will be able to handle my frame and my riding habits.

I have access to pretty much any brand of bike due to Cincy having such a large roadie community.
 
#6 ·
Are you a smooth rider? Is that 2 feet in pinkbike feet or 2 feet for real? You might be able to get away with some of the stock components on most any 29er if you're pretty smooth about riding.

Factory machine built wheels take the blame for a lot of crappy builds when the rim itself is a fine enough rim but the rider didnt take the time to detension and retension the spokes to make for a stronger wheel.

You should be able to do a lot for $2K, especially if you built yourself. Have you looked into some of the nicer offerings on PricePoint, Airborne, or BikesDirect? If you dont have a good relationship with your shop, these direct order bikes can be a steal but will involve you working on your own bike a good bit.
 
#8 ·
I like the Hobgoblin a lot and have been giving that a hard look.

Currently, I am looking at the Airborne HG, Trek Stache 7, and keeping my eye on eBay. I would really like to find something with 4" or more for FS or something like the Stache which is all-mountain HT with 29" wheels.
 
#12 ·
I like the Hobgoblin a lot and have been giving that a hard look.

Currently, I am looking at the Airborne HG, Trek Stache 7, and keeping my eye on eBay. I would really like to find something with 4" or more for FS or something like the Stache which is all-mountain HT with 29" wheels.
Factor in wheels into your price on what you're looking at...the OEM ones are very unlikely to hold up under your weight.
 
#10 ·
FWIW, you would be just fine on a Camber. I would suggest a move to the Camber Comp as the base Camber has a coil spring front fork that won't like the weight of a clyde much. A Camber Comp can be had for $2400 or less.

I am a little bigger than you (~300), but the Stumpjumper FSR was a fat wallowing pig at my weight and the Epic had no hope. FS for a clyde is pretty sensitive to the linkage style. I tested the Stumpy FSR, Epic, Camber, Superfly 100 and Rumblefish... the only one that was clyde friendly was the Camber and it is VERY friendly.

Don't get too hung up looking for 36 hole rims on a stock bike. Most stock rims are going to be garbage under a big rider. Planning on building a set of wheels in your future is the best bet... if you get a hardtail, plan on a rear wheel first.

With the uncertainty of the Hobgoblin being clyde friendly, I think the Stache 7 is a great choice. It was on my short list until I rented/test rode a Camber on my favorite trail.... no need for a hard tasil after that ride.
 
#11 ·
I have looked at the Camber a few times. The Comp is very nice and I like it, just depends on what I get in terms of finances (Tax Time is my favorite time). BigDaddyFlyer has been talking to me on aanother forum about the HG and he was pretty confident that for the area I ride in the HG would be a great bike. I really do like the Stache, but I think that is at option C right now. My first option is to try and find a steal on eBay. I have been keeping my on the FS rigs and there are deals to be had. My second option is FS, and then AM HT which would be the Stache. I have a month or so before I plan to buy.
 
#13 ·
If I was you I would ride what you got and buy a santa cruz tallboy frame that is on clearance and start buying closeout parts for it. You could have a nice build for about 2500. I just bought a frame and fork and have about 1400 in that and you can definitely get some nice parts with the 1100 left over. That way you can buy parts when you have the cash and probably be ready to go by march when weather gets better. That's just my opinion. By the way I have 3 santa cruz bikes, 2 are mine, 1 is my wifes and they are great bikes. I am 6'3 and weigh about 270. By the way the site is at Santa Cruz Bicycles and you can find some good deals on components right now.
 
#22 ·
If I was you I would ride what you got and buy a santa cruz tallboy frame that is on clearance and start buying closeout parts for it. You could have a nice build for about 2500. I just bought a frame and fork and have about 1400 in that and you can definitely get some nice parts with the 1100 left over. That way you can buy parts when you have the cash and probably be ready to go by march when weather gets better. That's just my opinion. By the way I have 3 santa cruz bikes, 2 are mine, 1 is my wifes and they are great bikes. I am 6'3 and weigh about 270. By the way the site is at Santa Cruz Bicycles and you can find some good deals on components right now.
This is a great way to go if you're handy. I just did the same thing. Roughly $2500 in, and the only thing that may not handle his weight are the wheels.



This is a large, with full XT and a carbon bar. I probably could have gotten the total down to $2k, but wanted the more expensive red ano parts and got tired of waiting for Pricepoint to get the Tower Pro back in stock. The fork alone would have saved $300...
 
#16 ·
Handspun Trail Series 13 Rear Wheel 29" 32h SRAM X.9 / No Tubes Flow / DT Competition All Black - AEBike.com

is what I'm rocking with a hope/flow in front (only because Sram didn't have a 20mm version at the time I got it). Nothing fancy, but the price was right (I wasn't sold on the whole 29er thing when I got the frame, so didn't want to spend more than I had to finding out).
The X7 hub has crappy engagement, but other than that it's been fine so far.

You could have someone rebuild whatever hubs the bike comes with. That would probably save you some money and get you a better wheel if you find the right builder.
Also keep in mind, you would probably only need to replace the rear - that's the one that's going to have problems.
 
#20 ·
Hey Guys, first off let me give you the low down on myself. Just started riding in Cincinnati in July 2012 (I am experienced on a bike from earlier years) on a 2006 Trek 4300 and I am now ready to buy a new bike. I am 6'4 ~275lbs. I want to buy a 29er, and I have a budget of ~$2K +/- $200. I ride mostly in the Cincinnati area and venture west a bit to IN.

Knowing my range what is the best bike I can get that will handle me, but also the occassional jump (~2 feet)? I am open to FS or HT, just don't know what can handle a beating, so I figured I would come here and hear the debate and suggestions.
6'3" 255 lbs here. just built up my first 29er and ironically I STARTED with the wheels! I got a GREAT deal on WTB TCS Trail 29er wheels on chainlove for $240 Sadly, they are sold out so that isn't an option for you. for lighter weight riders they are considered a bit on the heavy side for XC use but that basically makes them perfect for us big guys. So far I've had zero issues with them. But the bottom line is that if you don't really have a super tight budget but at your size it's really going to be much more important to get the right equipment. so splurge on things like wheels and proper suspension fork. Tower pro fork can be had now for under $400 and they just released the XX Firm "Clydesdale spring" Look at going lower level with your components to save a few bucks. you will be better off with proper wheels and fork than you will be with XTR shifters on shitty wheels. Lastly, how mechanically inclined are you? have you wrenched on your current bike? if you're willing to take time to source parts, you can get a great bike on your budget with a combo of new and gently used parts. I just completed my build and I'm at $1200 with the aforementioned wheels, SLX crank and shifters new, gently used XT brakes, and deraileurs. it rides great. The frame is a very entry level diamondback but with the amount of falling over and crashing I'm doing as a newbie to MTB I'm holding off on getting a nice frame.
 
#21 ·
I looked at specialized stumpjumpers and the carve was fairly similar. getting the "entry" level one ($1300) would leave you enough money to get a pretty decent hand built wheelset down the road when you need to. comes in 29er and xl frames aswell.

i went another route as my budget was about 1250 and the bike shop i went to had another brand marked down from 850 to 529 so i got that and a handbuilt rear wheel.
 
#24 ·
Don't feel you need to upgrade anything to make it "clydable". Buy a bike in your price range from a good shop and ride it regularly without changing anything for six months. In that time, any components that aren't up to the task will break and you can replace them under warranty easily.

Anything else is just buying upgrades to show off.
 
#26 ·
Many of us know from first hand experience that certain wheelsets just arent gonna hold up however if someone is brand new to cycling i agree with your advice because there is no point to make that investment if they arent sure they are going to stick with it.

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