When did mountain biking become so specialized!

[jmnielsen]

I ride two Salsas - a Mukluk (fitted with 3 x 27.5" tires rather than fats) and a Cutthroat. Mukluk with traditional MTB bars and the Cutthroat with Cowchippers (wide in drops drop bars similar to Fargo) for about 4,000 to 6,000 miles a year. If there is any pavement or smooth gravel roads involved the Cutthroat is the prefered machine. Lots of options for different hand positions (flats by stem, top of hoods, forward facing high [behind hoods], forward facing low [posterior drops], in the curves [forward drops], etc). My wrists really prefer the Cutthroat.

If there is a lot of really soft surface I'll take the Mukluk for the flotation of the 3" tires. If I know there could be miles of hike-a-bike I'll take the Mukluk because she carries easier (I don't know why but she does).

I had one of the first Fargos back when the model came out. Rode it for a year and it was OK, but I was just coming off road biking then and she felt sluggish & heavy. The carbon Cutthroat is a much nicer ride for me, but the Fargos have been through a lot of iterations since mine and could be a completely different ride than I recall.

If you ever rode road the splayed drops on the Fargo/Cutthroat will feel different but familiar and comfortable. I'f you've only ridden mountain then it's hard to say. You may hear that you can put flat bars on a Fargo which is true, but be careful as the frame geometry of good bikes is designed around one type of bar so your upper body position may shift away from an optimal position which can lead to knee, butt, back, or neck problems.

Howard

I want to Fargo for a few reasons - most of which are probably different than when you had it:

- I can run 29x3 tires
- Steel frame with carbon fork
- Suspension corrected in case I decide to go that route someday

Maybe I should just give drops a try? I am trying to find someone locally to me that has a Fargo that they would rent or loan to me to take on a couple longer rides to make sure it is what I am hoping it will be. I like gravel and want to do some single track. I do plenty of pavement but have no issue that the bigger tires will slow me down, I'm not trying to win any races. Hoping to try bikepacking out too at some point. I'm a larger guy (6'2" 265lbs) so the big tires and steel frame speak seem like they'd be great options for me.

 

[MTVR]

I like the Kona Sutra LTD too...

 

[MTVR]

...and the Cinelli Hobootleg Geo...

 

[george441]

Recent past years have been revolutionary for mountain bikes. I also felt the same while purchasing my recent mountain bike.

 

[s.e.charles]

it's what the bike business survives on.

 

[Regcabguy]

it's what the bike business survives on.

Planned obsolescence just like the electronics industry.

 

[borison]

I've been doing a lot more biking lately and am starting to see the downfalls of the cheaper Trek DS I bought 8 years or so ago. I've been looking at a Salsa Fargo, but not so sure about the dorp bars. I have some wrist and thumb issues, can anyone comment on comfort of drop bars? I've been thinking a frame up build of a Fargo with Jones Loop bars may be the ticket.

I’ve ridden Jones Titec H bars and Salsa Woodchippers on my 2 primary bikes for many years. I have a more difficult time with hand pain on the H bars vs the drop bars. FWIW

 

[djsixbillion]

Christian, I'm close to you in Norcal, and ride up in Tahoe all the time, as well as Downieville, Moab, etc. If you want to enjoy steep, rocky trails like Armstrong Pass, Mr. Toad's, Kingsbury, etc. - get a 29'er with 120-160mm of travel front and rear. I'm the same size as you (5' 8", 160 lbs) and ride a medium Ibis Ripmo. It climbs amazingly, and rips the descents. I've been riding and racing for 20 years or so, have a bunch of other bikes too (including a gravel ride), but that's the one that gets used most. There are plenty of other great options from Santa Cruz, Canyon, YT and others, as well as the big boys Trek/Specialized/Giant. PM me if you want to ride or chat bikes!

 

[Snowboard.wa]

Christian, I'm close to you in Norcal, and ride up in Tahoe all the time, as well as Downieville, Moab, etc. If you want to enjoy steep, rocky trails like Armstrong Pass, Mr. Toad's, Kingsbury, etc. - get a 29'er with 120-160mm of travel front and rear. I'm the same size as you (5' 8", 160 lbs) and ride a medium Ibis Ripmo. It climbs amazingly, and rips the descents. I've been riding and racing for 20 years or so, have a bunch of other bikes too (including a gravel ride), but that's the one that gets used most. There are plenty of other great options from Santa Cruz, Canyon, YT and others, as well as the big boys Trek/Specialized/Giant. PM me if you want to ride or chat bikes!

Yep! Agreed. I have the Ripmo AF, which is the aluminum version. Best all around bike you can get. Can handle everything from mellow single track to a lift served bike park.


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[spazzyfry123]

I cannot locate an entry level mountain bike to purchase. I've got my road bike, but we have a pretty good trail system here that I would benefit more from. Don't want to go nuts on price, so I feel like I locked into a Specialized Rockhopper Sport 27.5. I can't find one anywhere. Reached out to Specialized and got "Rockhopper models are backordered out for the foreseeable future so a new order placed will likely not be fulfilled until May or later 2021."

I know I'm not the only one, but wow! Figured I'd try here to see if anyone has the scoop.

So...um. Anyone know where those bikes are?

 

[Snowboard.wa]

I cannot locate an entry level mountain bike to purchase. I've got my road bike, but we have a pretty good trail system here that I would benefit more from. Don't want to go nuts on price, so I feel like I locked into a Specialized Rockhopper Sport 27.5. I can't find one anywhere. Reached out to Specialized and got "Rockhopper models are backordered out for the foreseeable future so a new order placed will likely not be fulfilled until May or later 2021."

I know I'm not the only one, but wow! Figured I'd try here to see if anyone has the scoop.

So...um. Anyone know where those bikes are?

View attachment 626901

It’s industry wide. There are $6k bikes with projected ship dates of Aug 21. Anything to do with outdoor activities to home remodeling has skyrocketed. Seems counterintuitive to covid, but I guess it’s just a classic example of supply vs demand.

If your budget is under $1000, I’d try to get the best used bike you can find. I know that may be equally hard now due to covid, but the reality is that unfortunately you don’t get much for under $1k and can stretch your dollar a lot farther if you can find a used bike.

If your planning to stay mostly in gravel roads and stuff then it’s not such a big deal. Once you get into riding actual mountain bike trails though, you need decent brakes, suspension is a huge +, etc... The problem is that they put super crappy parts on all entry level bikes so in the end lots of stuff just falls apart. Again, depends on what type of riding you want to do, but if you plan to actually get j to mountain biking you will unfortunately be disappointed with the quality that comes on a lot of bikes these days. It’s crazy that you can easily spend more on a mountain bike than a motorcycle.

Look on Pinkbike if you haven’t already. It’s pretty much dedicated mountain bikers as opposed to Craigslist. Someone mentioned used bikes and theft. If you see a bike that seems too good to be true, there is even a thread in Pinkbike where you can check to make sure nobody local posted it as stolen. You can also find lots of 26” wheel bikes for dirt cheap now. If it were me, I’d take a 10 year old full suspension 26” bike that might have retailed for $2500 over a new $750 hardtail 27.5 or 29er; assuming the used bike was in good shape.


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[Christian P.]

Well just a quick update on this. I ended up buying a Santa Cruz Bronson - for now.

There will most likely be another XC in the future to go along, and probably a couple eMTB too...so many cool options out there!

 

[macexpress]

I've looked at the Bronson a couple times, it looks like a fun bike to ride!

 

[MTVR]

Well just a quick update on this. I ended up buying a Santa Cruz Bronson - for now.

There will most likely be another XC in the future to go along, and probably a couple eMTB too...so many cool options out there!

Very cool. I really like that colorway. What model and build kit did you get?

 

[Bodybag]

nice choice on the bronson, loved my pivot firebird but, dont ride as agressive as I did, so down scaled to a specialized stump jumper. still takes a beating, but can ride all year round.