Mountain Bike Recs?

Hey all,

 

Can I ask for Mt Bike recs on this forum? If so, I'm looking for something like the Santa Cruz Hightower or Yeti SB140. A medium frame and full suspension. I'm in the rocky mountains and ride leisurely.

 

Any other bikes like these two that I should be looking at? Makes and models greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

 

I’m really enjoying my Revel Rascal. Very balanced and great handling. 

I’m really enjoying my Revel Rascal. Very balanced and great handling. 

 

Awesome, thanks. I will look into it.

It really depends on what kind of riding you do or plan to do, how much suspension you want/need, frame material you want, etc.  Too many variables to answer your question.  Can you give more details on what you want to do on the bike?  Do you want to ride easy trails and just looking to take the 'bumps' out?  Are you looking to go up and down the mountain?  Are you looking to shuttle up and bomb down?  I assume closer to just smoothing things out from your post but there are a lot of variables thta go into choosing a MTB. 

 

The MTB forums are a great place to look for more info.

It really depends on what kind of riding you do or plan to do, how much suspension you want/need, frame material you want, etc.  Too many variables to answer your question.  Can you give more details on what you want to do on the bike?  Do you want to ride easy trails and just looking to take the 'bumps' out?  Are you looking to go up and down the mountain?  Are you looking to shuttle up and bomb down?  I assume closer to just smoothing things out from your post but there are a lot of variables thta go into choosing a MTB. 

 

The MTB forums are a great place to look for more info.

 

Thanks. I've never MTB in my life. I ride gravel and roads mostly. I'm in the Rocky Mountains and plan to ride MTB trails at a slow, leisurely pace. Kind of just like riding trails and nothing extreme. My buddy who MTBs said Santa Cruz Hightower or Yeti SB140 would be good choices for this area and that style. I was looking for some more options and brands of bikes in that mold.

 

I'd like to be under 5k.

 

Thanks!

If lower speed and less rowdy are your plans, less travel is a good idea. Less work to pedal and climb. You would probably be better off with one of the 120mm bikes and there are many really good ones now, Tallboy, Ripley, RM Element, SB115 and many more. I’d lean more toward better drivetrain/suspension with aluminum frame than carbon with lesser components if your choice comes down to that. For $5k you can have both right now, lots of sales… 

 

In any travel though, there are a ton of great bikes. Hard to go wrong with any brand. If you want good dealer support, look into the dealer supported brands and the reputation of the dealer near you. Santa Cruz is really the king of factory warranty support. If you do your own wrenching… good luck. So many choices and very few bad ones. 

 

If lower speed and less rowdy are your plans, less travel is a good idea. Less work to pedal and climb. You would probably be better off with one of the 120mm bikes and there are many really good ones now, Tallboy, Ripley, RM Element, SB115 and many more. I’d lean more toward better drivetrain/suspension with aluminum frame than carbon with lesser components if your choice comes down to that. For $5k you can have both right now, lots of sales… 

 

In any travel though, there are a ton of great bikes. Hard to go wrong with any brand. If you want good dealer support, look into the dealer supported brands and the reputation of the dealer near you. Santa Cruz is really the king of factory warranty support. If you do your own wrenching… good luck. So many choices and very few bad ones. 

 

 

Awesome, thanks. I wound up getting a Santa Cruz Hightower yesterday. My buddy who rides in this area (Rockies, front range) said the 150 of travel is good for this area. But yeah, I am lower speed and less rowdy. I'll see how it goes. I really just want to gain access to some cool rides I can't do on my gravel bike, so I think any bike will probably work well.

From rentals, a lot of demo days and instructing (I'm a trail steward & lesson instructor) I developed a strong opinion that most bikes are good these days so fit and something you like are important. Delay gratification and try stuff. Make a table of specs that you like or work for you. Look at the web sites that compare geometry.

One bias I have developed with all the experience and the scale of all the family and teams via instruction is for good post-sale service more than being a weight weenie or falling for a particular design or technology. That has my current trail bike a popular Trek where associates tease me. I point out I can keep up or even get ahead and haven't waited a long time for parts or had repeat failures some of them have had.

An irony with the good post-sale and Trek is their company owned stores have been horrible about small parts vs the strong independent dealers in my area.

Some other worthy bias is trails don't make and fix themselves so I've bought my MTBs from the shops who sponsor the trail work where I live.