I have this uncanny and unfortunate ability to start trends. Consider the following: In 1985 I became probably the first BMX rider in my state to purchase a mountain bike. It had RollerCam brakes and Deore componentry. Back then, you see, you only had two choices: Deore or Deore XT. (What am I talking about? Don't worry. Just hang on for a minute or two and this will all become clear.) I rode it everywhere, including to my local jumping spot. I figured that when the locals saw me arrive, they'd say something like, "Gosh, that Jim Boswell is just way ahead of his time. How can we be more like him?"
What they in fact said when I rode up on my big yellow wonder
was, "Hey, look at the geek on the beach cruiser!" The
only way I could see to gain the locals' respect was to jump my
new mountain bike over our homemade doubles. "Hey, look,
the geek is jumping the beach cruiser over the doubles!"
said the kids. After about ten "Statue of Liberty" jumps,
the frame broke at the rear seat stay, which ended my foray into
mountain biking. "Hey, look, the geek broke his frame!"
said the kids.
Then I convinced Mom to buy a 4x4, nearly getting us kicked out
of the neighborhood, but that's another story. We sold our scandalous
truck right about the time our neighbors started buying Pathfinders
and Land Cruisers... Perhaps because of these poor early experiences,
I've avoided mountain bikes and sport-utilities religiously for
the past decade. I hate to be part of the herd. I joined the Miami
University Mountain Bike Association but insisted on riding a
cruiser. I bought a Ford Taurus and loaded it down with a Byzantine
system of roof racks, trunk racks, and bungee cords, just because
everybody else I knew was buying Explorers and Grand Cherokees.
You can't be a rebel forever, unfortunately, and I decided recently
I would just give in. I went shopping for a mountain bike and
what they now call an SUV (sport-utility vehicle). What follows,
then, is "Jim Boswell's Super-Short Guide to buying Mountain
Bikes and SUVs."
I bought my mountain bike first because it was the cheaper of
the two "lifestyle accessories" involved. The first
thing you have to do when looking for a mountain bike (We'll say
MTBs from now on, even though it doesn't really stand for anything)
is to decide how much suspension you need. You will have a choice
between "rigid", "hardtail", and "full-suspension".
A rigid bike has no shocks front or rear. That's how mountain
bikes started out. A hardtail has a suspension fork but has no
suspension in the rear. A full-suspension bike has both a shock-fork
and a rear suspension system. It is a common mistake to let your
budget decide what kind of suspension you get. In fact, you should
decide what kind of riding you are going to do, and then look
for the bike that best fits that style. You will be able to find
all three kinds of bikes in nearly every price range.
Let's start with the rigid bikes. Why choose a rigid bike? If
you have $400 or less to spend, you should confine your choices
to rigids, primarily because it is tough to find a decent hardtail
or full-suspension bike for that kind of money. If you plan to
ride mostly on roads or hard-packed trails, a rigid bike will
be your choice because rigid bikes transfer more of your power
to the rear wheel. If you plan to ride your mountain bike on BMX
tracks, a rigid bike is a good choice because it responds like
a very big BMX bike on jumps. Rigid bikes are also extremely light,
weighing as little as nineteen pounds in some cases.
The primary disadvantage of a rigid bike is that it is a lot more
difficult to ride off-road than the other choices. The bumps,
ruts, and roots you'll find on off-road trails will cause the
bike to hop around quite a bit. It takes extra effort and skill
to control a rigid bike off-road. While riding downhill, the bouncing
of a rigid bike can cause you to lose control and crash. While
riding uphill, hitting a large root or rock will often knock you
off your pedaling rhythm and stop your climb. To sum it up, a
rigid bike is the least expensive, lightest, and most skill-intensive
of the choices.
Next up are hardtails. Hardtails appeal to riders who want to
combine the light weight and pedaling efficiency of a rigid ride
with the reduced fatigue and increased off-road control of a full-suspension
bike. Hardtails outsell rigid and full-suspension MTBs combined
because they are a pretty good compromise. On trails, the front
shock makes it easier to take fast downhills, while the rigid
rear gives you plenty of power for climbing.
The disadvantages? Beyond certain speeds, having front suspension
only just isn't good enough. You'll still feel every rock and
root in your seat. Without a rear suspension, it's hard to "set
up" for downhill turns. And when you get out on a road or
hard-packed trail, the rigid bikes will use their two-to-four-pound
advantage to wave bye-bye. If you stand up on your pedals, BMX-style,
you'll find that the front end of a hardtail bike still acts like
a pogo stick under hard pedaling. The verdict: Good all-around
bikes, but unlikely to keep up with a full-suspension bike on
the downhills, or with a rigid bike on the road.
Full-suspension bikes are mountain biking's pride and joy. Weighing
up to thirty-five pounds, FS rides can be loaded up with disc
brakes, motorcycle-style forks and axles---you name it, somebody
out there has it. FS bikes are the king of the downhills, offering
great comfort and high-speed control. The disadvantage? When the
trail turns back up, the extra weight and pogo-effect of the suspension
is a killer. I would only recommend a FS bike for someone who
wants to make their name in serious downhill racing, and has the
money to equip their bike correctly.
So you've ridden all three kinds of bikes and made that decision.
Your next choice is frame material. Just like in BMX, your two
big choices are Cr-mo steel and aluminum. The majority of the
MTB riders I've spoken to never considered Cr-mo when doing their
shopping. That's a shame, because a good Cr-mo frame continues
to be a great choice for all sorts of mountain biking. Speciality
makers like Salsa Cycles and Santana have created steel bikes
that outperform aluminum every time. In the lower end of the market,
you can frequently get more for your money if you get a Cr-mo
frame.
I know you want to get an aluminum frame. Aluminum is the queen
of the prom right now in BMX and MTB circles. But just like a
prom queen, aluminum can be very finicky at times and downright
impossible to live with at others. Give Cr-mo a chance.
The single most confusing thing a new MTB buyer has to face is
the concept of the "group". Alivio, STX, Sachs, XTR,
XC Pro... what the heck are these things? They are the names of
"groups" and the companies that make them.
"Groups" are part of mountain biking's roadie heritage.
Once upon a time, road bikers bought their favorite frame from
a custom manufacturer and then specified the "gruppo".
A gruppo is a box full of of components that help make a frame
and fork into a real bike. It usually includes everything but
the rims, spokes, handlebars, grips, and seat. Using the gruppo
components, the road biker was able to build his bike and know
that everything was designed to work together.
Today, we call a gruppo a group, and each group has a name. Shimano,
the biggest component manufacturer in biking, gives each group
a name. Tourney is the most affordable, XTR is the most expensive,
and the rest fall in between. Most bike shops will have a chart
to show you where everything fits.
Buying a mountain bike is actually pretty simple. Decide the type
of bike you want. Figure out your budget. Then buy a frame you
trust (or your friends trust) with the best components you can
afford. It's that easy.
I chose a rigid bike from a very
famous manufacturer of aluminum bikes. It had Deore LX components
with a sprinkling of Deore XT stuff. I'm ashamed to tell you how
much it cost---it was more than I'd ever spent on a bike.
Unfortunately, the bike is a piece of junk. The frame flexes to
the point of being defective, the cranks are worthless, and I'd
like to throw it away. What did I do wrong? Well, I bought a bike
from a company that has had very little involvement in BMX. The
company has refused to warranty the frame, and the dealer rep
refuses to even look at the bike. That kind of thing wouldn't
fly in BMX, but it's pretty standard in road biking. I won't mention
the maker because I'd hate to give them any publicity at all,
even negative publicity.
The lesson I learned? Buy your mountain bike from a company that
has a BMX background. After all, you're a BMX rider---why not
get your MTB from a BMX-oriented company? Most of the BMX companies
will also stand behind their product.
My bike and I have gotten used to each other, however, so I invited
Expert-class mountain biker and Superclass legend Jeff Dein to
come visit me here in Ohio. We rode some singletrack and steep
downhills together, and I learned quite a bit about how to really
attack a downhill. That's a lesson for another column, but what
I found rather interesting is that while Jeff and his full-suspension
downhiller ran away from me on the downhills, my twenty-four-pound
rigid ride made it rather easy to keep up with him while climbing.
The motto? It takes different strokes to move the world, but you
should take a very hard look at the kind of riding you are going
to do before buying a bike. I have seen a lot of riders who simply
bought too much bike. Do yourself a favor. If you don't foresee
doing much more than riding down to the corner store twice a week,
don't buy a $4500, long-travel, XTR-equipped monster. You won't
enjoy it, and it will be a waste of money for all concerned.
Take a lot of time to buy your mountain bike. Visit all the shops,
talk to anybody who is willing to help. The biggest difference
you will notice while shopping for a mountain bike is that the
MTB salesmen are very profit-motivated and will steer you to a
higher-profit model if given the chance.
I bought my MTB on impulse and because I wanted to have a famous-name
bike. Had I spent more time shopping, I probably would have made
a better choice. But I'm stuck with my choice for some time to
come, or until I come up with a couple thousand bucks to blow
on another scoot.
So that's my mountain bike experience. A near-total disappointment.
Luckily for me, I learned a lesson from that and spent a lot of
time picking my next trend-following purchase---a sport-utility
vehicle. To keep this month's column below War and Peace
size, I'll skip most of what I looked for in a truck, and
simply tell you what I got and why.
After a couple months of shopping, I'd decided what I wanted in
a SUV: full-time four-wheel-drive, differential locks, five-speed
tranny, real wood on the inside, and an interior tough enough
to withstand the filth and damage associated with a couple of
years on the BMX scene.
The dealership I chose, Ascot Motor Cars in Sewickley, Pennsylvania,
was courteous. The financing was easy to arrange. The delivery
experience was fantastic. My new truck has served as a BMX limo
and has ferried some of the sport's greatest riders to Bob Evans
and back. My choice? A Land
Rover Discovery. To me, it's "The Best 4X4XFar".
The next time you see me, chances are I'll have my name-brand
MTB hanging off the back of my trendy SUV. It's enough to make
me sick. Just remember that, below the facade, I'm the same overweight,
washed-up Cruiser rider you know and, I hope, love, as I love
all of you who participate in this great sport of ours. See ya!