Is this ok for cross country mountain biking?

I am 5' 11" and 150 pounds. I'm looking to get into mountain biking, and I'm hoping I can use this bike:

Mine has a 17'' frame, and it was made in 1995.

I found this page that has some info about the bike:

http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeS...

I'm not sure if that's all right, but here's what I can tell about the bike from looking at it:

It's a 17'' hardtail with rim brakes
T
he front sprocket, (is this the right term?) has
"micro drive power flo-f" printed on it

The rear de-railer-(???) has "shimano acera" printed on it

When I've been riding around the city on it, I've had some problems with the shifting being jerky/noisy/etc.


Can anyone tell me what I need to do to it so that I can start getting into cross country mountain biking? I was thinking of getting some disk brakes to start with....?

oh yeah, I already own this bike. I got it for $75 at a used bike place a few years ago.

For getting back into riding go ahead and use it. When it comes to upgrading it will cost more that the bike is worth.
When you decide your ready, just get a new bike, cheaper than upgrading this bike, newer technology and it will have a warranty.

As MtBikr says, this is a fine bike for getting into XC mountain biking. As you get into riding, you may find you want to upgrade the bike, or you may be happy with it for quite a long while.

Chances are, your bike is not disk brake compatible. To install disk brakes you need to have disk brake tabs on the front fork and the seat stay. As well, your wheels must be built to take disk brake rotors. These features didn't begin to show up on many bikes until after yours was made. Thus, you probably can't upgrade to disk brakes.

Rim brakes are lighter than disk brakes anyhow. So, this isn't much of a loss unless you do a lot of riding in muddy, sloppy conditions or you get into epic length rides. Under muddy conditions, the grit you pick up causes a lot of wear on your rims. On epic rides, you want hydraulic brakes because they require only a feather touch to operate.

Regarding the jecky/noisy shifting issue, this may only require a bit of cleaning and adjusting of the shifters. Cleaning and lubricating the drivetrain (chain, chainrings, gears, and derailleurs) may entirely solve this problem. As you get into cross country riding you'll find this needs to be done regularly to keep performance crisp. Also in the years since your bike was built, the shifter cables have undoubtedly stretched. You probably need to adjust cable tension by turning the barrel adjusters at the derailleur or shifter. You can ask the folks at your bike shop how to do this. (While there, get them to show you how to clean and lube your drivetrain, as well.)

With respect to doing other upgrades, you've always got to consider the cost of upgrading components verses the cost of buying a new bike outfitted with the components you want. Bike makers get huge discounts because they buy in volume. Consumers buy at retail and upgrading pieces and parts gets expensive very rapidly.

Hope this helps.

well i'm actually just getting out of downhill and into cross country (new job that pays 30 an hour and requires me to not be broken). as so ive been researching different cross country setups and what not. that being said anyone who bikes, no matter what type they do, will tell you that the bike you are looking at should be very cheap as it is over ten years old. my downhill bike is a little older, and theres nothing wrong with an older bike as long as you take care of it, and make sure that it is in good shape. i personally would not buy the bike as it is older, and would search around for a little bit of a better setup. also when you are looking for a new bike DO YOUR RESEARCH. a good place i find to do research on bikes and parts is mtbr.com (keep in mind though that there are a fair amount of people who like to complain about nothing i.e. stuff like squeeky breaks when the brakes are getting broken into), and also ask around. you should also test out the bike you are about to buy as different bikes have different feelings to them, and how much you like how a bike feels depends on your own opinion. also look at the terrain that you will be riding as this is a majour factor in what design you should choose as well. if you want to buy used, always have a look at the bike and bring someone who knows a fair amount about bikes if you do not. dont be afraid to quiz the owner. when i was in the market for my downhill rig a bike that was advertised as mint was actually in horrible shape, as the owner did not know how to maintain it properly. sites that are always good to look at for used bikes are pink bike and something along the lines of canadian cyclists. lastly, if you dont know a lot about maintanence of your bike, get a bike with low maintenance. fixing things at the shop can be expensive and you may have to wait a while to get everything fixed up (when i blew the seals on my forks the bike shop wanted 200 to fix replace them, where as i put out like 10 bucks or something like that for new seals and took the time to fix them myself-laziness is expensive!!). lastly, if your a big guy take extra care in choosing your bike and parts as they undergo more stress. hopefully my answer isnt too long for you ( I know it kinda went past what you were asking, but I don't want you to buy something that is not worth your money).
-cheers for now and have fun on the trails this summer

sounds like a great bike to start with. You'll know when you're ready for another one. Take it to a bike shop for a tune-up and it'll shift just fine. Cantalever brakes are good enough. For a wonderful upgrade - look on ebay and get yourself a front shock fork. I bought a Manitou pro for $25 for a bike I'm putting together for a friend. Again if in doubt, ask a bike shop.

If you have enough money u should buy a new bike because that bike is very old if not u will probably have to buy new hubs and if u want hydraulic discs new cables and leavers as well for a good brakes get avid juicy 3 in England they cost 59.99 pounds sterling each and all the other part are outdated. if after this u are going to get a new bike ere is a list of makes that i think are good bikes for XC (cross country).Marin,specialized Scott orange and Genesis