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| *Vultures Knob>>>Mountain Bike |
What is the best mountain bike for my son who wants to do dirt jumping and regular downhill riding? |
Nothing too extreme in the downhill, under $1000? If your son wants to do dirt jumping and downhill riding you are going to want to look for an overbuilt frame, the impacts from landing and crashing that are associated with dirt jumping and downhill riding demand it. For the price range you are looking for you are going to be either buying a mid-range hardtail or a low end full suspension bike. I would suggest the hardtail, it will have better components ( fork, shifters,derailer, etc. ) and will teach him to handle technical sections more competently and help him pump the bike between the dirt jumps. A few bikes that I would suggest looking at are the P series bikes from Specialized, the Flow from Rocky Mountain (it might be over $ 1000.00), the Gary Fisher Mullet or Bitter, and the Trek Jack series. These are just a few options and there are many more out there that are designed for aggressive riding like dirt jumping and such. They are not trail bikes they will not be fun on a 5 mile trail ride, it can be done but not comfortably. If he does intend to ride on the trail with a bike like this speak to the sales person and have them swap out the seat so it is more comfortable to ride. I hope this helps sory for the long winded explanation. Like the poster above said craigslist is a good place to look and incredible deals can be found, but unless you know what to look for you can get a badly abused bike. There is alot of downhill bikes out there. And I mean alot. Pretty much all the Cannondale models, such as the Gemini and the Judge are excellent. Along with Specialized, Yeti, Iron Horse, Giant, and most other big name bike compunies that are on the top of my head. Some things to look for is atleast five inches of front and rear travel. Disc brakes are also a must. The bad thing is this stuff adds up fast. I'm 16, and my budgtet to get a downhill bike was about the same, so I know where your coming from, price wise. Bad news though. All the really nice bikes are atleast 2 grand. And bikes in the price rang of 1 grand are hard to find if you are looking for a new, and un-used bike. Check your local bike dealers around Christmas. Sales are usually really good cause no-body rides in the winter and shops are despraite for money. Thats when I got a screaming deal on a new Cannondale Gemini for about 600 off. If you don't mind buying used, then go that direction. My freinds had to keep the price of theirs under 800 and found some decent bikes. I suggest craigslist.com. Bike swaps are also a good way to catch a deal. Just make sure you do the research and ask the guys at your bike shop before completing deals. If you have anymore questions, just ask. Good luck Good advice above. The difficulty here is that full suspension bikes are really what you want for downhill action, but they make it hard to really have fun with dirt jumps. If he's aggressive, skilled, and has a strong set of wheels, then he can enjoy moderate downhill courses on a hardtail DJ bike. I'd look into the Santa Cruz Heckler....it's a good compromise. I have a Jamis Komodo hardtail frame that I built up for urban abuse and jumping.....great bike, and cheap. It has freeride geometry and is made for a 5" fork. That's not downhill-specific, but with the right fork it's ok for lots of things (but not all). Depending on where he rides, a hardtail might be fine for his downhill needs. There are definitely trails that you wouldn't want to go hardtail, though.....important for safety, if not his comfort, and your $$$ for new wheels. :o) Hope this helps some.... For regular downhill riding I would sudggest a full suspension bike but this would not be very effective in dirt jumping because of the rear suspension which limits the height of the jump. For downhill I would suggest a Santa Cruz Bullit with Fox Vanilla RC front suspensions. |
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