# Finally Bought my First real mountain bike



## Skeg43 (Jul 3, 2011)

I rode BMX and road bikes growing up and always enjoyed pulling them apart and putting them back together. I have owned owned a Next FS and a Walgoose Hardtail (horrible waste of money for both). After searching this sight for a month reading bike reviews and component reviews and having a great friend get me out riding technical single track on my mongoose. I decided it was finally time to pull the trigger.

Goal= Technical Single Track
Body= 5'11" 270lbs 30"-31" inseam
Ride style= laid back, but semi-aggressive once I will get comfortable

I bought a Gravity 29point2 from BD after a couple more posts I can post the link and pics, but can't right now. http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/29point2.htm

I looked at every sub $800 bike I could find LBS, manufacturer websites and Online stores. My friend told me the shock would be very important since I am a big guy. I test rode a few bikes and the Suntour shock even preloaded was WAY to squishy. The RST Duece on the Cannondale was decent once I preloaded it and the Dart 3 was the same.

I knew I wanted to go 29" since after reading many discussions the only downfall would be the slow response in the corners but, since my trails are very Rooty I figured the smoother ride of 29" was worth the poor performance in the tight corners.

So with those considerations I decided on the Gravity 29point2 $549.00 because I know with my size I will break things and once I do I can upgrade from there and this price point leaves me some wiggle room for breakage. If I don't break anything then I can upgrade to an air shock sooner.

I really am writing this to help people in their decision I am not trying to push or sway decisions but was hoping to add something useful that a beginner might find helpful in their purchasing decision.


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## Skeg43 (Jul 3, 2011)

After riding the bike on the streets and on some gravel trails I quite enjoyed the 17.5" frame. It is a little big for my inseam, but I feel safe standing over it and nothing is getting squished. The 29" wheels are nice and I already feel more comfortable on this bike then I did on my mongoose I owned and rode for a few months.

Now if it would just stop raining so I could get out onto the real trails


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## Skeg43 (Jul 3, 2011)

I can also tell you how it came

Handle bars were unattached but cables connected, easy to Allen wrench down a couple bolts.

Pedals were off, easy to put on

Derailleur not on but just 1 bolt I had to Allen wrench on

Tires not on so Had to inflate, put the quick release into hub and install.

Everything was easy if you have a allen wrench, pedal wrench (or cresent) and some grease

The tuning the bike I was lucky to have a friend show me the proper way to do it, If you are not good with tuning brakes and derailleur (or learning from videos online) that might be the tough part


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## michaelscott (May 23, 2011)

Nice looking bike! Take some pics on the trails and with it all dirty.


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## ldollard (Jul 13, 2011)

having a clamp tripod helps a lot, great post... something else to consider.


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## Skeg43 (Jul 3, 2011)

Yes the stand was very helpful in tuning the bike. Luckily my friend getting me back into biking had it and all the required tools. I will be getting my own at some point though as it was very helpful.


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## abergan (Jul 5, 2011)

I also noticed suntours are very squishy for big riders.


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## ldollard (Jul 13, 2011)

good thing its not a suntour then.


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## Phillycore (Apr 4, 2009)

I was looking at the same bike earlier today, I'm digging this a lot.


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## square (Jun 5, 2010)

you went to lindy & jim's wedding too??


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## mrwipemedown (Jun 24, 2011)

Nice bike, nice color choice!


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## Troutman (Jul 22, 2011)

Great looking bike.


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2011)

If you do get an air fork, get the Suntour Epicon. Not one bad thing about it. Pretty cheap too - 200 from ebay.


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## queevil (Feb 17, 2009)

Congrats on the new bike. Looks like a pretty nice frame. Ride the hell out of it. Then, ride it some more. Have fun.


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## jwn66 (Jul 29, 2011)

So what kind of shocks are better for bigger riders, I'm about the same weight but 6'1 and searching for my 1st "real" bike. I've looked at a few and the ones that I'm thinking about each have different forks, Suntour XCR V2's / XCR Hydraulic LO29 and Rock Shox Tora TK Coil / Rock Shox Dart 2 TK's. The Hydraulic is a 29er (Rocky Mountain Soul 29er is what I was leaning towards) 

Few more posts and I'll make a thread with links as to what I'm thinking about.


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## nikojan (Jun 18, 2011)

a $200 stand and a $500 bike...? :skep:

Why not just get an air fork?


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## theMeat (Jan 5, 2010)

Nice bike, nice for sharin'. Glad you worked out the adjustment issues in a good way. Enjoy!


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## cbrinly (Mar 2, 2011)

Time to get that bike dirty!


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## Meesta Chow (Aug 3, 2011)

How fast was the shipping from that site? Im looking to get my first bike as well, would you recommend that site?


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## Skeg43 (Jul 3, 2011)

Finally the rain stopped and I have gotten a few good rides in. I really like the bike. The 29" stability is nice for building confidence too.

The shipping was 2 days for me, but I live in Texas so it didn't have to go far. But I did have to pay taxes :-(

As far as shocks go I did order the Red (firm) spring kit and replaced it. I noticed a difference not that it was huge but anything helps. Spring was easy to instal too, Just removed the preload cap and push on shock and old spring pops right out, greased new spring, put on caps and dropped it in then screwed preload back on. With the Firm spring I feel I have gotten to the end of my travel but never bottomed out hard. I have only taken like a 1 foot drop or bunny hops though.


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## Waltah (Aug 5, 2011)

wow im 5'7" with 30.5" in seam. agreed 17.5" is a bit on the large side for us but its what is comfortable to me. so far so good too.

congrats! sweet bike


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## flinthunter (Jul 10, 2011)

Nice ride, I bought a trek 820 16" frame felt mor comfortable I'm the same size but 10 lbs heavier and I finally got it dirty. I wanted better but budget and being a newbie on trails didn't want to go crazy just yet


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

good move on the bike. bad move on the skol


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## cbrinly (Mar 2, 2011)

Eric Z said:


> good move on the bike. bad move on the skol


In defense of the liquor: at least there are bottles of Tito's and Knob on that counter too :thumbsup:


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## 6milliondollarman (Dec 24, 2004)

You got a very good bike for the money you spent on it. Ride the heck out of it and post a review after the first hundred miles or so.


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

icalebkim said:


> If you do get an air fork, get the Suntour Epicon. Not one bad thing about it. Pretty cheap too - 200 from ebay.


Being 15 is perfectly acceptable, but recommending a Suntour Epicon to someone who bought a 29er, not so much. The Epicon is only available for "traditional" 26" Wheeled bikes. If you want a 29er air fork you gotta bump your price range to $300-350 where you can get Manitou Tower Expert, Marz 44 Micro Ti or RST M29, unless were talking used, you might get used air forks for less than $300.


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## aubzobot (Jun 5, 2011)

Skeg, what model of the dart oes your bike have. The dart1, 2 or the 3?


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

aubzobot said:


> Skeg, what model of the dart oes your bike have. The dart1, 2 or the 3?


Its a Dart3, the 1 and 2 are 26" only.


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## mattybass2 (Aug 18, 2011)

Cool bike, congrats man..


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## JayClaire (Aug 16, 2011)

Enjoy!


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

Skeg43 said:


> I can also tell you how it came
> 
> Handle bars were unattached but cables connected, easy to Allen wrench down a couple bolts.
> 
> ...


You made me cringe so badly with that picture in the stand. As long as you have a seatpost you can raise and lower you should never clamp the bike in the stand by the frame. The frame is much much thinner than a seatpost and much more expensive to replace. Always clamp the seatpost and I won't have to grit my teeth when I see your pictures :thumbsup:


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

zebrahum said:


> You made me cringe so badly with that picture in the stand. As long as you have a seatpost you can raise and lower you should never clamp the bike in the stand by the frame. The frame is much much thinner than a seatpost and much more expensive to replace. Always clamp the seatpost and I won't have to grit my teeth when I see your pictures :thumbsup:


Great tip, I plan to pick up a stand soon and I will remember what you said there.:thumbsup:


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## furryurry (Aug 25, 2011)

Congrats!


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## nutty1 (Jun 4, 2009)

*Nice bike!*

Fantastic! I'm looking to buy a 29ner myself.


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## MTB RR (Sep 9, 2011)

Wow...really good lookin bike...29ers are cool and unique have fun with it on the trails.


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## digazz (Sep 16, 2011)

Nice bike, good luck with it


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## bikesordeath (Sep 17, 2011)

Good lookin bike for the money, thanks for posting and congrats.


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## basa (Jul 5, 2011)

You're going to regret for not getting a full suspension bike :/


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## DannyHuynh (Sep 13, 2011)

Skeg43 said:


> After riding the bike on the streets and on some gravel trails I quite enjoyed the 17.5" frame. It is a little big for my inseam, but I feel safe standing over it and nothing is getting squished. The 29" wheels are nice and I already feel more comfortable on this bike then I did on my mongoose I owned and rode for a few months.
> 
> Now if it would just stop raining so I could get out onto the real trails


hey man i was lookn at the 29.4.

im 5'10. do you think i should get the 17.5 or a size smaller?


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## Colo Springs E (Dec 20, 2009)

basa said:


> You're going to regret for not getting a full suspension bike :/


After mtn biking 20+ years, I just bought my first full-suspension bike and I regret not getting a really nice hardtail instead.

FS is not for everyone and it's for NO one at the price point he bought this bike at.


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## vqdriver (May 8, 2009)

please clamp the seatpost.





please.


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## SRvancouver13 (Aug 25, 2011)

Crash Test Dumby said:


> Being 15 is perfectly acceptable, but recommending a Suntour Epicon to someone who bought a 29er, not so much. The Epicon is only available for "traditional" 26" Wheeled bikes. If you want a 29er air fork you gotta bump your price range to $300-350 where you can get Manitou Tower Expert, Marz 44 Micro Ti or RST M29, unless were talking used, you might get used air forks for less than $300.


SR Suntour does offer the Epicon in 29er.It can come with our new X1 hollow crown and lower speed compression cartridge or the X2 crown. We also have the Raidon,XCR, XCM and XCT.

Best,
Nick


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## KVW (Aug 11, 2011)

Colo Springs E said:


> FS is not for everyone and it's for NO one at the price point he bought this bike at.


Exactly. Not at that price point. yikes! It would be a bouncy mess.


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## dmrogers (Sep 26, 2011)

zebrahum said:


> You made me cringe so badly with that picture in the stand. As long as you have a seatpost you can raise and lower you should never clamp the bike in the stand by the frame. The frame is much much thinner than a seatpost and much more expensive to replace. Always clamp the seatpost and I won't have to grit my teeth when I see your pictures :thumbsup:


This is good info to know. Thanks!


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## dmrogers (Sep 26, 2011)

DannyHuynh said:


> hey man i was lookn at the 29.4.
> 
> im 5'10. do you think i should get the 17.5 or a size smaller?


Depends on your inseam measurement. Best to go to a bike shop and compare.
I'm 5'8" and went with a 15.5 
I could probably ride the 17.5 but I didn't feel comfortable on it. The 15.5 is just right for me.


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## bcon (Oct 7, 2011)

Nice color contrast.


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## ShawnCS (Oct 11, 2011)

Awesome very nice


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## nowaysj (Aug 28, 2013)

Skeg43 said:


> I bought a Gravity 29point2 from BD


Any updates, a couple of years later?


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## mitzikatzi (Sep 9, 2008)

nowaysj said:


> Any updates, a couple of years later?


Try here motobecane forum


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