# Beginner downhill bike?



## zadey1234 (May 7, 2007)

Hey everyone. So last week, my parents gave me an incentive to finish two years of school in a year and a half. The incentive is a new bike. A quality bike. Not some crap ass walmart thing. So I want to get a good beginner downhill bike. They Said the price range is 600-1200$. I'll probably be getting this bike next june unless I finish early. So give me some recomendations that I should look at.


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## mrpercussive (Apr 4, 2006)

For that price you might find a nice mongoose black diamond or something or some IH on a closeout. That said, keep an eye out on ebay and craigslist. Stuff show up every once in a while...


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## theDoubleD (Nov 3, 2006)

go used! you'll get a lot more bang for your buck! and that'll make your budget go farther! only making you happier by getting a sweeter bike! Shyeah!


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## XtyrantX (May 5, 2008)

i feel your pain, i have been building my freeride bike piece by piece and so far have spent a little over 1500....... starting to turn into a money sink. i wish i had looked for used first, but good luck on finding something great!


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## BKnight (Mar 27, 2005)

I wouldn't buy used if I were used. You can score a great deal, but you don't know how much that bikes been used and abused. Keep you eyes open for a new bike on clearance. If you planning on buying next june, get the bike in December, January time frame, reason being, bike stores don't really move DH/FR bikes in the winter (dependent on location) plus next years models are starting to come out so they want to get ride of old stock. Check out iron horses, you can usually find them for cheap and are good bikes. For my first DH bike I picked up an 06 Iron Horse Yakuza Kumicho type R for 1700 shipped, it was an awesome bike, great parts list and cheap. The best think you can do, is do your home work, know exactly what you want, ride lots of bikes, and take your parents to look at the bikes and talk to the salesmen with you. That way once you find the bike you want thats say 300 out of budget, you parents will know its what you want and its a good deal and might go for it. You should also try and save up some money so you can up the limit to about 2k then the options are much better. I had a price limit of 1500 for my bike, so if you want to know what i was looking at for bikes just hollar.


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## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*In Canada*

I'd use this bike as a benchmark. That's right, it's a hardtail. You should be able to grab it for the top of your budget. As it's new, you'll get a proper fit, probably a year's service, warranty on parts that are expensive to fix (like forks) and maybe some other free stuff like shop rides and learning advice etc. An entry level, quality FS rig will top $2200K here in Canada, for you.
Mail order bikes from the US will be expensive after shipping, border and excise taxes, etc etc etc, so I'd stay away from those ideas, and that goes for craigslist and ebay too.

2nd hand DH bikes are a crapshoot, you can wind up spending a fortune replacing worn and damaged parts. Unless you know the seller personally and the bike's history, I'd stay clear of 2nd hand.

Good luck, Jim


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## Tj Pope (Oct 4, 2006)

i 2nd the hardtail. Not only can you get them new for a reasonable price, but once you start to get the hang of DH and FR on a hardtail youll be so much smoother with an fs rig. Alot of times when people new to dh by a fs rig first, intstead of trying to flow in there riding they just plow through whatever thinking they have full suspension so its no big deal. I guess what im trying to say is that they rely to much on the suspension to carry them through everything.


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## Truckee Trash (Sep 18, 2007)

Go used from someone you know. . . someone who's taken care of the bike, someone who loves it. . . if not available. . . go new.


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## wasea04 (Apr 2, 2007)

Everybody has had validity to their argument, I went from FS to HT to FS and it does make you smooth.......much better flow skills.......I don't know about starting out on one though, you'll get jacked up quite a bit methinks. that said get a c'dale gemini, they're cheap, light, strong, maneuverable, and made in the USA. They're a great all round rig, they don't particulary do anything best.........but the bike that's best at most? The gemini takes the cake for being ace at none jack of all on the aggressive side of things.


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## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*not sure if it fits*

his budget, and they stopped making them for 2008, so he may not be able to track one down in Canada.

Jim


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## zadey1234 (May 7, 2007)

I ride a hardtail right now, but its a dept store. Frame is tough, wheels are weak as butter. I may put a little money in stronger rims and start riding some freeride and downhill. Then I'l be ready for bigger tracks and that good stuff when I get the bike next june. I'll keep looking and I'll talk to the salesmen at my lbs.


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## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*suggestion*

don't spend a nickel on your Dept Store bike, they simply aren't designed for off road. If the fork fails, you could get seriously hurt.

Put those extra $ into the new ride, sooner the better.

Jim


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## tmarkos (Jan 18, 2008)

$600-$1200 is a start. I just don't see you getting anything decent for that price unless you go used which involves more risk. Let your parents know that. If they're firm on the money thing, then I would save up some more.


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## Djponee (Dec 20, 2006)

go used or look on rscycle.com


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## spacemarine5 (Sep 7, 2007)

BKnight said:


> I wouldn't buy used if I were used. You can score a great deal, but you don't know how much that bikes been used and abused. Keep you eyes open for a new bike on clearance. If you planning on buying next june, get the bike in December, January time frame, reason being, bike stores don't really move DH/FR bikes in the winter (dependent on location) plus next years models are starting to come out so they want to get ride of old stock. Check out iron horses, you can usually find them for cheap and are good bikes. For my first DH bike I picked up an 06 Iron Horse Yakuza Kumicho type R for 1700 shipped, it was an awesome bike, great parts list and cheap. The best think you can do, is do your home work, know exactly what you want, ride lots of bikes, and take your parents to look at the bikes and talk to the salesmen with you. That way once you find the bike you want thats say 300 out of budget, you parents will know its what you want and its a good deal and might go for it. You should also try and save up some money so you can up the limit to about 2k then the options are much better. I had a price limit of 1500 for my bike, so if you want to know what i was looking at for bikes just hollar.


Definitely agree^^
I was in the exact same situation you are. After shopping around a while and spending a ton of time on this forum, I decided that it was better to wait until I had more money. I'm now convinced that that's the best path I could have taken. Once you hit the $2,000-$2,500 mark a bunch of solid options with decent part's lists open up. For example, you can get stuff like a Spec Bighit or a Kona Stinky, both good beginner-intermediate bikes (IMO). I ended up waiting till like late January (2008) and I managed to pick up a 07 Bighit 2 for like $1,800 from my lbs. Great bike, I love it.

So that's what I recommend. Plus, you've got a pretty long time to save up money, so I would say start saving.


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## Djponee (Dec 20, 2006)

> don't spend a nickel on your Dept Store bike


although, he could get a complete from walmart for that.


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