thinking of getting back into riding
its been 10yrs or so sence ive rode a mountain bike
last bike was a GT avalanche
i am a pretty agresive rider old BMX racer during the 80s and early 90s
motocross racer after that
im just wanting to ride for fun and stay in shape
im thinking full suspension plenty of travel
crosscountry,big jumps,and downhill type of riding
i have just enlisted in the army at 38 ( i know) so after BCT and AIT ( 14 weeks) i will be stationed somewhere
so i will be riding on base and local areas where ever that may be

what do ya think

wow
this place is dead

whats your budget?

check out rocky mountain slayer
giant reign X
or my fav ( and my bike) Ellsworth moment

dude any all mountain bike will work. 5 or 6" travel is nice.

i take it your on a budget, so check jensonusa.com for some deals on some bikes. check the close out deals. they always have like last years mongooses and gt's and stuff for like 1200 bucks.

also, check out bikesdirect.com but just be known, you cant bring a motobecane bike into a bike shop cuz motobecane are internet only sales and bike shops dont care for that.

lol since when do bike shops not like money? a bike is a bike, theres something wrong with the shop if they wont fix it for you cuz you didnt buy it there!
motobecane.... are we still in the 70's.. there top of the line MTN bike has a RockShox Psylo SL Fork .... come on now he wants a bike to ride some agressive trails and down hill....\

my budget is around 1500.00 or so
i just saw the Giant - Reign X2 Bicycle (2009 Model) nice
maybe i can up my budget some

its a beautiful bike! with the 6.7inch rear travel! you"ll love it!

I would suggest you to purchase something a little more "pedalling friendly" rather than a 6-7" full suspension play bike. you will also get sick of it pretty quick pedalling around all the extra weight on flat ground... expecially not knowing where you will be stationed. big bikes are no fun unless you are hucking down big mountains, they suck for everyday riding. I would consider a well built "back country" kind of bike or even a beefy hard tail with nice components and a great fork. Having raced motocross you know the ability to ride is in you, not the bike. I have personally raced Rocky Mountain, Kona and Felt bikes for years in downhill, cross country and on the road and loved all three companies. My best "downhill race bike" was a 5" travel kona stinky dee-lux, it didn't have the 8" travel that most riders had but it was lighter, faster and could be used for everything, not just going downhill... it doesn't matter what company you buy, they all make great bikes, most important is to find something that is comfortable (go ride it before buying it) and what bike actually "suits" what you will be realistically using the bike for, not what you hope to use the bike for:smokin:

Cheers

I would suggest you to purchase something a little more "pedalling friendly" rather than a 6-7" full suspension play bike. you will also get sick of it pretty quick pedalling around all the extra weight on flat ground... expecially not knowing where you will be stationed. big bikes are no fun unless you are hucking down big mountains, they suck for everyday riding. I would consider a well built "back country" kind of bike or even a beefy hard tail with nice components and a great fork. Having raced motocross you know the ability to ride is in you, not the bike. I have personally raced Rocky Mountain, Kona and Felt bikes for years in downhill, cross country and on the road and loved all three companies. My best "downhill race bike" was a 5" travel kona stinky dee-lux, it didn't have the 8" travel that most riders had but it was lighter, faster and could be used for everything, not just going downhill... it doesn't matter what company you buy, they all make great bikes, most important is to find something that is comfortable (go ride it before buying it) and what bike actually "suits" what you will be realistically using the bike for, not what you hope to use the bike for:smokin:

Cheers

good point
the best bike i had back in the day was a GT avalanche it was a 1300.00 bike back in 92 93
back in the real BMX days i rode boss frames and then switched to GT frames
i had the best luck with GTs but not sure where GTs are made now

Perhaps I will let you in on a good deal.

http://www.rscycle.com/Bikes/Mountain-Bikes-Full-Suspension

Perhaps I will let you in on a good deal.

http://www.rscycle.com/Bikes/Mountain-Bikes-Full-Suspension

Do not buy an Ironhorse.
The company is bankrupt and closed. Do a Google search and read how many riders have been left with a broken frame or swing arm and can not only not have it warranted… but can not even get replacement parts.
Within in your budget you’ll find some great bikes that you’ll be able to have support for years to come. I’ve know people who have Treks and Specialized that have had warranty work done with bikes that are10 years old. I just recently did a demo ride on the Trek EX series in Tahoe and the new ‘active breaking’ rear swing arm was awesome. I’d put that bike on your short list (make sure you get a good groupo to cut down on weight). My suggestion is to take a few bikes on demos… see if you like cross country style bikes (shorter travel, more compact rider cockpit) or all mountain bikes (longer travel, a little stretched out). I’m 6’ 2” 220 so I like the all mountain type bikes and sometimes those are harder to find with a suspension that climbs well.

Good luck and happy shopping.

JC

For starters, it's pretty up in the air if they are going to have a future or not and secondly, the components you get for $1k in a clearanced out of business bike company are worth more that the frame warranty you won't have.

if the frame breaks, buy a new frame from someone else. Your point is moot. Price a well known bike with the components you are getting there and even if you had to buy a new frame you would still be ahead.

And lastly, the frame problems were on the 07's for the most part and these are 08's. I just bought a 6.4 off there the other week and am sure as shit glad I did.

whats your budget?

check out rocky mountain slayer
giant reign X
or my fav ( and my bike) Ellsworth moment

Agree, add the Reign for the 6" xcountry bike. I would not recomend any of these for downhill riding, downhill/freeride bikes are a different beast. If you want a little more climbing friendly look at a Giant Trance X, 5" and alot of fun. 5" bikes are a nice way to go, climb well and give some yippie on the way down.

For starters, it's pretty up in the air if they are going to have a future or not and secondly, the components you get for $1k in a clearanced out of business bike company are worth more that the frame warranty you won't have.

if the frame breaks, buy a new frame from someone else. Your point is moot. Price a well known bike with the components you are getting there and even if you had to buy a new frame you would still be ahead.

And lastly, the frame problems were on the 07's for the most part and these are 08's. I just bought a 6.4 off there the other week and am sure as shit glad I did.

Iron Horse has no future, the rep told me that Iron Horse is going mass market, Wallyworld K Mort and such.

For starters, it's pretty up in the air if they are going to have a future or not and secondly, the components you get for $1k in a clearanced out of business bike company are worth more that the frame warranty you won't have.

if the frame breaks, buy a new frame from someone else. Your point is moot. Price a well known bike with the components you are getting there and even if you had to buy a new frame you would still be ahead.

And lastly, the frame problems were on the 07's for the most part and these are 08's. I just bought a 6.4 off there the other week and am sure as shit glad I did.

I’m pleased that you’re happy with your purchase. It’s neither worth your time nor mine to debate the value of a bike company that is out of business. I was just trying to share some information to him for a buying a new bike.

I leave the point at this. My opinion (and I’ve rode Ironhorse) I would not own one again. Outside of dealing with broken swing arms (oh and yes I have a ’08 broken swing arm hanging in my garage) the way mine broke could have caused a serious wreak and those are never fun. There are too many top quality products out there to choose from: Trek, Specialized, Cannonade, Ellsworth, Pivot, Niner, Kona, Marin, Ibis, Giant, Gary Fisher or Jamis to name a few… Go with quality.

Oh... your statement about my point being Moot… that reminds me. If you have the cash and like titanium… they make great bikes. http://www.moots.com/#/product/bicycles/

Fair enough. Time will tell. I bought my wife and I two bikes to my steps for $2400. There is no way humanly possible unless I quit my job and go to work in a bike shop that I could have got that done with any other good brand.

A guy could come closer on a year end clearance, but still. I guess If I had a pocket full of money I would have bought a coilair delux.