Best value for full suspension mtn bike - aluminum frame

Here's my best guess for 27.5 FS:

http://www.diamondback.com/bikes-mountain-all-mountain-full-suspension-mission-1

$2600 amazon

lifetime warranty on frame for original purchaser.

http://www.cambriabike.com/Heckler-Aluminum-D-Kit-Complete-MTB-Orange-58160790152532470901.asp

$2300

only requirement is FS and alum frame. Go.

Note: in the Nov 2015 issue of Mountain Bike Action mag, a reader complained that they never review $2-3K bikes. Editor stated that will be coming soon.

 

I heard these are even better if you have the kids in the back room put them together while you wait.

 

Recalibrate: MSRP minimum is $1000 (which is probably too low for a decent FS bike).

 

There are many flavors of FS bikes, and they are designed for vastly different tasks... Do you think you need 160mm of travel?

 

I need airbags and a Starbucks cup holder.

 

Nothing in there suggests you'll need or use anything over 100mm of travel... if even that much.

Funny, this was in my email earlier today: http://reviews.mtbr.com/round-up-13-affordable-mountain-bikes-under-3000

 

I can make your Diamondback feel like a new bike... Let 20 psi out of the tires and go put some miles on it!

 

That and ceramic bearings.

 

Better watch out:

 

So, the moral of that story, he never got a catastrophic failure? LOL

 

"The parts bend, but we just bend 'em back!"

 

Prolly best to ride with a crowbar and a 5 pound hammer... for repairs of course.

 

Dude these responses and the video were hilarious; made my day lol

Esp that 6 foot drop that crashed the front suspension. That sound on impact was horrible. Sounded like a hit to a trash can lol

 

Idk. I can try running the psi lower tomorrow and see how that works out. But my neighbor rides similar trails with a trek HT and tubes. I think he runs his psi much lower than me.

I still seem to think I'd be better off with rear suspension on the rockier segments. There's a lot of rocky segments on the fire roads around here. And I'm not referring to normal rocks you can navigate around, this is actual huge sheets of horizontal rock formation that's mostly flattened out with lots of dips.

 

I wasn't trying to dissuade you... Just point out that there are more types of full suspension bikes than there are bike brands, and it doesn't seem that you get the differences. A 160mm travel bike is not designed for fire road climbing.

Everyone on this board rides on rocks...

 

Or you could just ride one of these. Pedaling efficiency of a hard tail & comfort of full squish. No washing out in the sand and guaranteed to hit 40+ downhill. Problem solved.

 

Those fat tires look un-sexy to me. But maybe they're good for beach or ski resort.

I ride ST sometimes. But I don't do any jumping, which is where I'm assuming longer travel suspension is required. But maybe I'm wrong.

 

Sorry verdugist, my above post was meant in a completely joking manner (some of us do that around here). You are making a lot of changes to your bike right now(brakes & tire psi etc.). Get that stuff done and enjoy your bike.

 

I was gonna make fun of the guys sandals but since he rides better than I can I will just keep my mouth shut...

 

So I tried 37 psi in the rear and 35 psi in the front. So that's a drop from 45 to 37 in the rear. I had a much harder time climbing in the same neighborhood trail I've done several times (and this time it was much cooler temps).

So less PSI = better traction, better response on bumps but more resistance on rolling and potentially more snake bites.

 

Here are some good deals on SC alum's: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/rc/2015-santa-cruz-on-sale?INT_ID=IB17258

 

Trek has good value IMO, check out their fuel lineup, or remedy

 

if you enjoy climbing more than going down.... buy a 29er hardtail with better groupo, instead of a low end fs.

 

The Giant Stance is probably what you're looking for.

 

I tested one of these for a couple months earlier this year and feel it is a really nice riding trail bike. At this price, it is an exceptional value:

http://www.pricepoint.com/Brand/Breezer/Breezer-Supercell-Pro-29-inch-Bike.axd

 

The rolling resistance myth is just that - a myth. There is an optimal pressure with the least rolling resistance for each tire, but it varies with the surface. Too much air can offer more rolling resistance too. Varaxis explained this once - and I barely understood it. Maybe he can chime in again.

And at 37/35 you are still running way more pressure than most. With tubes, I run about 32 in back and 30 in front. I weigh 215lbs with my gear, and I am not subtle on rocks. I rarely flat.

Tubeless, I run 29 in the rear and about 25 in front. I don't like to feel the rims on any impact, so I don't go lower. Of course, rims and tires vary. Wider rims and/or stiffer sidewalls need less air. I have tried low 20s on other people's bikes, but the tires were way too squirmy in turns for my taste.

 

Winner!

Well, at least if you're more of the all day adventuring type with an appetite for exploring further.

 

It's fairly technical, but you got the gist of it. Simply put, it's a balance between A) preventing the tire from bouncing back, and B) preventing the tire from making too much unnecessary contact with the ground and folding on itself. Tires have slow rebounding rubber which damps energy, and the more it flexes, the more energy it absorbs. If you got a lot of this rubber (850g+ tire), you can run more air pressure. If your tire is thin, you should run less to reduce all the bouncing that's bound to happen, but you should beware of rim strikes, pinch flats, etc. If riding on hardpack, you generally should run high pressures for faster rolling, while trying to minimize the things that would ping the tire. If you can't avoid all the bumps, you would then lower pressures to avoid being bogged down by the bumps (or ride faster to skim over the bumps). If you're riding as low as you can go without rim striking, and letting air leak out from not checking your air pressure from ride to ride, you might find yourself tip-toeing on the trails, not riding at your fastest, squirming, and feel like your tire might have that dragging (running low/flat) feel... that's okay if you're in a cruising mood, but if you intend to have fun/thrills with speed and get out of the saddle, you should pay more attn to pressure and this balance. The more volume in your tire (29 vs 26, or 2.5 vs 2.2), the lower the pressure you should run (Boyle's Law). For an average guy weighing 165 lbs, "optimal" for SoCal dry loose-over-hardpack might be around 18psi 29x2.3 (700g tire) tubeless, 30psi 26x2.35 tubed (850g combined), 10psi for 27.5x3.0 (800g) on ETRTO spec rim widths, assuming a 50/50 weight load F/R. If you're running anemic lightweight tires on something with plenty of bumps and little traction, well you can have the thrill of doing your best to prevent injury. If you're riding something with no bumps, you're adding more drag by dropping pressure. Even cracks and gaps in the concrete count as bumps. Just need to keep your tire on the ground rolling really, and put even pressure down, to get predictable traction.

If you start thinking "energy management" in your ride pacing and flow, taking in things like using momentum to your advantage in your consideration, you might understand the balance in all this better. It's normally a term pilots use, but it can be applied to bike riding too. Or you can "just ride" and let your body naturally become efficient* at whatever routine you repeatedly ask of it.

BTW, nice thread jack.

* - mortals like us might only put out 600W max power on a ride. That's a pro with sprinter-class pistons cranking down. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the 500w club, able to keep it up for miles. Mortals average 150-200W over a ride, while pros can average double of that for hours. A difference of about 12w is like a 5-10% performance increase to a casual rider, and that's how much you could gain from fixing a poor setup.

 

See, I told you Varaxis could explain it... I'm pretty sure he said "lower your pressures a little more, ride and have fun."

And now, we return to "here's an aluminum full-suspension bike that is inexpensive, but doesn't suck..." (Heckler...cough)