Mountain Bikes

[ken1953]

Hi all...thought that might get your attention. I need your advise, please. My local bike shop has told me that when I get my weight down to 350, he'd guarantee he'd have a bike that would hold up to me. As of today, I only have 10 more pounds to go, so now I am looking at the next few weeks of attaining my first weight goal and celebrating by getting me a bike. Question is, how is "Giant" bikes? I'm looking at the Sedona LX and DX. (one has disk brakes the other standard hand brakes.) The other question, since I will only be riding on paved roads and trails, is the disk brake worth the extra $100.00. Supposedly, the LX has a better gearing and shifters. Basically though, they are the same bike. I thought about putting this on the MTBR site, but, I figure that we have enough mountain bikers here that I should be able to get an answer without having to register for another site.
Thanx in advance for any advise and or suggestions on this or other brands under $500US.
Ken

[greghalliday]

Most people when they go looking at bicycles tend to focus their attention on the most recognizable and marketed items. (mainly Shimano drivetrain components). Please don't do this. I'll tell you why. You, at 350 pounds, will benefit MUCH more from having a stout, quality wheelset (and crankset too) than you would from having a really nice rear derailleur. All through high school and undergrad, I worked in a bike/ski shop (mainly to support my habit). And all those years I was on a personal quest to get people to see the wisdom of quality bearing sets vs. high end rear derailleurs. Break a shifter, 50 bucks. Break or prematurely wear out a wheel or rim, at least 150 bucks (for a cheap rebuild). I can tell you at 300 pounds, you need the best hubs and rims you can get your hands on. Here's what I would do: see if you can get the nice guy at your local shop to trade out the stock wheelset, for something nicer and more heavy-duty (unless the ride you are looking at has good hubs and hoops to begin with).

Look around. Sun-Ringle makes some nice wheelsets at a good price. Chris King makes the ultimate (but could be out of your price range.) DT/Hugi are probably the most durable hubs on the planet. I have them on a FS tandem I built up, no problems. Some may say that you will need a 36 spoke set-up. I would disagree with this in theory, but if you are very aggressive, it may be worthwhile (my tandem has done fine with a 32 spoke DT 14/17 revoloution lacing[if you know what those are])

For your weight, disc brakes would be the way to go. But only if they are laced to disc specific rims. The cross-section (i.e. lack of a sidewall) of these types give them increased strength to weight ratio. And discs, hydraulic or cable actuated, are really much more powerful.

The brand of bike is less of an issue for me. Before Giant started making their own brand back in the late 80s-early 90s, they made frames for many large manufacturers. So they know what they are doing frame-wise. Their new carbon frames are particularly nice albeit expensive.

Wow, I haven't talked shop in WAYYYYY too long. Thank you for breaking my rut.

Any other questions, feel free to ask. This place is rife with MTBers, so I'm sure good advice will never be far away.

Take home point: good wheels!

Have fun,
Greg

[greghalliday]

An addendum:

If you forego getting any upgrades to your bike, at least do one thing:

Make sure the shop has completely tuned the bike while doing their assembly. I have found that bikes as they come from the manufacturer leave much to be desired re: bearing race adjustment/tightness, spoke tension (they are invariably too loose), and other frame prep issues. Most shops do not do a complete disassembly and frame prep, but they should at least make sure the bearings are well adjusted and that the spokes are at the recommended tension and the wheels are 100% true. Factory wheels are built by machine and they rarely do a good job at this. Make sure your shop does these few adjustments, and it will save you miles and miles of headaches in the future.

Greg

P.S. As for other brands, I would check out Trek bikes. The purist in me screams noooooo! for recommending such a huge manufacturer, but there are definite plusses for being big. You get volume discounts from the component manufacturers, and hence you can make a nicer bike more inexpensively. Specialized bikes would be in the same vein. One advantage to Specialized (at least this used to be the case) is that they make their own hubsets and rims which are better than Shimano's at the same price point. There I go on the bearing set issue again.

[ken1953]

Thanx Greg, here is the link to the LX and the DX and the company I am thinking about purchasing from. I'm not sure what the gears, etc that you mentioned above are. I do know, these guys are real good with making sure the bikes fit you perfectly before they let you out the door with your bike. They even take you on a ride to make sure the bike is right for you. I've heard good things about them.
When I was in my 30's I weight 300# and I bought a Schwinn from a local dealer in Flagstaff. He guaranteed the bike would hold up to my weight. Well, about 2 months after I got the thing, one of the pedals broke. He put on a high end set free of charge and I never had another problem. At the time, I was biking about 30 miles a day, to school, to work and back home again about 5 miles out of Flagstaff towards Lake Mary. Needless to say, I was very happy. If this guy honors his word and that's what I go on, then I'll be happy.
Ken

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/030...sp?model=11302

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/030...sp?model=11303

http://www.thebikeshack.com/

[mjs1973]

Hey Ken,

Are you dealing with Tim at Momentum Bikes and Boards? I have heard nothing but GREAT things about him and the way he runs his shop. I bought my Trek used from a friend, and took it down there and had him make sure it was set up right for me. I have some friends from work that are getting into riding and they all love dealing with him. He has sponsored some of the things they do, and helps them tune up their bikes before they go on a big ride. He's a top notch guy from everything that I have heard and I wouldn't hesitate to purchase a bike from him if I were in the market for one.

[mjs1973]

Oh, I see by your link to The Bike Shack that maybe you're not dealing with the shop in Pville. If not, you may want to check them out if you haven't already.

[ken1953]

Kewl...I'll check him out...I didn't even think about him. I buy my shoes at The Shoe Shack (owned by the same guy) and so I have been talking to him for a couple of years while I've been getting my weight off. Anyway...I'll definitely check out momentum. I have seen them but they didn't come to mind.
Thanx
Ken

[adina]

If you end up in Madison, we love love love Willie St. Bikes.

I'm not a mountain biker, but we have mountain bikes, and just got them out for the summer. The thing I'd recommend, and am going to have to look into myself, is get a comfortable seat!

I just got an odometer as well. It's kinda like an incentive, knowing how far I ride is much more motivating then just riding.

[Photo-John]

Giant is the largest bike manufacturer in the world. They make great stuff. Their factories likely make bikes that end up with other company names on them.

Print out this photo, take it to the shop and tell them you want your bike to be able to do this

[ken1953]

Thanx Adina, Hopefully Kims camera will be back from Pentax. If so, we'll be in Madison to pick it up and we'll stop by up there and see what they have to offer. And yes...I've already looked at a comfort seat. hehe..I got a lot that needs to be supported, as you well know...haha...

John...the last time I tried something like this, I spoke soprano for week!!! hahaha...give me a year or 2 to get into some sort of shape besides round!!! hahaha...Thanks for the info on Giant. I'm going down tomorrow to the shop that Michael mentioned and see what they have. My goal is to lose 10 more lbs by the end of the month. That'll put me at 350 and my gift to me will be the bike.
Ken

[Photo-John]

Thanx My goal is to lose 10 more lbs by the end of the month. That'll put me at 350 and my gift to me will be the bike.

Yeah. I'd say cut back to 300 before trying that drop

Let me know when you're ready and I'll set up the ride for you.

[ken1953]

Yeah. I'd say cut back to 300 before trying that drop

Let me know when you're ready and I'll set up the ride for you.

Your on John...hehe...
I looked at a Trek Navigator 200 today...I think I liked the Giant better. Well I got a few weeks yet before I buy, so will give me some time to really investigate the choices.
Ken

[mtbbrian]

Giant is a fine ride.
I for one would recommend something from Specialized.
You can find a good close out Hard Rock for about $500.
Work It!
The bike will set you free!
Brian
Ride On!

[adina]

Giant is the largest bike manufacturer in the world. They make great stuff. Their factories likely make bikes that end up with other company names on them.

Print out this photo, take it to the shop and tell them you want your bike to be able to do this

My bike can do that. I don't think I can though.