As my first and only starter bike I bought a Trek 29er (Gary Fisher) Wahoo. I'm at the point of upgrading to something more advanced. Problem....I have no idea what to get. I still consider myself new to the sport and haven't mastered the components and factors that play into the purchase of a new bike. I want something more aggressive, perhaps full suspension. Somewhere in the ballpark of $1,000. Please offer ideas, opinions, suggestions.....Thanks!
Buying a Second Bike.......Need Help.
- Thread starter RKohr
- Start date
Dusty the Whale
Mr.Chainsaw
Go to your LBS and ask many questions. Or get a Mary
wonderturtle
Well-Known Member
Full suspension for under $1000. Hmmmm. Not sure that would be much of an upgrade over the wahoo. Now, you would get an upgrade if you bought a hard tail around $1000. But gotta think a full suspension around $1000 you're gonna gets similar specs to your current ride....well, maybe SLIGHTLY better but not enough of an upgrade to make it worth it....IMHO
A good full suspension (worth the upgrade) would cost me...$$??? Do you think the full suspension is worth it? I am generally riding basic trials, nothing super crazy. If you think an upgraded hard tail is the way to go, do you have one (1000 range) that you might recommend?
wonderturtle
Well-Known Member
IMHO, if you are riding "basic trails" (not super rocky/ technical) than full squish is overkill. But that's just my opinion. As far as specific bikes..... i am sure people here could offer dozens of bikes. so ill just say....go to a few good (real) bike shops and see what's out there in that price range and what catches your eye/feels right
aedubber
New Member
Yeah man , if your on basic trails no need to spend the extra money on a full suspension bike , you can get a really nice hardtail for that price .
But to be honest with you , it seems like it might be a waste to upgrade from what you have if your not upgrading on the trails . Just my opinion .
But to be honest with you , it seems like it might be a waste to upgrade from what you have if your not upgrading on the trails . Just my opinion .
it all boils down to you and your ride comfort I ride with a few peeps. that swear by the FS bikes.
yesterday we ran into some people that looked at Brian and me on out rigid SS's and could not be leave we were riding them. Go and test ride different bikes to find the one that fits and feels good. I have a HT,FS and two steel rigid bikes plus a road bike I ride them all but not at the same time 🙂
yesterday we ran into some people that looked at Brian and me on out rigid SS's and could not be leave we were riding them. Go and test ride different bikes to find the one that fits and feels good. I have a HT,FS and two steel rigid bikes plus a road bike I ride them all but not at the same time 🙂
Dr Superb
Active Member
what i would do is hold on to the Wahoo 29er, which is a nice starter bike, and wait until you can budget 2k or so for a new bike. with that budget it will warrant an upgrade to a new ride.
Perhaps upgrade to tube less for now that you would be able to carry forward to a new bike.
Perhaps upgrade to tube less for now that you would be able to carry forward to a new bike.
Not a bad plan. I have a buddy who rides everything around here with a moderately upgraded Rockhopper 29. Not that I'm advocating heavy upgrades to your current ride, but the Wahoo is a perfectly ok platform for now.
I'm going to be the outlier and suggest a FS platform IF you can add a second bike instead of replace. It's really nice to have another choice and certain parks seem to like certain bikes. I'd suggest a Giant Anthem X2 29er as a pretty well equipped bike at a (semi) reasonable price point. Which is, ummm...double your budget!:cry: Unless you find a deal on used bike.
If at all possible, try to demo some different styles and get a feel for what you like or dislike. There are many, many fish in the sea so the more you can try the better you can narrow down the field.
Edit: just noticed you are down south, so maybe a FS might be more than you need? Hmm.:hmmm:
Thanks to all for the suggestions...gonna hit some local bike shops throughout the week and check out some different set-ups. Make a decision from there. On the topic of tubeless tires, what is the benefit there? No flats? Better performance? What else would be worth upgrading on my Wahoo 29er?
wonderturtle
Well-Known Member
you'd probably notice the biggest difference with better wheels and a better fork.
but I agree with the suggestion above.....enjoy the Wahoo for now and save up for a hardtail north of $1200 or so.
using Trek as an example, the Trek Mamba is just north of $1000. but would you notice a HUGE difference? I dont know if you would .... http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/sport/29er_sport/mamba/#
but I think you would notice a big difference if you move up from Trek's "sport" line of bikes to their "cross country" line..... http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/cross_country/29er_race/
IMHO, if you are gonna "upgrade". .. go up a grade.
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Biggest advantage is you can run lower pressures without pinch-flatting. Lower pressures (20-30) give you a better ride and enhanced traction in most cases. Conditional "yes" on punctures...the sealant will handle a lot of smaller thorn-sized punctures. However something like a rip in the tire is a huge pita as you now have sealant everywhere while you put in a tube. Fun.
Look up "ghetto tubeless". There are many ways to do it but essentially you can set up the wheelset you have as tubeless. But the upgrade would be something like a lighter/better Stan's wheel which is already tubeless ready.
Edit: FWIW, once you have a decent wheelset you can move it from bike to bike, so it's a pretty good investment. Something like a Stan's Arch EX set is convertible to many different dropout designs so you can use it with different forks. Give or take $500.00 for the pair.
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