[08njSTEP]

I have a beautiful Klein hardtail (but trek bought and closed that brand), specialized epic that I loved until I got a trek fuel ex that is wicked fast and has great brake response. Next bike might be Ellsworth. Not a fan of CF because I'm rough on my gear. Ripped derailure off trek on demo ride. Rocks are my playground.

[originalgoods13]

Giant as the component to price ratio is good and you're not paying much for the brand

[Fabspeed Motorsport]

Probably going to build up a 27.5+ bike off this Bikesdirect ti frame, can't beat $1.5k for titanium and a Bluto.

[M4Now!]

Wilier. I now mostly ride a Zero 7, it's a fantastic bike.

Cheers

[docmfg]

Trek fuel ex and remedy

[Signal513]

Santa Cruz for me.

I have a Tallboy Carbon and a Bronson AL. Oddly I like the Aluminum Bronson better than my Tallboy.

[Sidewinderpb]

Originally Posted by Signal513

Santa Cruz for me.

I have a Tallboy Carbon and a Bronson AL. Oddly I like the Aluminum Bronson better than my Tallboy.

Loved my old Blur LT

[Signal513]

Originally Posted by Sidewinderpb

Loved my old Blur LT

I understand that. Never had a BLT, but have had a Heckler and Blur in the past. Gotta love these things...

[Fabspeed Motorsport]

Has anyone had seat time on a 27.5+ bike?

[hau_nguyen91]

I ordered a X-Caliber 7 from Trek 2 days ago. Out for delivery tomorrow.

My first REAL mountain bike upgrading from a $300 Wal-mart bike.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bi...p/2040600-2016

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by kprocivic

I love me some giant mountain bikes.

Giant is killing it with their current offerings.

Originally Posted by protecon

Norco!

Or anything invented on the North Shore.

Badass DH bike!

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

No complaints with Intense, Santa Cruz, or Specialized (951, Nomad, and Enduro)

My Evo

Originally Posted by E30toF30

I'm a big fan of Giant for road bike. I find that they offer much better value than specialized or cannondale bikes with the same specs. Not to mention, the propel is one badass looking bike!!

I think some of these manufactures are going to have to wake up and smell what Giant is cooking.

Originally Posted by ClawHammer

Always used Specialized for mountain biking. Guy I used to work for bought his own bike company to supply bikes for his cycling team! It was called BMC. Not sure if they're any good as never been into road bikes but the ones I saw did look nice.

CH.

Wife has a BMC road bike.


And i just picked up this one for myself in December.

Originally Posted by originalgoods13

Giant as the component to price ratio is good and you're not paying much for the brand

Only reason i got the BMC over the Giant Advanced was that the BMC frame and geometry is more comfortable for me. I wanted to go with the Giant though. Came with carbon aero wheels and the same components as my BMC but was about $500 less money!

Wife's race bike is a Scott. She loves it.



Edit: almost forgot to go retro on you with my second mtn bike, still have the frame and i'm thinking about bringing it back to life for neighborhood cruising. The Evo is a bit much for just tooling around the hood.

[radiofrequency]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

What's your favorite bicycle manufacturer?
Need a bike and wanted ideas. Road, mountain don't care.

Mine is AustroDaimler, sadly no longer made.

Get what fits you, set a price point/budget and go from there. There are plenty of really sexy looking bikes out there, but many are low quality, sexed up with a nice paint job and lower end components. Fit is a huge, huge deal and you should pay close attention to it, 15 or 20 miles into a ride it will become an issue and a shitty fit will make you hate the bike, eventually. I live in a cycling town and have access to a great fitter with the latest technology, and a team physician for a premier Tour team. I have been riding for 30+ years and if I added up all the cash wasted on poor fitting bikes, I could have an even larger stable of bikes that I know have. You will be pleasantly surprised should you look at bikes manufactured in the USA, Moots is arguably the best titanium bike manufacturer in the world today, I own the Vamoots RSL and it was built to specs provided to Moots by my fitter, the ride and quality are unbelievably good. Don't cheap out on wheels either, there are several USA wheel manufacturers with outstanding world class products - Zipp and Enve, a quality wheel set makes all of the difference. If you are thinking Mountain, then I can heartily recommend Turner, another first class USA builder - his bikes are bullet proof and will allow you to ride far above your skill level. Last piece of advice, take your time and work with a reputable local bike builder/assembler in your area, build a relationship and your builder will be devoted to keeping your bike performing @ 100% att a reasonable price. PS: I have ride and own everything discussed here.

[overcoil]

Originally Posted by radiofrequency

Get what fits you, set a price point/budget and go from there. There are plenty of really sexy looking bikes out there, but many are low quality, sexed up with a nice paint job and lower end components. Fit is a huge, huge deal and you should pay close attention to it, 15 or 20 miles into a ride it will become an issue and a shitty fit will make you hate the bike, eventually. I live in a cycling town and have access to a great fitter with the latest technology, and a team physician for a premier Tour team. I have been riding for 30+ years and if I added up all the cash wasted on poor fitting bikes, I could have an even larger stable of bikes that I know have. You will be pleasantly surprised should you look at bikes manufactured in the USA, Moots is arguably the best titanium bike manufacturer in the world today, I own the Vamoots RSL and it was built to specs provided to Moots by my fitter, the ride and quality are unbelievably good. Don't cheap out on wheels either, there are several USA wheel manufacturers with outstanding world class products - Zipp and Enve, a quality wheel set makes all of the difference. If you are thinking Mountain, then I can heartily recommend Turner, another first class USA builder - his bikes are bullet proof and will allow you to ride far above your skill level. Last piece of advice, take your time and work with a reputable local bike builder/assembler in your area, build a relationship and your builder will be devoted to keeping your bike performing @ 100% att a reasonable price. PS: I have ride and own everything discussed here.

I used to be big in to road riding years ago. Recently hurt my knee and thought riding would help me lose 20 pounds to get down below 160. Well, I switched to Skecher running shoes, no knee problems and hit my targeted weight.
However, during last storm after seven hours of shoveling snow over three days, gave my self a prolapsed roid. No bike seats for my future.

[radiofrequency]

Sorry to hear about that, snow shoveling is harder than it looks! Recently hired 4 guys to shovel my roof, took them 5 hours, they were hacking at the ice with axes eventually. My brother and I cleared snow for three hours on Xmas Eve last year, it beats you up for sure. Hope that you can get on the bike again soon!

[Em135eye]

I utterly hate the marketing ploy that is the "new" MTB wheel sizes. It's stopped me buying Specialized again.

Mine is a 26" wheeled Cotic Soul; high end steel
with X0/XTR and high end components. I've stockpiled replacement parts as they are becoming scarce.

[radiofrequency]

Quote from Em135eye: I utterly hate the marketing ploy that is the "new" MTB wheel sizes. It's stopped me buying Specialized again.

Mine is a 26" wheeled Cotic Soul; high end steel
with X0/XTR and high end components. I've stockpiled replacement parts as they are becoming scarce.

My response: Agreed, not sure what the big deal is with the 29'r, but it's incredible how the marketing machine has driven this change. IMHO, a far greater advance is the 2X10 gearing for MTB's. Also, if you are into snow biking, Borealis is a Colorado based company building a snow bike with geometry good for the summer too - radical thinking!

[KingOfJericho]

I have a 2011 Trek Madone 4.7 which I love. I also had a Trek X-Cal of the same year that I literally rode one time and sold. Not really sure why I bought that one...

I also haven't been on any bike since we had kids. I might put the road bike on craigslist as well and just buy a Peloton.

[Beartato]

I have a Giant Yukon XC. It's been good for me.

[TheYoungConnoisseur]

Used to race a cannon dale scalpel carbon black Inc

[Signal513]

Originally Posted by Fabspeed Motorsport

Has anyone had seat time on a 27.5+ bike?

I am a little late to this response, but I've had a lot of seat time on my santa cruz Bronson. Its a 27.5. comparing it to my 29er tallboy, I actually prefer it much much more. I suppose it just suits my riding style and I find it to be a little snappier.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

The BMW bikes were cool, I'm under the impression that car manufacturer bikes are priced at a premium, but not really knowledgeable enough about components to know.

I dunno. BMW bikes of late don't handle like they used to. I'm not sure why. Maybe its the numb steering. wink.

[flyingfortress]

I have a Felt F65x for Cross and a Felt Q520 for the trails. I love Felt bikes, but Giant really is the way to go.

I have heard from multiple dealers that Giant actually makes the frames for virtually every bike manufacturer out there... so since they make their own as well, they can sell them with better components than the others at the same price point.