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Mountain
Bikes
INsider’s Top Picks
David M.
Glines
Whether on campus or on the trail, these bikes will carry you with minimal
problems and in most cases, ensure you a pleasant, problem free ride. But remember, these are mountain bikes, made for the
trail. As much as it is glamorous to ride your $2000 purchase on the way to class, most campuses do not require 10 miles of
weaving through crowded pines to get to class. If you are not going to ride on the trail, where these bikes are made to perform,
stick to a road bike.
No matter what type of bike you’re thinking to
buy, before you make that bike purchase, make sure you examine frame composition, components and most importantly, test the
bike yourself.
The bikes examined here are near the high end models for each
manufacturer, and most are race capable with minor tweeks. Here are a few important facts to remember when considering mountain
bikes:
Frame Composition
Titanium: These high
priced frames are the best in the market, but you’ll pay for it. Prices can soar up to $2500. But if you are a serious
rider and have the bucks, it’s worth the money.
Carbon-fiber: Carbon
fiber is extremely light and made with some of the most state of the art material. (NASA uses some of the materials for their
space projects.) A main attribute of carbon-fiber is that it is tough. It can take a beating, and still stay strong.
Aluminum: These frames, while once extremely expensive, are becoming cheaper every year.
Cannondale uses aluminum for all of its frames. It will allow quick maneuvering on the trail, but is slightly heavier than
carbon-fiber.
Steel: Steel is the most common frame material because it’s
relatively inexpensive yet durable. A popular feature today is the double-butted chrome-moly steel. With this, the frame will
be thin in some areas and fatter in others where needed.
Components
Shimano, the most popular component manufacturer has a wide spectrum of product to choose from.
The following chart lists Shimano’s models in descending order.
Suspension
An important fact to remember is that when you buy a bike with shocks, manufacturers
may put worse components on the bike to keep the price down. However, also remember that the price you are paying for a fork
will be much higher when you buy it as an add-on feature to your rigid-fork bike, rather than on the bike itself.
Whether you buy it before or during or after you buy your mountain bike, suspension forks
are key to a smooth ride. It will not only make your ride more enjoyable on a comfort level, but will allow you to ride terrain
that you may normally not have the guts to ride. The more you ride on hard terrain, the more you’ll want soft suspension.
The Testers
Three people tested the following bikes.
Mark Jansen, Cynthia Everhart and myself. Cynthia is an avid mountain bike racer and has been riding four 10 years. Mark and
I are more recreational in our riding, yet ride hard every time we hit the trail. Keep this in mind when looking at the rating
chart.
The Bikes
Diamond Back
WCF 6.0
$1600.00
The
WCF 6.0 is extremely stiff for its carbon-fiber frame. We found that it’s responsive around tight turns, yet does not
feel very solid. The best way to describe it: thin. At $1600 it’s a good buy for serious bikers looking for a light
bike that will react not only to the trail, but what you want to do on the trail.
Cannondale
F700
$1300.00
This bike was the stiffest of the bunch. Cannondale’s non-standard front suspension system not only does an
excellent job of absorbing the small rocks and twigs, but surprisingly dampers large obstacles and falls as well. The F700
is the only aluminum bike reviewed, and left a great impression on all of our testers.
Kona
Explosif
$1650.00
Kona’s Explosif, with a relatively high price tag, rides as if it were a $3000 bike. The unique frame design
positions the rider aggressively. The Explosif is great for long descents as well as tough ascents. The frame design encourages
these aggressive climbs and descents. Kona has created an excellent bike that would be great in a race.
Specialized
Stumpjumper FS
$1000
The Stumpjumper, the grandfather of mountain bikes, has been
around longer than any of them. Through time, perhaps, Specialized has learned how to develop inexpensive bikes that ride
like their expensive counterparts. The Stumpjumper FS is reasonably priced, and packs a punch. The XT and LX components make
for easy handling on the trail. The Stumpjumper is an excellent ride at an excellent price.
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