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I've been shopping around for a full suspension mountain bike for a little while. I used to do a lot of mountain biking in the Southern California mountains, but health issues curtailed that about 10 years ago. I've been itching to start trail riding here around Grapevine, but my old hard-tail bike was too hard on my back to ride anymore. If I am going to get back to regular exercise, biking is a good way to do it, and a full suspension bike will help soak up the beating my old hard-tail gave my back under road and trail bumps.

Anyway, I found a used but very good condition mountain bike and bought it today. It's a 2 year old Giant Trance 1 which was owned by a local bike shop employee, and he has taken very good care of it. Retail price in 2008 for this bike was $3,295. I'm sure they sold for less than that at most shops, but they were still pretty expensive. I got this one for $1,400, so I think I did OK.

Here's a picture of it:


It's got pretty high-end components on it, including hydraulic disc brakes, which is a first for me. Suspension at both ends is from Fox. The front shock has a lockout switch, and the back shock has a pedaling platform switch. Both are air adjustable with 4.2" of travel.

Anyway, I'm pretty jazzed about buying this one. I know that some of you out there are also mountain bikers. What do you ride, and were are some of the better places in and around the DFW area to ride?

Oh my, you just took it to a new level. Some of my favorite things: guns and mountain bikes. That is a sweet man-propelled vehicle. IMHO hydraulic disks are the only way to go. If they're mechanical it sorta defeats the purpose, much more control with the fluid. Here's what I ride around here:

2007 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp


Sorry for the crummy image, had one close up at Huntsville State Park but it's lost somewhere on my computer.

check the dorba website for great places to ride. LB Houston off northwest highway in dallas/Irving is a great place to start as their is no climbing and it is a loop. I ride Knob Hills in Flower Mound as it is closer to me in Denton. Northshore in Grapevine in good and has alot to offer for all skill levels. I ride a Scott Reflex.

http://www.dorba2.com

great site with trail conditions and directions. If it has been awhile you might want to go on one of the beginner rides that they have in the area. They also have several skill clinics all of which are free.

Congrats on the purchase. Have fun and wear a helmet.

I did some shopping last year for a comfort or hybrid bike. I might still opt for a low end comfort.

Bikes should not cost more than my first new car.

Very nice, congratulations.

gantx, for all practical purposes, I'm starting over. I'm old, I'm fat, I'm really out of shape, and I'm kind of crippled lately. I haven't ridden since about 2000.

Back in Cali, I rode a lot, and I lived a 1/4 mile from the Gabrielino Trail trailhead. We used to ride the Mount Wilson tollroad, a fire road with a 4,500 foot elevation gain in 9 miles; and also ride the Gabrielino Trail down from Redbox Station on Mt. Wilson down to the JPL Labs, a distance of 14.5 miles of mostly downhill single track. Then there was the Brown Mountain road up to the El Prieto trail down. And there was another ride which started out at 6,500 feet on the Angeles Crest Highway at Kratka Ridge, up the dirt maintenance access road for the ski lift, and then down through several miles of single track back to the highway. I could go on all day, but the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles are famous for their mountain biking opportunities.

AndyC wrote:My wife bought me a mountain-bike 2 Christmases ago - I, um... ... have yet to ride it

Hey, I'm slim already - I can't afford to lose weight!

Maybe not, but if you want to go easy and not lose any weight, and friend and I are going for a ride in the morning over by the lake. If you're interested, give me a call in the morning, and I'll tell you where we'll be meeting.

I just went out for a short shakedown ride around the neighborhood, just to get the seat height and pitch adjusted. I played around with the suspension lockouts a bit. Several impressions:

1. I'm really out of shape
2. I'm pretty fat
3. I have no aerobic capacity left
4. I can sweat more than any 10 men
5. Oh, and it is a really nice bike to ride
6. Boy am I out of shape...
7. Ppppfffffff..... ....ohhhh...... sigh!

I'm going to try a more local ride through some of the bike trails near my house this evening; and I'm going on a longer ride tomorrow evening with friends, probably over by the lake. Pray for me.

Congrats on your purchase, TAM. I have a Giant road bike which has treated me well. My MTB is one from a store where the CHLers roam.

Maybe I'll drop you a pm some weekend for a ride meet-up. I'm booked pretty solid this weekend.

AndyC wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Maybe not, but if you want to go easy and not lose any weight, and friend and I are going for a ride in the morning over by the lake. If you're interested, give me a call in the morning, and I'll tell you where we'll be meeting.

Ah - thanks for the invite, but my (step) grand-daughter wanted to spend time with me today watching the Lord of the Rings - she turned 13 recently, so her mom will finally allow her to watch it

It's just as well. My friend canceled, so I went for a short huff and puff (described above), and my wife and I are going to go for a ride together this evening after it cools off a little bit.

The Annoyed Man wrote: my wife and I are going to go for a ride together this evening after it cools off a little bit.

You mean an evening in November?

The Annoyed Man wrote:I'm going to try a more local ride through some of the bike trails near my house this evening; and I'm going on a longer ride tomorrow evening with friends, probably over by the lake. Pray for me.

I know it skirts very close to the edge per forum rules, buuuuut... All together now:

"O Lord, we pray that you would enable TAM to keep the big round black things down, and the little round white thing up on his bike ride. We earnestly desire that what is in his head stays there, even if it does cause him to go out in this infernal heat. Amen!"

As necessary, congregational petitions will be offered at the altar tomorrow morning, if this one didn't cover it.