mondeo
New member
Familiar with road bikes, but no real clue with MTBs. I know decent HTs (in general) start around $600, figure I'd go with $800-1000 for a first bike so I don't feel the need to move up all that quickly. Worked with my road bike - got a higher end aluminum bike and feel no need to go higher. But there's also probably a much larger difference between a high end hard tail and a lower end FS than a high end aluminum road bike and a low end carbon road bike.
So...
Component levels: what's minimum, and where will I stop noticing a difference if I go any higher?
Even if I get a high end HT, will it make me want to move to FS any later? Or am I still going to be buying a FS in a year or two?
How do LBS test rides go for MTBs? Pretty easy with road bikes, just a ride around the block. But MTBs aren't for riding around the block...
For anyone that is a roadie as well, do bike companies carry a similar feel across their product lineups? I know ski companies tend to do this - Heads and Volkls tend to be stiff, Dynastars soft, etc. Is someone who likes Jamis road bikes likely to like Jamis MTBs?
So...
Component levels: what's minimum, and where will I stop noticing a difference if I go any higher?
Even if I get a high end HT, will it make me want to move to FS any later? Or am I still going to be buying a FS in a year or two?
How do LBS test rides go for MTBs? Pretty easy with road bikes, just a ride around the block. But MTBs aren't for riding around the block...
For anyone that is a roadie as well, do bike companies carry a similar feel across their product lineups? I know ski companies tend to do this - Heads and Volkls tend to be stiff, Dynastars soft, etc. Is someone who likes Jamis road bikes likely to like Jamis MTBs?