Mt. Bikes

[Jamieb]

I hunt gated roads on foot a lot so I've been thinking about getting a Mt. bike.
I don't know much about mountain bikes.
I'm looking to ride of logging roads, some spots with large rocks. I've ridden a bike on large crushed rock and it sucked but the bike didn't have any suspension.
How do I learn about Mt. bikes?  I haven't found anything through goggle that helped.
I don't have a clue as to what a good bike for this is going to cost so I haven't set a spending limit yet.
Any addvise?

Thanks Jamie

[JBar]

Go to your local bike shops and ask questions, tell them what you're doing with it and your expereicne level. Don't just go to one but visit as many as you can. There is also a thread on here about this same subject that has alot of research done already. I'm currently in the market also for the same purpose and am finding the "Pro shops" very helpful. Good luck!

[JBar]

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,22681.msg261024.html#msg261024
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,7197.msg550646.html#msg550646

[MikeWalking]

Shoulda called me before I blew out my back and drifted away from it all..  

Are you looking to add racks? Bikes with rear suspension aren't so fond of that  A trailer? If so go for an axle level hitch.

[Sportfury]

Jamieb,

If you have a Costco membership they have mountain bikes for $299. They come with an aluminum frame (nice and light), front suspension, hard tail (no rear suspension), Shimano disc brakes, and Shimano shifters. It seemed like a pretty decent bike for the money. The disc brakes worked great. I really wanted to go for a good ride, but there was a bazillion people in the store. Would have been fun though. Maybe a new event for mountain biking - The Costco Dash, Dive, Jump and Crash.

As for hardtail bikes I never have liked ones with the rear suspension and am willing to take some glute abuse which always seems minimal. For your best bet, like it was said before, is to find a few good bike shops and talk with the guys there. I bought my first mountain bike that way, a Giant, and the guys set me up with a frame that fit me (it did cost me a little more). Good luck.

[Jamieb]

I do have a Costco card. Everything I've ever bought from Costco has been pretty good, tents,coolers,a computer,etc.
For $299. I might just buy one, ride it scouting this summer, and decide if I need to upgrade before fall.

[Sportfury]

Jamieb did you go and check out any of the bikes at Costco? I think tomorrow I might drop some dough on one myself.  I will let you know if I get it.

[TONTO]

  Don't skimp on wheels, make sure you get a double walled wheel. Logging roads can be hell on cheaper single walled wheels especialy if you are packing extra wieght with you. If the bike has caliper brakes then bent wheels are no fun, your then stuck with either extra drag from the brake rubbing or having to disconect the brakes which makes a downhill grade a bit more exciting, but not much fun either.

[Jamieb]

Jamieb did you go and check out any of the bikes at Costco? I think tomorrow I might drop some dough on one myself.  I will let you know if I get it.

No I haven't went yet. I was planning on it last weekend but got suckered helping clear some brush up the East Hoquim.
I'm going to stop at a bike shop tomorrow. I seen one in Puyallup on the way home from work today, going to try and get educated.

[Galpster]

My best advise.

1- go to the pro shops and get sized
2- go to several pawn shops in the area
3- haggle the price down and end up having a $1000+ mt bike for $250
4- bring said bike to pro shop and have them tne it for you

I have a Gary Fisher MT TAM 29er that I got for $250 at a pawn shop 5 years ago, after the $80 dollar tune up fee which consisted of a new chain, clean and lube, wheel true and new tubes, I have a great bike.

Then go to yard sales or craigs list and buy a kid stroller that attaches to your frame, rip everything off the frame and build a platform to bring out your game. I will update with finished picks. Just got my game cart done and cost me about $80. $50 for the kid stroller and $30 for misc parts.

Mt Biking is the only way to hunt the west side IMO. Lots of gated roads that you can get way back into really fast on a MT Bike and game cart.

[Jamieb]

After checking out a couple of bike shops, I knew what I was looking for and figured I could find it for under $500. new.
I went a little over the $500. by the time I added a rear rack and paid tax but I bought a Norco. I spent more time researching this bike and components than any truck I've ever bought. I took it out for a ride/scouting trip today and I'm happy with everything other than the seat, my azz hurts.
I seen 16 deer this morning and a lot of country that I'd never get back to on foot, other then the rain a pretty good day.

All the deer were to far away for my little point and shoot camera, the distance and the rain made all the pictures look like this.

[Forrestrover]

That's why I always wear padded bike shorts when I ride my mt. bike. I wear them under my regular shorts or pants.

[CastleRocker]

I got a good mtn. bike a couple years ago, and I love it.  I did however have to go with a much smaller frame that what all the bike shops reccomended.  I have a long seat post extension, and a really high steering stem extension. 

When I'm hunting, I'm either pulling a trailer, or carrying a large backpack.  The backpack is the entire reason for wanting a lower top tube.  I wanted a girl's frame bike, but the one I got is good enough.  I can come off the bike forward and land on my feet with a lot of weight in my pack and still walk and talk if you know what I mean.  One salesman just couldn't understand why someone that should be riding a 23" frame would want an 18" one.  He never did get it.  I didn't buy my bike there.

Biking in is the way to go!  Just make sure if you build a trailer for hunting, that you have HYDRAULIC disk brakes on both bike and (especially) trailer.  It's a long painful story.  Just take my word for it.

[Jamieb]

The salesman at the shop I bought the bike from had me straddling the bike flat footed, he said you should have about 3" of air between the bar and your crotch. Sounded good to me.

[wapiti hunter2]

Replace the seat with the nice big fat ones that they sell in the bike shops for about $30.  You will never regret it.  you will also want a fender for the front. Check out the KolpinŽ Rhino Rack or Handlebar Gun Mounts at Cabela's.  I have them and they work very well.
 

nice bike BTW