Cheap Downhil bikes?

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groundcontrol

Squid
Hi guys,

Just wondering what are one of the cheap downhill bikes you could get? Are there any? Because I see a lot of dh bikes going for $3000. Could you guys please suggest a bike? I am thinking about taking up on this sport, but I don't know what bike to choose. My price range is about $1000 to $1500.

Thanks for the help.
 
dh damo

dh damo

Likes Dirt
Save up more, or buy a second hand DH bike. For around $1500 you could buy a ht norco DH bike and you can still learn how to ride DH on it easy.
 
mhuth1

mhuth1

Likes Dirt
if you buy second hand you would get a better bike for cheaper, you could pick up a second hand atomic 06/07 for about $1500
 
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groundcontrol

Squid
Wow! Thanks for all the prompt replies guys. I should of stated this before, but yes I want to buy a 2nd hand bike. However, are there bran new dh bikes out there that are priced at $1500? If so, I would prefer to buy a new bike. I'll check out the bikes that you guys have just mentioned. Also dh bikes, I know that this is a bit of a newbie question, but it is duel suspension yeah? Does that also mean that its harder to maintain and more expensive to service? And does a dh bike have gears?

Thanks again guys! This forum is great!:D
 
mrduke

mrduke

Likes Dirt
They are good bikes for any rider,let alone a newbie. You shouldn't have problems with them. The only thing you have to be aware of would be the frame size. Small frames tend to be just that,small. Unless your really short you should probably go for something that is at least a medium. If your frame is to small it will feel like your leaning over the bars all the time,not confidence inspiring when your pointing down a steep hill. Good luck gettin a bike,ya won't regret gettin into dh. Just remember to pad up well. Cheers mate..
 
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alexdh

Squid
groundcontrol said:
Wow! Thanks for all the prompt replies guys. I should of stated this before, but yes I want to buy a 2nd hand bike. However, are there bran new dh bikes out there that are priced at $1500? If so, I would prefer to buy a new bike. I'll check out the bikes that you guys have just mentioned. Also dh bikes, I know that this is a bit of a newbie question, but it is duel suspension yeah? Does that also mean that its harder to maintain and more expensive to service? And does a dh bike have gears?

Thanks again guys! This forum is great!:D
Click to expand...
yes they have gears (not as many as say a cross country bike) and they are duel suspension
 
M

michael87

Squid
I ride a 08 STP Pro which is a ht, it has some nice components on it which i will eventually swap onto a dh frame when I find one i like.

If you decide to get a ht make sure you get a decent set of shocks.

But there's no point spending over $2k on a new bike if you don't know if your going to enjoy it.

Don't forget safety gear, I found that it would be a good idea to get a full face helmet and gloves after 2 rides
 
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groundcontrol

Squid
Interesting guys. Thanks again for the reply. Hrms, I guess I'll shop around, but I do have an interest on those tow bikes before. Thank-you also for the safety tips about padding up. I'll also take a look into that further. Any other suggestions?

So does that mean I can just get any hardtail and go down hil with it? Just clearing it up thats all.
 
Steepy

Steepy

Likes Dirt
It sounds like you really are pretty new to the sport. Will it be your first MTB?

If so i wouldn't really recommend getting a full on DH rig as your first bike as you're going to be really limited in the amount of riding you'll be able to do unless you've people you can do shuttles with or like pushing your bike up hills.

For your first bike I reckon you'd be heaps better off getting a hardcore hardtail (Norco, STP etc) that you can do a bit more general riding on and improve your skills on before you get a DH bike or you'll just end up getting jack of it all because it'll be too big and heavy for day to day riding.
 
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groundcontrol

Squid
Your right. This will be my very first bike . What do you mean by "hardcore hardtail?" I don't want to jump into things. I want to find out as much information as I can first before I go ahead and purchase something. But yeah, Can you suggest other hardcore hardails? Any by avanti? Or other brands?
 
Pebble

Pebble

Likes Bikes and Dirt
An example would be Norco Rampage - that's their top of the range. The Norco Sasquatch is the same thing just cheaper components on it and more affordable.
They have long travel forks and better geometry for downhill than your regular cross country type hardtail.

http://www.norco.com/bikes/mountain/freeride-ht/sasquatch/

Some people also start out on bikes such as the Giant STP, they put a slightly longer fork on it (Rock Shox Pike 140mm) which makes it better for downhill, but the STP isn't designed to have as much travel up front as the Norco because it's predominantly meant to be a Dirt Jumping bike, bikes like that can be a good option if you're into a variety of riding rather than more into one type than the other. Do a search on "do it all hardtail" or "do it all HT" and some interesting reading should come up.

Technically you could take any bike and ride it down the hill, but it wouldn't necessarily be safe!

Banshee Morphine is another good example of a hardcore hardtail!
 
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blakemuller

Likes Bikes
I'd have to say, being your first bike, go with a hardtail. I learnt on a hardtail and am grateful for it. I've heard people say it makes you a better rider, (especially off drops, rock gardens) you can't really afford to be lazy. But the biggest upside is the price, alot cheaper to buy and maintain
 
SideFX

SideFX

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Dont go with a hard tail , they suck ! The hole idea of having a rear shock is to enable your bike to maintain traction . DS , also allows you to have more control over the bike in ruff conditions and is far more enjoyable to ride ! . Save $2000 and buy one of the newer Giant dh bikes . Glory 8 or what ever it is .
 
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B.J

Likes Dirt
I agree with don't go with the hardtail first off, yeah there much lighter & cheaper but if you want to get into dh freeride you should bye a duel suspenion you will never look back you can do so much more with a duelie.
I'm sure you have riden bmx or some type of bike befour & you have the basic skills of jumping & what ever.
Hey each for there own, just don't rush into bying anything bye some mags look through there specs on bikes keep looking through the forum heaps of wicked bikes in the complete bike section, also if you like a bike look up the manufacture specs on sizing as most bike sizes do differ a bit on sizes.
The dh comps are a good bike but there alot of sweet rides out there some are santa cruz,iron horse ,specialized, gaints just to name a few,when bying make sure they have had regular services, most people in the sport have there bikes services but hey you just don't know.

good luck champ.
 
Nick Taylor

Nick Taylor

Likes Bikes
I started on a 2nd hand Norco Rampage and that was good for a while and to learn on,but matured to a Felt DH D8.5 big jump in bike and components and ability to everything I wanted. You can get some others in between like a 2nd hand Kona stinky or Stab ( bit more exy) or Norco Atomic. Or 2nd hand Specialized Big Hit.


And a descent full face helmet.

For starters! Hope it helps.
 
flamshmizer

flamshmizer

Likes Dirt
personally, i've only just started and starting on a HT is a good idea, because no doubt the first few times you bomb down a trail you're gonna be heavy on the brakes in any case, so a 3000 dollar bike is gonna go the same speed. once you pick the sport up a bit more, try some mates duallies (if they have some) and you can decide what you want from there. but if you don't like the sport its so much easier to do stuff with the hardtail than the duallie.

also, loads and loads of people will tell you its better to ride a HT first so you become "smooth" as your legs tend to absorb shocks and you learn to pump more with the bumps and stuff, which is fine if you want to race and be heaps fast, but if your happy just farkin around as a weekend warrior than a duallie is such a hoot, so much more controllable.
 
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michael87

Squid
Pebble said:
An example would be Norco Rampage - that's their top of the range. The Norco Sasquatch is the same thing just cheaper components on it and more affordable.
They have long travel forks and better geometry for downhill than your regular cross country type hardtail.

http://www.norco.com/bikes/mountain/freeride-ht/sasquatch/

Some people also start out on bikes such as the Giant STP, they put a slightly longer fork on it (Rock Shox Pike 140mm) which makes it better for downhill, but the STP isn't designed to have as much travel up front as the Norco because it's predominantly meant to be a Dirt Jumping bike, bikes like that can be a good option if you're into a variety of riding rather than more into one type than the other. Do a search on "do it all hardtail" or "do it all HT" and some interesting reading should come up.

Technically you could take any bike and ride it down the hill, but it wouldn't necessarily be safe!

Banshee Morphine is another good example of a hardcore hardtail!
Click to expand...
My 08 STP Pro came with Rock Shox Pike 454's which go to 140mm. I don't think giant would put a set of forks on the bike that would void warranty or the bike design wont handle them.

I bought a ht because I like riding street, dirt aswell as downhill. My previous bike was a duely and a found it a pain to ride unless it was going downhill, all your energy goes into the shocks going up and down.

I'm not knocking duel suspension bikes at all, I'm thinking of keeping the STP and build/buy myself a new duely in the future.

As pebble said you can ride anything downhill (maybe not a road bike though) but you feel alot safer on a duely.
 
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