The year 2011 is going to be a good one for mountain bikes. Here’s what I envision as the best deals of the year – bikes that won’t break your budget, but will keep you stoked on their performance.
Santa Cruz Superlight
Mountain Bike Monday – Testing the Pivot Mach 4
Welcome to Wandering Justin’s ongoing Mountain Bike Monday feature! That’s where I throw down some mountain bike advice, from gear to riding technique. Check out this review … just one thing: I realize some things about my review could be taken out of context. Be cool and don’t do that – if you want to use this review on your own site, use all or nothing. No cherry-picking!
I recently had a chance to test-ride a Pivot Mach 4 XT, which occupies a different address on Planet of the Mountain Bikes than the value-packed Santa Cruz Superlight (a bike I consider the Subaru STI of mountain bikes – huge performance for the money). The Mach 4 is nearly double the price at $4,300, though the same frame with lower-end components goes for about $3,600. In either case, it’s a big step up in price from the Superlight.
My goal was to find out if the Pivot is really worth that extra ding in the bank account. I got a bit more than an hour over the rougher parts of the Desert Classic Trail in Phoenix, Ariz., to find out.
First off, why is it so much more? Pivot uses a rather complicated rear suspension system called the DW Link. Pivot takes it to the nth degree, using CNC machines to carve hunks of aluminum into the right shape. The DW Link’s goal is to prevent you from losing power through pedaling. The long-time goal of rear suspension designers has been to create a design [...]
2 Bikes for My Next Epic Ride – Which to Choose?
I have a little problem here. My Gary Fisher Cake 2 DLX and I have never gotten along. And I’m about to get back into long-distance mountain biking again, since I’ve been roped into joining the duo team “Lost Nuts” in the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo.
The Gary Fisher has just never fit me well. It’s always been a bit too long in the travel department for me, and I’ve just never felt comfortable on it. So I think it’s finally, really, truly New Bike Time for me. I’m an Arizona rider, so that means a lot of rocky madness.
Here’s what I’m considering:
1. Curtlo Advanced Mountaineer – A custom-made steel hardtail. Some of you tyros may never have ridden a steel hardtail. You might think I’m crazy. But a quality steel hardtail is light, rugged, low-maintenance and snappy. Take care of it, and it will keep riding after the flavor-of-the-month carbon wonder machine is delaminating in the landfill. Doug Curtiss, according to his site, builds these to suit each individual rider’s body, preferences and riding conditions – making the already-great steel hardtail even better with attention to detail.
2. Santa Cruz Superlight – A simple, rugged full suspension bike. It’s a proven winner – I’ve owned two bikes from Santa Cruz, and both delighted me with super fit and killer ride quality. They’re also reasonably price and handle snappy as all get-out. You can spend a lot more money on a full-suspension bike – but you can’t get all that much better.
I’m leaning toward [...]
