New Downhill Bike

[OTHGbronco82]

I'm looking at getting into DH mountain biking and I can't decide between the Nukeproof Scalp and the GT Fury Alloy 3.0. They will both be complete bikes.

Here are the links:

2013 Fury Alloy 3.0 - Gravity Bikes - Mountain Bikes - GT Bicycles

Scalp

Better pics:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/smsimg/...3040_fury3.jpg

http://www.justmountainbikes.co.uk/m...lp_DH_Grey.jpg

I can get them both for about the same. The GT would be a little cheaper. The only real difference I can see between the two is an SRAM X5 on the GT and an X7 on the Nukeproof, and the GT has a fox VAN R shock and the Nukeproof a Rockshox Cage RC. A little help would be much appreciated. I'm not posting the links to where I will buy them in fear of them going out of stock.

[cboggs]

Are you looking to get into racing? The scalp is a nice bike but warranty work is overseas. I would stick with what most of the local guys use as that is usually what works best for the average racer, not what the popular pro is using. Up here in the pnw the bike most raced is the Demo I or II, Transition tr450 would be a close second. There was a scalp in Craigslist a month ago up here that was pretty much brand new decked out with top parts, fox 40 etc. that sold for $1200.

[OTHGbronco82]

I was on craigslist last night and didn't see anything in my price range that would fit me. I need the largest frame possible. Something to handle my 250lbs. 6'3 fat ass. The GT looks like a decent beginner bike for racing and I could order it this week and have it next week. There's a guy on pinkbike with a Yeti 303 that has a Saint group set and Fox suspension for $2400-ish. I might go with that one or the Fury. I'm trying to stick to the bike brands I know, not some small company that I've never heard of.

[Mega Fattie]

Santa cruz, look into them.

[wilbywise]

Coming from a previous Trek tech I would probably look into a larger name brand bike company. I am not praising Trek by any means, they want gold for their bikes in my opinion. The only reason I ride one is because I worked at a Trek dealer store and got one through the Employee Purchase Program (2013 Trek Slash 7). I am also looking into getting another big bike, my last rig was a fully modded Kona Coiler Deluxe that was a hell of a bang for the buck. I have found that most name brand companies are pricey compared to the smaller guys, but much less hassle when dealing with customer care when something goes south! Check out craigslist of course, and other forums like pinkbike & ridemonkey. Hope this is somewhat helpful, hope u find a great ride!

[OTHGbronco82]

Originally Posted by Mega Fattie

Santa cruz, look into them.

I have. To expensive for my budget of $2400.

Originally Posted by wilbywise

Coming from a previous Trek tech I would probably look into a larger name brand bike company. I am not praising Trek by any means, they want gold for their bikes in my opinion. The only reason I ride one is because I worked at a Trek dealer store and got one through the Employee Purchase Program (2013 Trek Slash 7). I am also looking into getting another big bike, my last rig was a fully modded Kona Coiler Deluxe that was a hell of a bang for the buck. I have found that most name brand companies are pricey compared to the smaller guys, but much less hassle when dealing with customer care when something goes south! Check out craigslist of course, and other forums like pinkbike & ridemonkey. Hope this is somewhat helpful, hope u find a great ride!

I don't want to go too large of a name brand company, but not a super small company either. If I had some more money I would have a ton more options.

[wilbywise]

I would highly recommend looking at Giant, Kona, and maybe an older Specialized since your on a budget... You can't go wrong with any of these three, I know its tough to spend that much coin on a bike too!

[Deerhurst]

Im not sure about GT anymore. Last I heard they were Pacific Cycles.

Check out PinkBike. Also, see what you can find for Devinci. I love my Hectik but parts can be a hassle. Took me 3 months to get pivot bearings to replace the bushings.

Cant go wrong with a Specialized Demo!

[OTHGbronco82]

I would love to have a Specialized Demo but that's not going to happen right now. I found a 2011 Yeti 303 RDH on pinkbike with a full Saint group set and Fox 40 fork and DHX RC4 shock for $2300. Just need to pay the guy and he'll ship it out. The suspension's just been rebuilt and the reviews online are really good. If it falls through I'll just wait and save up some more money or get a Baja 5sc.

[wilbywise]

You know the Status starts out at like mid 2k new.. Lil brother to the Demo, Ive seen 11/12 Demo's going for less than 2k on pinkbike!

[cboggs]

Originally Posted by wilbywise

You know the Status starts out at like mid 2k new.. Lil brother to the Demo, Ive seen 11/12 Demo's going for less than 2k on pinkbike!

The Specialized Status is a killer bike for the money, not as good as the Demo but still a very good handling bike. It kinda falls inbetween a full race bike (Demo) and a freeride bike but more towards the racing side. The Yeti sounds like a good deal, just need to keep the rails lubed on it and should do you well.

[OTHGbronco82]

Yeah, I was looking at the Status but it was still slightly out of my price range by a couple hundred dollars. I've seen tons of Demo's on pinkbike but not many in my price range were large frames. Most were mediums.

[Mega Fattie]

On-one bikes

[Blades]

I rode a Brodie demon for a few years, then decided to pedal a little and got a Iron Horse 7 point 7 Before they when under. Not important but anyways. I say go with what you like and can afford. Just make sure what ever you choose you can get parts for easily if something were to go wrong. Kona, transition, specialized are all great companies and I have a mechanic buddy who loves his transitions!!

[xgerstandtx]

Steer far away from GT. Pacific cycles which is heavily distributed through any of your tar-marts.

Nukeproof is a sharp bike, had my hands on it at Interbike.

With your budget I would strongly suggest that you check in with your local bike shop. It is model year change and some(all) brands are excited to get rid of some things. You may also come into a deal that the shop may know of.

Basically what I would stress is to Shop local. There is a shop in your area that works hard to keep cyclists on the road and riding. Support them and you never know you may find some new friends to ride with.

[OTHGbronco82]

The local bike shop doesn't have DH bikes. They're more of a trail bike/road bike store. Plus they're really small. There's only 2 guys running it. That's the bad thing about Walnut, no decent sized bike shops that are close.

[xgerstandtx]

You may be impressed if you stop in and see them. My shop is a 2-4 person shop and jumps through hoops for anyone, especially someone getting ready to drop 2400$

[OTHGbronco82]

I have a Yeti 303 RDH and a Giant Glory lined up to buy. The Yeti has a little better parts spec, but the Giant is newer and cheaper. Plus the local bike shop can get parts for it since they're mainly a Giant dealer.