Need recommendation for mountain bike

I think you should go for a fixed gear bike and try to fit in with the cool kids.

 

Is the REI Novara brand garbage? Or can it be a decent beginner bike?

 

I visited an old professor at my alma mater recently and noticed this trend. The majority of kids rode affordable MTBs - especially those in engineering, some in the business school rode high-end hybrid and road bikes, and then 'artsy-looking' (sorry to stereotype) people filled out the rest:

-Many of them had moustaches and full beards!
-Short t-shirts that exposed their midriff and lower back (male and female)
-They wore hats, the military kind (Castro hat)
-Ray Ban Wayfarer-looking glasses
-Colorful wheels, pink and neon
-Tattoos everywhere
-Messenger bags

This wasn't just one or two individuals, but scores of them. In certain parts of the campus like the Art School, they were the majority so being anti-Establishment meant not looking like the above lol.

 

Hey...a bike thread! How did I miss this??? Allow me to ramble...

Full suspension bikes sap your power on pavement, especially up hills. Front suspension is necessary for any decent off road. If you're going to only road ride -- buy a road bike. (in Houston? Yikes!).

IMO if you're going hardcore enough to need full suspension -- your budget is too low -- and you'd be crazy to spend more if you're just thinking of taking up riding. Lots of people like full suspension -- but you don't *need* it for the level of riding you'll be doing -- and IMO, at that price range, it just adds weight and cheap(er) components and limits the versatility of the bike. Just my opinion -- lots of people disagree. I like an 'all around' bike that I can use in most conditions. Full suspension makes it harder to add panniers and racks -- if you want that option.

My bike's a Rocky Mountain that I bought about 10 yrs ago. Very light, hard tail, front suspension. I've used it as a commuter, on a back country 2 week single track trip, a ride down the Pacific Coast highway from Vancouver to California, a few other small bike trips, the bike trails of Whistler and the North Shore mountains of Vancouver, and to tow a kid trailer and tag-a-long bike. The only thing I can't do on this bike is the hardcore trials, ramps and jumps -- the kind the kids do these days with full body armor and bodies that heal a lot faster than mine would. If the hardcore's what you're looking at -- then buy a used bike and then upgrade when you find your preference and get to know that crowd and are ready to truly burn up the VISA.

At $500+ you're beyond the big box store stage. Go to a local, independent bike shop and talk to them. Gear heads love to talk bikes. They should let you take one out for ride. And find one that fits you. Go light. As light as you can afford...

And as an exception to the big box rule -- I've heard the REI's are pretty good basic bikes. (the risk at the other big chains -- other then their staffs lack of passion and knowledge about bikes, is that they often stock heavy 'look good with lots of options' bikes that appeal to a checklist shopper -- but really aren't that good).

Enjoy!!!

 

one last comment on bikes -- and another endorsement for the independent small bike shop. Bike frame geometry is not constant. A knowledgeable bike shop can help match you to a bike that fits your body. A national chain, or a mail order outfit usually can't do this -- their staff doesn't have the knowledge or interest, and they don't have the range of stock.

and finally....don't overthink this. In the words of NIKE -- just take your talents to South Beach....I mean....just do it! You can't really go too far wrong.