Buying A Mountain Bike http://bikecycles.org/ Buying A Mountain Bike Step one is to determine your budget. There is virtually no limit to how much money you can spend on a new mountain bike. To keep your spending under control, figure out what price range you are willing to pay for your new bicycle and try to only look at bicycles within that price range. Instead of going to Wal-Mart or Costco, support your local bicycle shop and get a better product and much better service. Mountain bikes are designed for several different riding styles and terrain. You will need to figure out what type of riding you will be doing most of the time. Would you rather get into smooth trail riding, cross-country racing, all mountain cruising or lift accessed gravity mayhem? Make sure the bikes you look at fit your riding style and not the sales staff’s. Decide if you need full suspension or hard tail. Hard tails, without rear suspension, are lighter weight and pedal more efficiently but full suspension designs offer more comfort and better control. You will want to decide based on your price range, riding style and terrain. It is nearly impossible to compare mountain bikes component to component. There are simply too many combinations. Find a few components that are most important to you for comparison and make sure the rest fall within some sort of minimums for your price range. Start with the fork and then look at the wheels and rear derailleur. Mountain bike prices can fluctuate significantly during the year. The main buying season is from spring through summer. If you are lucky enough to be able to wait until the right price comes up, usually in the fall and winter, you can save a few hundred dollars. You will also find that a lot of bicycle shops will offer discounts on accessories or other products and services when you buy from them. There is nothing wrong with buying last year’s model if it fits your needs. Finding a good dealer can be more important than getting a good price. Find a dealer that cares more about selling you the right wheels than selling you the more expensive one. A good dealer should have a clean repair shop and you should feel like you can trust them. Test ride as many wheels as you can in your price range and riding style category.
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