First (real) bike recommendations

Ok so I've owned several bikes over the years (what I sad childhood that would've been without bikes) anyways I've been kicking around the idea of getting myself a "real" bike recently.

But I have no clue where to start. I know I don't want a road bike. I live in a rural town in central OK, there's as much gravel as blacktop.

So I'm thinkin mountain bike maybe. I have no idea what brands too look at or anything.

The most "top of the line" bikes I've ever owned was a Diamondback BMX, which was the cream of the crop amongst my friends mongooses, etc.

But I also don't want to spend a ton on a bike, so what do you guys think? A nice mountain bike in the $200-$300 range

You may want to spend a bit more than that on a mountain bike if you want the components to last.

Giant is a brand worth looking at, and are regarded as usually being good bang for your buck.

I don't know about down there, but shopping up here around the 300$ range gets a pretty decent bike. I have a less than 200$ Huffy which has served me very well for four years now. A couple weeks ago I bout new tread but only because I wanted something more suited to trails, and that's the only real work I've done to it. Be good to your stuff and it'll be good to you.

Most decent ones around here start at $400. But you can get some nice ones for $400. Check out the Trek bikes.

What do you want to use it for? Commuting? Hills? Jumps? General getting around town?

Depends what you're going to be using it for, if you're not going 'proper' mountain biking and just gravel tracks, road amd pottering about then maybe a hybrid. A mountain bike will do at that price range for that also, just easier on a hybrid, thinner tyres and possibly bigger wheels. If you're wanting to go 'proper mountain biking then I'd suggest spending more, cheap forks just do not work, they are there for the looks more than anything. Being in the UK and working in a shop for almost 10 years I'd say it would be £600 upwards but I do not know the costs over there. Basically anything with Rock Shox forks and over here we only get them on £600 plus bikes.

I could help you with bmx, mtb is ignorance to me. Just find a good mtb forum, there will be people selling used gear for decent deals, after you spend some time on there, and we who posts and such, you'll know if they're trusty to buy from. Craig's list can be ok if you know what you want and even better when they don't know what they have.

SeabeeRob213 said:

I could help you with bmx, mtb is ignorance to me. Just find a good mtb forum, there will be people selling used gear for decent deals, after you spend some time on there, and we who posts and such, you'll know if they're trusty to buy from. Craig's list can be ok if you know what you want and even better when they don't know what they have.

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Out of interest, do you ride street or race?

Street, park. Not the greatest, but I have fun.

Go West Young Man said:

What do you want to use it for? Commuting? Hills? Jumps? General getting around town?

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Just getting around town, perhaps commuting, but I have to be put the door at 4:30 am and I'm not sure how I feel about riding on the highway in the dark. Might go in a few leisurely rides with my family

SeabeeRob213 said:

Street, park. Not the greatest, but I have fun.

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sound, same for me, although I don't get out much anymore. Just street for myself.

SlyMoose said:

Just getting around town, perhaps commuting, but I have to be put the door at 4:30 am and I'm not sure how I feel about riding on the highway in the dark. Might go in a few leisurely rides with my family

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maybe consider a hybrid then, 700cc wheels for less drag and easier to get up to speed, a mountain bike will be harder to get going. If I ride to work on my mtb rather than a road bike it takes about 15 mins longer as its more difficult to get through traffic but I do have massive bars.

SlyMoose said:

Just getting around town, perhaps commuting, but I have to be put the door at 4:30 am and I'm not sure how I feel about riding on the highway in the dark. Might go in a few leisurely rides with my family

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Definitely look at a commuter or hybrid in that case - a mountain bike is overkill and won't be very comfortable for longer rides.
I like Marin Bikes, you can get into a basic commuter model for about $400, but they have lots of end-of-season sales and you can often find better prices online. I have the Larkspur CS2 for exactly the same use case as yours, but I got it significantly cheaper because they have an outlet store in SF.
http://www.marinbikes.com/us/bikes/family/larkspur

Used trek mountain bike, almost all bikes now a days can be fitted to what you want, partial shocks to full, handle bars, tires can be combo street offroad. so pick one that you like.

If you want to stick to pedal-power, mountainbike for the all-terrain capability. Depending on the laws in your area for adding a motor to it, and if you're willing to put forth the effort and bucks to add a motor to the bike, look over here for advice, but in that case, a good steel-frame bike is recommended so as to be able to stand up to the vibrations from the motor. http://motorbicycling.com/

shave/brush said:

Most decent ones around here start at $400. But you can get some nice ones for $400. Check out the Trek bikes.

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Trek bikes are a good deal. Quality at a reasonable price.

SlyMoose said:

A nice mountain bike in the $200-$300 range

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Sorry, but that ain't happening. You can maybe get a decent used bike for that little money. A decent new mountain bike with good components will easily cost you over $1,000 dollars.

If you want a decent and inexpensive MT bike, look at the Specialized Rockhopper. A bare bones model will run you $700 and up. I really can't recommend anything under that level, because in the long run it will cost you more due to having to replace and repair subpar components. A few friends have Rockhoppers and those are definitely good bikes. Buy once, cry once!

Oh yeah, a mountain bike is fine for riding on streets, but you should put street tires on it. You don't want to drone down the street on knobby offroad tires. Specialized has excellent street and hybrid tires. The model Compound Control is very good. The Schwalbe Marathon is also a very good tire for road use.

You could get a decent hardtail Trek for that much money. You get what you pay for though. The more you spend, the higher quality components you will get.

A hybrid or commuter does sound like a good fit for you. I very much suggest you go to a bike shop and discuss it with the people there. They can help you choose a good bike, and fit it to you correctly. A good bike will last you for years with simple maintenance; a low end model from a department or sporting goods store will quickly need repairs, in my experience.

It also depends on how much you plan to use it. Obviously, if you only ride occasionally, a cheap bike might last quite a while. The replacement cost of my bike is a few thousand dollars, but I commute to work on it, so it gets ridden at least five days a week, and I need it to be pretty bullet proof, since I use it all year round, in all sorts of weather.

The money it cost is easy enough to justify, since I don't have car payments, petrol, parking, etc. If I was only going for a peddle every other weekend I would not spend so much.