thenhoc

Hey everyone!

I'm not sure how much this forum has been viewed this summer by others but I thought it'd be worth giving it a try.

I'm looking to buy a bike to use up at school and have decided to go the mountain bike route. I don't have much experience mountain biking so I'm looking for a good intro bike.

Through my search I read up on the Trek 820.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/20 ... l/820/820/

Reading the reviews it seems like what I'm looking for..good price, can handle general off road trails, and seemingly low maintance.

Any of you mtb junkies out there could give it a look over? Any suggestions on a different bike around the same price range ( sub 400)

Thanks NHOCers

how much off roading do you plan on doing, if the answer is a good bit, then you might want something a bit tougher ( which will cost more)

Echoing Colum here...

In my opinion, if you get at all into the sport of mountain biking you will quickly outgrow the Trek 820. Yes it will work, but it wouldn't be so great for anything more than casual riding. It takes a lot of compromises to make a $330 mountain bike.

Sticking with Trek (but please, please don't be afraid to check out other brands), here is something closer to what I would recommend for an entry-level mountain biker:

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/mountain_hardtail/4_series/4500/

As for low maintenance...unless you get a complete junker, most mountain bikes will require roughly the same amount of maintenance because they get beat on constantly.

hey eric ive always been a fan of specialized bikes for both mountain and road. if you want an awesome mtn bike i would go with the Rockhopper

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkMode ... Rockhopper

its an awesome all around bike a bit expensive but it will last you forever.

another option is Iron Horse Bikes another awesome bike company which has some real nice products. EMS carries Iron Horse so its an easy ride from unh to go check them out.

Kona bikes are another good choice as well