Looking for a Mountain Bike..... Opinions needed.
 

Unfortunately there are no dealers anywhere around me so I have to buy without test driving. Here's the one I'm looking at. Does anyone have experiance with this manufacturer?

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-19-GT-Ruckus-i-Drive7-1-0-Full-Sus-Mountain-Bike_W0QQitemZ190103882070

Thanks!
Adam

After working as a bicycle mechanic for about eight years, I can tell you that you shouldn't order it from an ebay seller.

While it seems that you simply bolt parts onto a bicycle after you remove it from the box, and there are cheap shops that essentially do this, this is not sufficient if you want the thing to last.

All the bearings that can be adjusted should be; they won't be properly adjusted from the factory. All fasteners need to be torqued properly, even those that come attached at the factory; again, this is never done right on an assembly line.

It sounds like this may be difficult for you, but perhaps you can find a decent shop that sells this bike and go pick it up.

Ditto what he said.

I have a Cannondale Mt. bike and I love it.

They have a nice line of road and mountain bikes. They usually come loaded with quality components.

A cheaper bike will almost always have cheaper components (hence the low price). You will end up replacing those components and the bike will end up costing you more.

Good luck!

That looks like a decent bike, but do you really need something that heavy duty? It is going to be heavy and for mostly downhill action. It has good components, but I haven't heard much about GT.

The Hayes brakes are iffy in my book, I'd go with shimano or avid, but thats just me.

I'll second not buying on ebay. Building a higher end bike is something that should be left to the pros. At my work, we sell mostly lower end ($400-$1000) bikes, but on occasion will have someone buy something well over 2k. Those bikes are ALWAYS built by our master tech, no exceptions made.

If you are thinking about dropping 2k in the bike, take a drive to a bike shop so you can ride it before you buy. I was personally thinking about getting a big bulky full suspension bike similar to that, but am now leaning more towards a very light hardtail. For the riding I'll be doing, that is much more practical.

Specialized StumpJumper if you want to spend that amount of money. I can get you connected with my shop. Also depends on what you want to do.

I currently ride a crappy hardtail, but I kick ass on it so there is no reason to change just yet.

kyle.taylor@spacemakersclosets.com

email me

Why do you want a full suspension bike? Those are for going downhill and downhill only, and fast!

Get a hardtail. A Cannondale F600 is a great buy.

My bike!!! :2thumbsup

The only problem that I have with Cannondale frames is that they cannot be straightened.

It is possible to align the rear drop-outs, with great effort. But it is not possible AT ALL to align the frame. If it's not quite straight from the factory, it will never be quite straight. And none come straight from the factory. The best shops have an alignment table to set the frames, but this does cost extra.

On the plus side, I've rarely seen a Cannondale frame that was out of alignment by more than 2mm, which is acceptable for all but the most demanding riders. And for the same reason that you can't align the frame, it won't get any worse.

full suspension is great of all mounting and necessary of XC, beats you up less.

Aluminum frames are hard to straighten out once thye get bent.

The hanger in mine is replaceable. For those days when I go down a hill too fast, crash against a rock or tree and I bang up my derailleur. :(

This is true for most aluminum frames. Cannondale frames are simply impossible to straighten, due to the large diameter tubes. But as I said before, they rarely need straightening if you're satisfied with the frame from the factory. Like any welded frame, they can't be made perfectly straight. Glued frames can.
They went to the replaceable hanger while I was in the field. Before that, you'd need a new frame.