XC Bike on a bit of a budget...

[Jman]

Those Lenz bikes are sweet, they almost make a Turner or an Intense look inexpensive.

[Jman]

Well after a bit of driving around today, lots of time on the internet both here and at all of the manufacturer sites I got into my shopping.

I made a point of riding a couple of 29ers and they were interesting but to be honest I just wasn't diggin' it quite like I thought I might. I don't know if it was the 29 inch wheels or all of the sweet FS rides around it. Ultimately I ended up with a sweet new Specialized FSR XC Pro. It's a 2007 on clearance for $1599. The owner at Redhawk Cylclery switched out the cheaper SRAM shifters with X.9's but everything else is pretty much stock.
Front Fork: Reba
Rear Shock: Fox Triad
Wheels: Mavic 117
Cranks: Shimano (I think it's a deore or LX made especially for Specialized)
Rear Der: SRAM X.9
Front Der: Shimano LX
Pedals: Crank Bros 50/50 platforms (I know, I know I need to go clipless but I am probably going to race it on Saturday and refuse to try and learn to do that in three days. The 50/50's will go on the Chameleon)
Tires: SPecialized Pro 2.0's
Brakes: Avid Juicy Three's
Everything else is pure Specialized, not much to brag about but all of the Specialized kit I've had in the past has been pretty tough and well built/designed stuff.

So it's not a SS or a 29er but I'm pretty happy with the purchase. It's Specialized red and while I'm not a big fan of red bikes it's not to bad.

Thanks for the ton of great advice I listened/read it all and soaked it in. It was informative and really helped me make what I feel is the right decision for me. Also wanted to thank the guys and gal over at Redhawk for their help. It's a great shop and probably why I've bought four bikes in the last 12 months from them.

I'll post pics in a bit but I really have a house that needs to be cleaned and since she let me have the money to do this I really don't wanna make my wife do the cleaning.

BTW, I have a feeling I'll be racing this bike on Saturday and not the Heckler, so I'll let everyone know how it rode. I'll probably bring both though.

[allison]

Originally Posted by Jman

Well after a bit of driving around today, lots of time on the internet both here and at all of the manufacturer sites I got into my shopping.

Congrats on the purchase!!

Hope to see you out there with it this weekend.

Oh yeah, get clipless pedals!

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by Jman

Well after a bit of driving around today, lots of time on the internet both here and at all of the manufacturer sites I got into my shopping.

I made a point of riding a couple of 29ers and they were interesting but to be honest I just wasn't diggin' it quite like I thought I might. I don't know if it was the 29 inch wheels or all of the sweet FS rides around it. Ultimately I ended up with a sweet new Specialized FSR XC Pro. It's a 2007 on clearance for $1599. The owner at Redhawk Cylclery switched out the cheaper SRAM shifters with X.9's but everything else is pretty much stock.
Front Fork: Reba
Rear Shock: Fox Triad
Wheels: Mavic 117
Cranks: Shimano (I think it's a deore or LX made especially for Specialized)
Rear Der: SRAM X.9
Front Der: Shimano LX
Pedals: Crank Bros 50/50 platforms (I know, I know I need to go clipless but I am probably going to race it on Saturday and refuse to try and learn to do that in three days. The 50/50's will go on the Chameleon)
Tires: SPecialized Pro 2.0's
Everything else is pure Specialized, not much to brag about but all of the Specialized kit I've had in the past has been pretty tough and well built/designed stuff.

So it's not a SS or a 29er but I'm pretty happy with the purchase. It's Specialized red and while I'm not a big fan of red bikes it's not to bad.

Thanks for the ton of great advice I listened/read it all and soaked it in. It was informative and really helped me make what I feel is the right decision for me. Also wanted to thank the guys and gal over at Redhawk for their help. It's a great shop and probably why I've bought four bikes in the last 12 months from them.

I'll post pics in a bit but I really have a house that needs to be cleaned and since she let me have the money to do this I really don't wanna make my wife do the cleaning.

BTW, I have a feeling I'll be racing this bike on Saturday and not the Heckler, so I'll let everyone know how it rode. I'll probably bring both though.

Congrats. Always fun to get a new bike.

I'm curious to see how much it weighs though. I bet it's not too much below the Heckler.

Oh yeah. Stick with the platforms.

[Jman]

I'm gonna look ridiculous with this nice XC frame and 50/50 pedals but oh well. Maybe for race #2!

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by Jman

I'm gonna look ridiculous with this nice XC frame and 50/50 pedals but oh well. Maybe for race #2!

If you decide to go clipless, I've got a nice pair of Crank bros Acid's I'll let you have cheap. Only used once!!

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by Jman

Well after a bit of driving around today, lots of time on the internet both here and at all of the manufacturer sites I got into my shopping.

I made a point of riding a couple of 29ers and they were interesting but to be honest I just wasn't diggin' it quite like I thought I might. I don't know if it was the 29 inch wheels or all of the sweet FS rides around it. Ultimately I ended up with a sweet new Specialized FSR XC Pro. It's a 2007 on clearance for $1599. The owner at Redhawk Cylclery switched out the cheaper SRAM shifters with X.9's but everything else is pretty much stock.
Front Fork: Reba
Rear Shock: Fox Triad
Wheels: Mavic 117
Cranks: Shimano (I think it's a deore or LX made especially for Specialized)
Rear Der: SRAM X.9
Front Der: Shimano LX
Pedals: Crank Bros 50/50 platforms (I know, I know I need to go clipless but I am probably going to race it on Saturday and refuse to try and learn to do that in three days. The 50/50's will go on the Chameleon)
Tires: SPecialized Pro 2.0's
Everything else is pure Specialized, not much to brag about but all of the Specialized kit I've had in the past has been pretty tough and well built/designed stuff.

So it's not a SS or a 29er but I'm pretty happy with the purchase. It's Specialized red and while I'm not a big fan of red bikes it's not to bad.

Thanks for the ton of great advice I listened/read it all and soaked it in. It was informative and really helped me make what I feel is the right decision for me. Also wanted to thank the guys and gal over at Redhawk for their help. It's a great shop and probably why I've bought four bikes in the last 12 months from them.

I'll post pics in a bit but I really have a house that needs to be cleaned and since she let me have the money to do this I really don't wanna make my wife do the cleaning.

BTW, I have a feeling I'll be racing this bike on Saturday and not the Heckler, so I'll let everyone know how it rode. I'll probably bring both though.

and alot of bang for your buck!

[allison]

Originally Posted by Jman

I'm gonna look ridiculous with this nice XC frame and 50/50 pedals but oh well. Maybe for race #2!

You will probably be one of few without clipless pedals. But, if you are more comfortable that is cool.

Um, until next week

[Pho'dUp]

Congrats! Pics?

[2wheel_lee]

Congratulations on the purchase. We're all glad you found something you liked. And I believe that bike is one of the best values out there.

Don't worry about the pedals. Flats are just fine, and you can change over at any time. If you're not used to running clipless pedals yet, there is no value in using them for this race - they're only as good as you know how to use them. You can learn that later. Just enjoy the ride!

[Jman]

Yeah weight wise it's about a pound maybe two pounds lighter than the Heckler but two things really sold me on it. First, as soon as I got on it I could feel the different riding position which reminded me of my old Superlight and hardtail XC bike. The second was that it was a medium and I really need to stick with medium frames. The Heckler is a large and a tad on the big side. Not horribly so and it doesn't bother me while riding but I think this is one of the reasons it feels a bit slow to me. I am sort of looking at the FSR as a road bike for the dirt. I will probably be changing the tires out to something along the lines of the Kenda small blocks (I think that's what they were called). Obviously I'll be shaving weight with the clipless pedals and possibly the small block tires. A carbon seat post is probably in my future (actually I think I have one floating around but not sure if it'll fit) as well. So maybe in the end it'll be a bit more than three pounds lighter. I'd really like to get it to around 25 pounds but not sure if that is doable with this bike and my 205 pounds. (It's 28 right now).

[allison]

Originally Posted by Jman

I'd really like to get it to around 25 pounds but not sure if that is doable with this bike and my 205 pounds. (It's 28 right now).

Think twice before going SB8's. Justin was running them on his Niner. I had one on my 1x1 for a bit.

I know I'm running 29er tires, but I am really liking the Racing Ralph 2.25 on the front and Python XC on the rear. Both are really good rolling tires.

Don't worry a ton about making it that much lighter. I dunno if at 205 you are at a good weight or not, but losing weight off yourself is easier and cheaper

[Jman]

205 and 5' 10"ish...it's not bad, I do have a bit of a gut but I'm not in terrible shape. A year or two ago I was at 193 and it was really hard to maintain.

Sorry but whats SB8's? Is that Small Block? I was think of those because one of the uses of the bike might be to commute this summer and I'd be doing a combo of road and dirt. Thought they might roll better on the road.

[slayer]

if you want to try some fast rolling tires that hook up great you should try the specialized fast track lk. they are awesome. i have them on both of my xc bikes. way better than kendas, in my opinion.

congratulations on the new bike!!!!

[Jman]

Okay I got a pic together of the new rig. Drum roll puhleeeze...............



Thank you for all the support, I can hardly wait to ride it!

[BrewMaster]

Congrats on the the new ride.