Zee ubiquitous "what should i buy" thread.

I know y'all hate em, but i dont really care :P

Looking for a lighter duty FR / All-Mountain bike, hit washington/whistler a few times a year, the rest is your usual, try not to hit anything much higher than 8-10 feet, usually. A little dirtjumping is always good, but once again, nothing too crazy.

I'm a pretty big guy - 6'4, so i do like the feel of a bigger bike - i'm currently riding a Medium '01 VPS drop with super t's, and it suprisingly fits me decently, albeit a tad small, but i cope fine.

I'm looking to spend around $2k, so i'm looking at things like the '07 Six-2, etc.

I also have a line on konas, banshees and scotts at cost +10 ish, which is always good.

I have the dealer looking into a 05-06 chap for me, in my size if its out there, which i'd be able to equip for around 2k, other than that, i've got no clue what to look for.

Whats the word? Preston FR, etc?

if you have a line on bikes for cheap, you can probably get demos and test rides up the wazoo.

we should be asking you what bikes are good!

hehe, yeah, but my choices are pretty limited, and i've been out of the loop for many many years, so my knowledge of what is out there is a little lacking.

Of course i'd like to get a 'shee or something at cost-ish, but if "X" is a nicer ride, then there is no sense getting a bike that rides like crap instead of paying a little more, paying retail, and getting something that rides nice.

… i wonder if that made any sense.

You'll be pleasently surprised by how the new breed of bikes ride. Like a lot of guys will say, you need to ride a few to get a feel for what is right for you. I recently swiched from a 2003 Norco launch to a 2006 Norco Six because it felt a lot like my old bike on the downhill but it was more fun to ride uphill and on trails. I doesn't sound like you've got a any "bad" bikes on your list. Just make sure the components will hold up to your size.

Buy a secondhand or ex demo Specialized SX.

Still the best all-round FR bike on the market.

Just go for the Chap, its a great bike! 8-10 ft. shouldnt be a problem on it, and it pedals well too. Also, it will feel very solid even though you are a big guy. A lot of fun too, I like mine a lot, great for pedalling up, coming back down, I even xc-raced it (though I wouldn't recommend doing it if you care a bout results). The only time you may notice a shortcoming is if you are seriously downhilling with it at high speed, but its not a big problem, it just wont be as smooth and the wheel wont stick quite as well as a v-10 or other DH specific bike.

looks like banshee has a few '04 chaps in my size - has the bike changed much since then? i could proabably do a build with a 4-way, their fr150 kit, and a firefly for a little over 2k if my math is correct. end up being decent, or is there something nasty i should know about that model year?

I'd defiinitely go for it. Firefly eh? Is there an option to stay away from a manitou product?

I've only ridden a Manitou for a couple runs, but a lot of people around here aren't stoked on them. You could swap it out for a Marz single-crown or, if you wanted to throw down, a Rock Shox Lyric or Totem.

Summit in Whistler has a stupid deal on a few remaining Manitou forks. They've got a new Slider for 200, and a single crown travis 7" for 650ish, and a dual crown Travis 8" for 650 as well.

http://www.summitsport.com/summer/

Give them a call and see what's left maybe.