With so many options, manufactures and opinions, it can be a bit frustrating as well as time consuming when you want to buy a mountain bike.  Below, you'll find some tips and things to be aware of when you have made the decision to buy, but before you lay down the cash and buy a mountain bike.

Determining your price

There is virtually no limit as to how much money you can spend when you buy a new mountain bike. You can get a pretty decent entry level bike for around $1000 and can easily pay upwards of $10,000. On the right you can see a picture of a full suspension mountain bike where the frame was constucted from a titanium lattice. The weight was way less than 20 pounds, but you could buy a car for the price of this beast.

To help you keep your spending under control, you should figure out what your price range is and how much your willing to pay for a new bike.  When you buy, you shouldn't buy from mass merchant stores such as Wal-Mart. The "mountain bikes" sold there are not really suited for mountain biking, and I have seen a sticker on one of the bikes in these stores that actually warned buyers not to use them for mountain biking!  You should instead support your local bike shop and get a much better bike and much better service.

Finding your style

All mountain bikes are designed with several different riding styles and terrain types in mind.  You'll need to figure out what type of riding you will be doing the most.  Smooth riding, cross country racing,  mountain cruising, or lift accessed downhill is something you need to figure out.  Make sure that the bike you select fits your personal style and not that of the sale's staff. If you are a member of the cross country team, then the scope of your choice is narrowed down signifficantly.

Full suspension or hard tail

If you can afford it, a full suspension mountain bike is always worth the purchase.  A hard tail, without rear suspension, is much lighter weight and pedal more efficiently, especially going uphill, although full suspensions offer more comfort and overall better control. Some dual suspension bikes allow you to lock out the rear suspension when you pedal uphill, narrowning the efficiency difference. Some of the more expensive bikes, like the Specialized in the picture on the right, have innertia valves that will autmatically lock the suspension, increasing pedaling efficiency, but it opens when you hit a bump in the trail.

One of the more noticable effects of a rear suspension is that when you are going downhill and the surfcase is rough, the suspension will keep your rear wheel on the surface and it increases your braking efficiency. On a hard tail the wheel can get more air and an associated reduction in tracktion.  You'll want to make that decision based on your price range, riding style, and the type of terrain you'll be riding on the most.

Finding your favorites

Comparing mountain bikes component to component is nearly impossible, as there are far too many combinations available.  The best way to go about doing this is finding a few components that are the most important to you and making sure the rest or the minimums fall within your price range.  You can start with the fork then look at the wheels and rear derailleur.

There are two dominant suppliers of derailleurs, SRAM and Shimano. The top mountain bike derailleur from SRAM is called the X-0, and it is about double the price of the X-9. Shimano has the more expensive and affordable XTR and XT respectively. The top of the line models give you a really sure shift every time, but that does not mean that the X-9 and XT versions are bad. What is more is that the latest X-9 used to be the X-0 from a year or so ago. Good shifters make all the difference It really helps a lot to know that your gears will shift when you press the shifter and a good derailleur is indispensable for that to happen.

Sales and seasons

During the year, the prices of mountain bikes can fluctuate quite a bit.  Spring through summer is the main buying season.  If you can wait until the right price pops up, normally in the fall and winter, you can save a couple hundred dollars. A number of manufacturers introduced the concept of model years. When you get to the end of the year, stores typically want to get rid of the inventory of the previous year. I saved over a $1000 on my bike because I bought the "old" model year model.  Many bike shops will also offer discounts or other accessories if you buy from them.  Craig's list is also a great option, especially in winter. I've experienced a couple of shady posts on Craig's list. I only go for sellers where I can drive to and see the bike. 

Finding a good dealer

Finding a good bike dealer is more important than finding the best price.  You should always find a dealer that cares more about selling you a great bike than selling you a high priced one. A great dealer will have a clean repair shop and give you the impression that you can really trust them.

In Novato, you can go to Class Cycle, they stock Marin bikes. In San Rafael there is Summit bikes, one of the sponsors of our team, and they stock Gary Fisher and Trek amongst others. All of the staff actively ride and their advice is worth listening to. You can also go to Mike's Bikes. They sponsor the Norcal High School Mountain Bike league. They stock Canondale, Specialized and have a very wide selection of bikes and advice from good riders.

Test ride

You should test ride as many bikes as you can within your price range and riding style.  You'll find that some bikes will feel right, while others won't.  The more bikes you can test drive, you better you'll understand what works and what doesn't.

All the major manufacturers have demo days and often it is in conjunction with local bike stores. The last one we went to was a Specialized and Canondale demo day with Mikes Bikes at the Boy Scouts trail at Tamorancho. They had all the latest and greatest bikes there and it was a great location to try different style bikes, like the XC race Epic, the Stumpjumpers and the all mountain Enduro.

Doing the research

Product reviews and bike reviews are some of the best ways to find out about a mountain bikes reliability and overall performance.  You should always look at what other owners and reviews think about a bike before you make that final purchase. Mountain Bike Action is a a monthly magazine that also puplishes archives of their reviews on-line.