Bike Soma

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Bike Soma

Choosing a Working Class Mountain Bike

When the moment arrives to get your next mountain bike pay attention to the details. Don't fall prey to the marketing. Do your homework and you will end up with a bike that will stand up to the real world.

Mountain bikes (Cross Country) - Full Suspension

A lot of high-end and low end suspension bikes suffer from the same problem. Pivot wear leads to a sloppy back end affecting both shifting and bike handling. With dept. store bikes it is because it is running on low quality bushings while the higher end bikes are running on small pivots and small bearings, leading them to wear out quicker. As a bike mechanic I've had the experience of working on 6-month-old $5000 bike from one of the big three brands that wouldn't stay in gear when ridden due to the play in the pivot bearings.

When choosing a full suspension bike, in addition to the design and the specs, scrutinize the pivots and bearings. If the outside diameter is smaller than a quarter don't be surprised if you need to replace them a few times per season to keep the bike working reliably. Companies go with the smaller size to save weight but it comes at the cost of durability. To be happy in the long run, get a frame that is a little heavier and put the money you save into lighter wheels. That will make a much bigger difference in how fast you will go and will let you spend more time on the trail and less time with your bike in the shop.

Another pet peeve of mine is the use of carbon fiber on mountain bike frames. This goes whether full suspension or hardtail. Mountain bikes crash - Carbon fiber doesn't take impacts from crashes well. Damage from crashes isn't covered under warranty. You figure it out.

Mountain bikes (Cross Country) - Hard Tail

Except when you are sponsored and get your stuff for free, I would stay away from carbon fiber mtb frames. It seems like a good idea until the bike takes a tumble and cracks. As well, the pop can thin aluminum frames that are the top end of a lot of companies race hardtails are prone to getting fatigue cracking. Most of these are covered under warranty but you are without your bike while it is being replaced.

Aluminum frames that are less than 3.5-4 lbs. are going to be much more likely to dent in a crash and potentially develop cracking issues through normal use. I've wrecked a few frames in my day and they have all been aluminum. I'm not against aluminum, just when companies push the limits.

Which leads me to my favorite material for hardtails. Steel is real.

Only quality cromoly steel frames were pretty much the option 15 years ago. When it became cheap to make aluminum frames, steel fell out of favor because it is much easier to market lighter weight than it is get people to into ride quality, durability and the coolness that is a sleek steel steed with just a magazine add. Bike companies are cheap.

The big companies went to aluminum so everyone followed. The same thing is now happening with steel. Old timers like me that remember how well our earlier steel bikes rode, have come back to steel, mainly from small niche companies like Surly and Soma. Once a certain critical mass was attained mainstream bike companies took notice. Now your seeing steel bikes offered from most companies. Just like 29? wheel bikes, nobody want to miss the next big thing so a major case of bandwagon jumping is going on. While many of these companies offer only one or two steel bikes in the lineup, I think it's great as more people are being exposed to ride benefits of a nice steel hardtail.

When making smart choices while choosing your next mountain bike, you will reduce the problems associated with pushing the weight limit.

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Soma Rush (Fixed-Gear Bike) Assembly - Part I