For the benefit of the impluse buyer, read this first. I did a bit of research on this bike and the consensus is that at the common sale price of $299, it's appropriately priced for what you get. This normally sells for $399, not the $699 listed on dick's site, and for what you recieve the quality is closer to the 299 mark than it is the 399 mark.
Other than that it seems like a fairly well received bike for the price.
These go on sale for$299 a few times a year. I picked it up back in April for this price
I purchased back in May when it was $300.
I took it down all the green and blue trails at Spider Mountain: https://www.spidermountain.com/bike-park
Obviously not a downhill bike and I was going slow enough to not get any air but I survived :-)
I have a nishiki bike from Dick's, men's road bike at about $350.00. I wish I never bought it. I believe the GT is also made by Dick's, and I'd avoid it in that case. This is a step above Walmart level quality and is OK for $200-$250 USD. The brakes wear down fast, also come lose immediately and frequently. The suspension is garbage. The handles ripped after 2 months. The gears also get stuck. I highly recommend you pay more money for a legitimate bike.
Others also mentioned, these bikes are almost always on this sale all year round. This should not be the sale that makes you bite. Shop around longer.
Need a budget friendly commute bike. New to bikes, appreciate the help. Thanks!
Me personally I think alot of people buy these mountain bikes and never hit trails, get the hybrid ask yourself how many times arebu actually gonna hit trails? and thanks I like the hybrid jmho
I picked up a mint 95 Zaskar LE used for $400 (full Shimano XTR, crazy nice USA welds on ball burnished finish). Just sayin, if you don't mind used, bikes don't retain their value so you can get really good deals. last time I rolled into an LBS with it, it's like I was driving a Ferrari turning heads on all the mtb nerds
Is the wheel size 27.5" correct? I thought mountain bikes tend to be 26"
26" is the old standard. 27.5 or 29 is the new thing. I see it as like how we went from 8 speed to up to 12 speed...trying to get people to upgrade to the "newest.". I love the idea of a SRAM 1x12 for weight savings though!
Me personally I think alot of people buy these mountain bikes and never hit trails, get the hybrid ask yourself how many times arebu actually gonna hit trails? and thanks I like the hybrid jmho
Keep in mind a $300 GT is hardly a mtb. You could easily destroy the wheels and drivetrain after a couple hard rides. I promise I could taco those wheels on one big jump.
PLEASE stay away from those cheap Walmart and Target bikes near this price range. Those are actually dangerous to ride and you have to trust some minimum wage guy to put your bike together.
Exact same applies to Dick's as well. They haven't been keeping competent bike mechanics on staff from what I've seen. It's generally just an employee assigned to the task of painting by numbers and following the instructions in the box to assemble these things. The result is going to be less than stellar. If you're lucky, the bike will be assembled correctly with components like the fork oriented properly and not backwards. There won't be any tuning, so dropped chains, rubbing brakes, and the like will be extremely likely. Any extended warranty offered by Dick's won't be of much help since you'll be taking it back to the same folks that assembled it wrong in the first place.
The consequence of going dirt cheap on a big box blender on Slickdeals is your margarita may not be as smooth as it would be with a Vitamix. Potential consequences of going dirt cheap on a big box bike? Missing teeth, broken collar bone, blunt force brain injury. Worth the extra few dollars.
I bought my brother in law an entry level mountain bike from my local bike shop for not much more than this - a Scott Aspect for around $400. That included full assembly and setup by a competent race mechanic and the first year of tune-ups free. Way better deal.
it's a bicycle bought from Dicks, go over the bike with a cheap torque wrench and learn how to work on things. They're not bad bikes.
Even buying 10,000 dirt bikes you check the torques of most bolts and bikes, i've even torn a new ktm down and regreased all bearings. It's a good bike, but it's not assembled by a factory mechanic.
Avalanche 29" is also on sale. The GT (not "made" by Dick's) bikes are nice. The GT Avalanche is like the Trek Marlin 7. The Trek has a slightly better fork, the GT has a slightly better frame.The Avalanche is ok on a trail but its more of a CC bike. Don't go doing jumps and crazy stuff with entry level Shimano forks. You cant jump off ramps and boulders and complain your 3-500 bike broke. Some forks cost $500 alone for a reason.
One thing is the tires should be upgraded. The tires on these even smell cheap (like those car steering wheel covers). I put 2" Serfas Drifters on the Avalanche and the bike rolls quick and quiet while being flat resistant and not smelly.
We got this bike for my 13yr old for same price. Was a great purchase at this price. We got ours in store and I was able to use the $20 off $100 coupon on top of sale price. Seems this coupon is less restrictive than others when combining. If you sign up for text alerts, they will text you the $20 off coupon. Might only work online, and it may not combine, but worth a shot for additional savings.
If I may ask, what frame size did you get for your 13yo, and how tall is he/she? We're looking for a new bike for my 12yo son (~59-60" tall) and he's right in that limbo between a 24" "youth" bike and a 26" "adult" bike.
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Other than that it seems like a fairly well received bike for the price.
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Need a budget friendly commute bike. New to bikes, appreciate the help. Thanks!
Learn how to fix flats
https://www.parktool.co
https://www.parktool.co
Or take it to any real bike shop
I took it down all the green and blue trails at Spider Mountain: https://www.spidermount
Obviously not a downhill bike and I was going slow enough to not get any air but I survived :-)
Others also mentioned, these bikes are almost always on this sale all year round. This should not be the sale that makes you bite. Shop around longer.
Learn how to fix flats
Better yet go tubeless you may not need to fix a flat 😎
Need a budget friendly commute bike. New to bikes, appreciate the help. Thanks!
Me personally I think alot of people buy these mountain bikes and never hit trails, get the hybrid ask yourself how many times arebu actually gonna hit trails? and thanks I like the hybrid jmho
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26" is the old standard. 27.5 or 29 is the new thing. I see it as like how we went from 8 speed to up to 12 speed...trying to get people to upgrade to the "newest.". I love the idea of a SRAM 1x12 for weight savings though!
Keep in mind a $300 GT is hardly a mtb. You could easily destroy the wheels and drivetrain after a couple hard rides. I promise I could taco those wheels on one big jump.
The consequence of going dirt cheap on a big box blender on Slickdeals is your margarita may not be as smooth as it would be with a Vitamix. Potential consequences of going dirt cheap on a big box bike? Missing teeth, broken collar bone, blunt force brain injury. Worth the extra few dollars.
I bought my brother in law an entry level mountain bike from my local bike shop for not much more than this - a Scott Aspect for around $400. That included full assembly and setup by a competent race mechanic and the first year of tune-ups free. Way better deal.
Even buying 10,000 dirt bikes you check the torques of most bolts and bikes, i've even torn a new ktm down and regreased all bearings. It's a good bike, but it's not assembled by a factory mechanic.
One thing is the tires should be upgraded. The tires on these even smell cheap (like those car steering wheel covers). I put 2" Serfas Drifters on the Avalanche and the bike rolls quick and quiet while being flat resistant and not smelly.
https://www.dickssporti
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