Diamondback Outlook Mountain Bike '09

15% off a Single REI Brand or Novara Item coupon code GPMSN9 [Exp 12/31]

Walmart 700C GMC Denali Men's Road Bike $158 Discuss (4)

24 Hour Fitness 3 year All-Club Sport Membership $550 Discuss (27)

Walmart 700C GMC Denali Men's Road Bike $158 Discuss (4)

Walmart 700C GMC Denali Men's Road Bike $158 Discuss (9)

Might be slightly better than the typical dept store bike, but not something you'd want to take offroad on anything more than a fire trail.

At least some parts are replacable when they fail to meet expectations or fail completely, but for light duty MTB use you might as well spend another $150 or so now rather than later and get a used bike off craigslist or something from bikesdirect or Target/Forge 5xx.

K2 Easy Coaster, or Diamondback Outlook? The K2 bike is actually a pretty cool looking bike. It's a single speed cruiser with the crankset set a little further forward - something a long-legged guy like myself would like.

This bike is fine for cruising around town and light-duty trail riding, as #1 stated. You'll find better deals, however, on craigslist. For example, on Tuesday I bought a 2004 Specialized Rockhopper A1 FS that was in immaculate shape for $180 on craigslist (retail ~$770.) If you don't mind buying a new bike but don't know what to look for, shoot me a PM and I can help out.

If you need to buy a new bike, search for some Target coupons and buy the Forge Sawback 5xx. It's essentially a bike with excellent components that you'd find at your local bike shop in the $500 range, and you can often get it for under $300 from Target with coupons.

dont buy steel bikes they are too heavy made in china same quality as walmarts $70 bike,hevy bikes you will ride it a few times AND GIVE UP

Get a Hutch Trick Star. That's all you need.

this sounds like a nice deal for a bike to ride to the local store and hope no one steals it. So if you get it make sure to lock it but do not think you will take this heavy bike off road you will not be happy at all.

Oink

#4, steel bikes aren't all that heavy. I had an old steel Giant bike that was lighter than my son's aluminum frame Schwinn. Also the price point where bikes start to be made somewhere other than China (like Taiwan) is around $800 these days. My $550 Rockhopper was made in China.

Agree with #1 and #3, the Forge Sawback 5xx, despite having a ghey name, is your best bang for the buck in an entry-level mountain bike. I have one, unfortunately I hardly ever ride it because I spend almost all my cycling time on the road. But it still looks sweet hanging up in my garage.

#9, sell?

Steel framed bikes really aren't all that bad. I mean they weren't back when more than just the cheapest ones were steel. Think of the context, a 25lb bike plus 100-300 pound rider for at least 125 lbs total is substantially effected by 5lb difference in the bike wieght? Maybe it matters more in steep uphill trails or racing but since the cheap bikes are fit for neither...

There is one area where the weight makes the most difference, the parts that rotate. Cranks, gears, wheels.

Nobody wants steel on a good bike but if you're buying junk it would be better to spend the money on the other components instead of aluminum frame with generic components.

Quote:

Nobody wants steel on a good bike but if you're buying junk it would be better to spend the money on the other components instead of aluminum frame with generic components.

I whole-heartedly disagree. Many current high-end bicycle companies still utilize steel extensively. Steel is used in place of aluminum because it absorbs bumps better than aluminum, and is cheaper than titanium. Also, steel doesn't fatigue as easily as aluminum, and can often be repaired if it breaks, unlike carbon frames. High-end steel is still very lightweight, and while it's not the most popular material for bikes, it's still a very solid alternative with somewhat of a purist following. Here's a good article on Wired about the resurgence of steel in the bike market:

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/10/interbike_steel

I own the following steel-framed bikes and love them!:

VooDoo Bizango (Reynolds 853 Steel)
VooDoo Hoodoo (Reynolds 525)
Rocky Mountain Solo 50ST (Columbus Spirit Chromoly steel/carbon mix)

FYI, here is a list of high-end and botique bike manufacturers that use steel for one or more of their race-level mountain bikes:

VooDoo
Independent Fabrications
Sycip
Vicious
Rocky Van Dessel
Vassago
Jamis
...etc.

Steel is Real!

That being said, the bike featured in this deal is not made from high-quality steel.

shocks, pegs, every take it off some sweet jumps

I was talking about bikes in the same price range #12, hence the comment about buying a steel frame to save money instead of an aluminum frame then having to settle for generic components to stay at a low price. There are absolutes in what is a good or bad bike but there also relatively good and bad bikes per any particular price-point.

Quote:

Nobody wants steel on a good bike

Kinda hard to hide that comment. Wrong is wrong.

Quote:

Maybe it matters more in steep uphill trails or racing but since the cheap bikes are fit for neither...

I bought an aluminum hardtail with full XTR on craigslist for under $300, which is pretty cheap, and it's absolutely suitable for racing. You're wrong again, unless you were using the connotation of a low-quality bike instead of a low-price bike. But if that's the case, you should have specified.

Don't get into details with me about bikes, Dave. Last time you attempted to argue bikes with me you said something like "powertrain" used to describe a bike's drivetrain. Powertrains are for cars, Dave.

<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>cleverendeavor7 wrote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote"><table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>Quote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote">Nobody wants steel on a good bike</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody">

Kinda hard to hide that comment. Wrong is wrong.

</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody">

Nope, but I realize you can't help but argue against what you didn't know.

All else being equal, given very high quality steel and very high quality aluminum, if one is only willing to pay enough which was YOUR context, steel is never as good.

Read the last three words again. It is FACT, the strength to weight ratio of aluminum is in FACT, better.

That doesn't make steel bad, as the difference is not as important on a low budget bike as the difference between other components when one is trying to cut costs, which if you bothered to read instead of blabber, is what I was writing about all along.

Your point was ignoring context, mine was apples:apples.

<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>Quote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote">I bought an aluminum hardtail with full XTR on craigslist for under $300, which is pretty cheap, and it's absolutely suitable for racing. </td> </tr></table><span class="postbody">

WTF does that have to do with anything? Not only did I never write that one couldn't buy a $300 used bike that wasn't fit for racing, I will go a step further and suggest only an idiot would pay $300 or more for a used bike that wasn't fit for it.

<table width="90%" cells... [Truncated]

Dave, are you that fucking stupid?

<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>Quote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote">steel is never as good. </td> </tr></table><span class="postbody">

As good for what? Steel is more compliant than aluminum, resulting in a smoother ride. And high-end steel frames are rarely more than 3 lbs heavier than high-end aluminum frames. Have you ever seen a high-end touring road bike made from aluminum? Didn't think so, you ignorant fuck. What are nearly all modern-day rigid 29ers made from? That's right dumbshit, STEEL. You're so fucking stupid it hurts.

You said "cheap." Since cheap has two definitions, you should specify to which you were referring. Learn better English skills.

<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>Quote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote"> those who praise steel are incapable of chosing a suspension and tires fit for their use</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody">

Your lack of knowledge is astounding. Don't attempt to discuss the merits of steel when you have little comprehension of why people buy steel bikes in the first place. In the bike world, 1. Steel is stronger than aluminum. 2. Steel lasts longer than aluminum and doesn't get stress fractures like aluminum does 3. Steel is a more comfortable ride. All this for a small weight sacrifice? Clearly steel is superior for many applications, and is well deserving of a high-end price point.

Still don't believe me? Well that's because you don't know anything about bikes.

IF NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS:

http://www.sheldonbrow... [Truncated]

<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>cleverendeavor7 wrote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote">
As good for what? Steel is more compliant than aluminum, resulting in a smoother ride. </td> </tr></table><span class="postbody">

We are talking about mountain bikes, which have larger tires and a suspension to take care of that, duh? Please do check the topic product type once in a while, m'k?

<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>Quote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote"> And high-end steel frames are rarely more than 3 lbs heavier than high-end aluminum frames. Have you ever seen a high-end touring road bike made from aluminum? Didn't think so, you ignorant fuck. What are nearly all modern-day rigid 29ers made from? That's right dumbshit, STEEL. You're so fucking stupid it hurts.</td> </tr></table><span class="postbody">

This isn't a high end touring bike deal, we, or at least I was, before you started frothing at the mouth, talking about mountain bikes within the low price category just a notch above department store junk. Please remember we don't consider you some kind of bike god, the topic is always about the nearest alternatives to the product in the deal thread you post in, because (read slowly, it's key to learn this) it's a bargain hunter website.

Check your browser, there is a word after "bens" in the URL. We come here for deals, not an encyclopedia of bike arguments that ignore what the deal was.

<table width="90%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3" border="0" align="center"><tr> <td><span class="genmed"><b>Quote:</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="quote">You said "cheap." Since cheap has two definitions, you should specify to which you were referring. Learn b... [Truncated]

I should apologize, previously I wrote "Nobody wants steel on a good bike" when I should have written "Nobody who is sane wants steel on a good mountain bike". So I was wrong after all.

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