taking things off-road Xterra anyone?

Hey! Finally after almost 50 reads one brave soul steps forward.  You should do the Emma Long Xterra.  I'm doing it and there are one or two other BT'ers planning on it too.   I did not race it last year but a good friend of mine did.  He had nothing but good things to say about it.  I've ridden at Emma Long (a.k.a. City Park) several times and it has the potential to be really technical.   See pictures below.  On race day, reportedly,  the added planks and bypasses to the more technical trail features. 

Don't worry about your current MTB skill set; we have several months to get those up to par.   I race MTB's for a local shop here on the NW side of town.  They have club rides that are centered around beginners and intermediate riders.   No one will get left behind.  The ride is more casual than the "training" rides.  Also there are also night rides (my favorite).  Shoot me a PM and I can give you details and ride schedules.  Need a bike?  I have a loaner or two depending on how tall you are.

 As far as comparing road times to off-road times I cannot say for sure in regards to Tri's.  I'm new to this side of things.  However I can speak knowledgeably regarding times/speed of Road races and MTB races.  Easy cruising speed on my road bike is between 18-21 mph.  Road bike race tempo for me is about 25-27mph for most of it but that riding in a big group or pace line.   On the MTB my easy cruising speed is around 10-12 mph (through  single track).  If the trail is really technical and/or steep it ranges between 7-9 mph.  After a 20 mile MTB race I feel as trashed as I do on a 50-60 mile road race.  Basically, for me, the level of effort or level of PERCEIVED effort  is  1 mile off-road is equal to ~3 miles on the road. 

 Running times I can't say for certain. I'm a slow runner to begin with.    I do 95% of my running off-road.  Basically the only time I run on concrete is when I do a 5k with my wife.  I'd agree when people say add a minute or two to your road run pace for technical trail runs.  It is about that for me but I'm not a strong runner at all.

I'll try and give it a shot here.    I will first say, I am more partial to big wheels 29er.  I ride a 29er hardtail at the moment for races.  There is a 29er FS race bike in my near future.  I seldom ride my 26er FS bike these days, especially on race days.   Some people will argue on the benefits.  In my opinion riding a 29er on an XC trail is like wearing a wetsuit for a swim.  The mechanical advantages it provides outweigh the disadvantages.  I don't really agee when people say a 29er HT is as smooth at a 26er 4" travel FS bike.  4" of suspension is 4".  I think people who make this claim have not set up the suspension on their bike correctly. 

There are still applications where I prefer a standard wheel size bike i.e. Dirt Jumping or and on some very  technical trails.  Now to try to answer your question about how I  pick them:

1.) Ride as many as you can; If you can, borrow or rent one.  Parking lot test rides don't do a whole lot for me.  All new bikes feel great in the parking lot.   On the trail you will be able to feel how the different suspension designs work.  Bicycle Sport Shop in Austin has rentals and you can spend a day riding in A-town and take out several models.  I did this, paid for a full day premium bike rental and tried several bikes.  They may have a shop closer to you in S.A. that does something similar.

2.) I prefer suspension bikes with basically 4 main pivot locations i.e. Horst Link (specialized), DW link/Maestro/VPP/CVA - these are variations of basically the same design.  Bikes with this type of suspension feel similar.   A few manufactures in this category are Ibis, Giant, Santa Cruz, and Niner.  Trek/ Fisher developed the ABP for their bikes and this help with the feel of thier bikes (IMO).  Single pivot bikes (older fisher, cannondale, etc.) and modified 4 bar (just about everyone else) works well but  IMO just don't  have the efficiency going up hill or when you have to sprint.  They are all fast down hill but XC races are won up hill.  That is where you can see the more efficient designs shine.

3.) You mentioned “first FS bike”  To me this means the most bang for the buck.  Something decent  and will be sufficient for racing, reliable, and rugged enough for every day riding.   My pick are as followed in no particular order

Giant Trance – I own one.  It is an AWESOME all around bike.  It is just about anything.   I raced mine all last year in a couple of 12 and 24 hr MTB races and a couple of shorter MTB races and felt like I did just fine.  It was not the bike that was slowing me down if you will.  I’m even comfortable taking it on some light free-ride-ish trails.  I’ve taken it off of a 3’ drop to flat and have done a few 5’ drops to a rolling transitions.  Scary but the bike was not the limiting factor.  The Trance is like the “working man’s” Ibis Mojo or Santa Cruz Blur.  The Anthem is lighter and more race oriented but I liked the Trance for it’s versatility.

Trek EX 8 or top fuel– EX if you want a more burly bike or top fuel if you want something more race oriented.  Make sure if you are looking at a Trek it has the ABP.  These feel much better than those w/o.

Gary Fisher Hi-Fi – Sweet 29er FS bike right out of the box.  A 29er will cost you a bit more than an equivalently spec’d 26er.

Specialized  Stumpjumber FSR – either version 26 or 29.  I like the 29er version better but you need to see which feels better under you.

There are lots of swanky sexy options but the bikes I listed above are great production bikes and come out of the box nicely spec'd.   As soon as it is available to the public I am purchasing a Giant Anthem 29er.  I’m doing more XC type stuff these days.    If Giant produced a 29er Trance I would have a really tough time deciding which to get. 

Excellent info and great starting point.  Thanks.