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You can save big by buying used–this cheat sheet will help make sure you get the best value
We all love our mountain bikes, but here’s a fact: High-end mountain bikes can depreciate faster than a Maserati. Just like with that used supercar, it can make a lot of sense to buy your mountain bike used and let someone else swallow the depreciation.
But not all used mountain bikes are the same—knowing what you want and what are the most critical features can help smooth the used bike-buying process and ensure you get a bike that keeps a smile on your face for years to come.
Before shopping for a bike, decide what kind you want.
Also pay attention to wheel sizes:
By thoroughly inspecting the bike and considering these factors, you can make an informed decision when buying a used mountain bike and enjoy many adventures on the trails ahead.
Durango Outdoor Exchange is your used MTB headquarters. From spring through fall, we’ve got used bikes ready to lead you to mountain tops, desert overlooks, and farmers markets, with everything from steel stallions to carbon fiber rocket ships. Questions about what sort of bike is right for you? Not sure what to look for? The pros at Durango’s best used bike store are on hand to help.
If you are camping in bear country, or in any place where food storage is a concern, you should strongly consider using a bear canister–a storage system that is built to keep bears out of your food. And in some places, particularly parks in California, Montana, Colorado, and Washington,backcountry campers are required to have and use bear canisters.
While you may get lucky by hanging your food in a sack from a tree, this is not permitted in many areas and virtually impractical in many alpine anddesert backpacking zones. Bear canisters are the preferred method for storing food and other smelly items, but there are many kinds to be aware of. Let’s look at them in more detail.
For many hikers, summiting one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks is a lifetime achievement. Others make it their entire personality, working for years and even decades to climb all of them. Some make a goal of climbing them all in a single season while others try to ski them all.
The problem with climbing 14ers for many people is that they are difficult–and we’re not just talking about the thin air. Of the 58 in Colorado, about one-third entrail considerable exposure and require skilled route-finding and ascent/descent skills. About half have either moderate or considerable challenges. Just eight are considered “easy.”
Hikers looking to summit a 14er near Durango will find four that rank generally as easy or the easy end of moderate. They are all in the same two canyons and can be climbed by someone with decent fitness, good shoes, and a penchant for waking up early. The roads to access all these peaks are part of the Alpine Loop and can be driven from Silverton in a four-wheel drive such as a Tacoma, but are generally not in all-wheel drives like Subarus.
Ready? Here goes!
