Mango Biking Links

Mango Bike Shop: This is my home shop. It has slowly evolved over the years and has become a fully equipped shop. I work on most of my friends bikes, and hold monthly maintenance get togethers for the Atlanta biking community. Through myself and a few key friends that either have worked or currently work in regular shops, we can offer any service you will find in a regular shop save ordering parts. We do stock basic parts like cables and housing, but unfortunately none of the distributors I've contacted are willing to work with a small home based business, but that doesn't stop us from doing the best bike work you will find in Atlanta.
Comparison Pricing: This site rocks. It compares the main on-line merchants and their prices on shocks as well as SRAM, Shimano, and Campagnolo components. If you are going to buy any of these items, check here first!
Performance Bicycle: Yes, I'm usually for the smaller merchants and shops, but so many of my biking friends are on a tight budget, and Performance prices are usually some of the lowest you will find. Also if you are in Atlanta, they have 3 separate retail stores here. If you aren't already on their mailing list, sign up. You will get regular emails with 10% and 20% off coupons, notifications for special sales, and more. Now one of the best parts. In most cases they will match prices. Even prices you find on the Internet, so print out whatever low price web site you can find, take it into performance and get the benefit of Internet pricing and the instant gratification of getting your parts now.
Dave's Wheels: Dave Thomas (not of Wendy's fame) runs a small shop out west and builds custom wheels under the name Speed Dream Wheels. You will not find a better wheel set period. When you order, he will interview you and determine proper spoke size rim type, hub, and build a wheel that matches you and your riding style. They aren't the cheapest wheels you can get, but for what you are getting, the price is fair, and you can't find a bad review of his wheels on mtbr or any other site. My first set went over 2 years before it saw a truing stand and that included 24 hour races and riding nearly every week. My second set lived about that long before I ran one of them over with my car... I hand built a replacement and am still running the other one at 3 years now.
SORBA: The Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association. This is a volunteer, nonprofit organization formed to promote trail preservation and development, mountain bike racing, touring, fun and fellowship for all mountain bicyclists in the southeast. If you mountain bike in the south, join SORBA! It's cheap, there are a lot of good perks, and they look out for the interests of riders.
IMBA: The International Mountain Bicycling Association. This is a much larger and global version of SORBA that creates, enhances and preserves trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide. Another must join organization for the average mountain biker.
North Georgia Mountain Biking Maps: This is a page put together by a SORBA member with good local trail maps. There is a really good map of the Bull/Jake Mountain area.
MTB WNC: This is a great comprehensive site that covers mountain biking in western North Carolina. You will find great information on trails, clubs, events, and also trail maps.
NOC: The Nantahela Outdoor Center. This is a great outdoor/adventure type store tucked away in the Nantahela Gorge in Western North Carolina. They are only a few minutes away from Tsali and several other great area trails and offer a good selection of gear, a bike shop for any repairs you might need while in the area, and one of the best things, mountain bike rentals. They rent average level bikes all the way up to high end rides like Lightspeed and Santa Cruz. To the best of my knowledge this is the only place to rent high-end bikes anywhere near Atlanta.
Tsali: A great set of trails in western North Carolina about 3 hours north of Atlanta. The park has nearly 40 miles of excellently maintained single track divided into 4 loops. The trails are very well marked, fast, and fun! The trails are not terribly technical, making this a great destination for camping and biking even if you are new to mountain biking, and for the hammer-heads, the trails offer hours of big chainring single track action!
Off the Beaten Track Guides: The quintessential set of trail guides for mountain biking in the Southeast. This set of guides by Jim Parham, cover just about all the trails worth riding in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. You can get these book in almost any local bike shop or you can order directly thorough the link here.
Outback Bikes: What would a biking page be without a link dedicated to the LBS? Outback Bikes is located in the Little Five Points Area of Atlanta and is the closest shop to where I live. The staff is quite knowledgeable, they have a good selection of gear, and they have always treated me well.
Sheldon Brown: Not quite sure what to make of this site or what to call it. Maybe the MangoBoy site will get this far some day... It has a lot of great info covering repair info, wheel building, and dozens of other biking related topics.
MTBR.com: This is site can be a great resource for learning more about almost any subject from components to trails and most of the input comes from actual riders. My advice, use this info as a guide and not as the final word. You will read reviews from people that are overly harsh on some products, and people that will rave about poor products. Take everything with a grain of salt and try to get an average feel for items and trails that have lots of reviews.
Dauset Trails: Almost 20 miles of very well maintained single track and home to the occasional event or race. This is a great set of trails located about an hour south of Atlanta. From the main site, click on “Fun Things to Do”, and then look for the hiking and Biking link.
Park Tool: If its broken or out of adjustment, there is a Park Tool to fix it. My home shop is outfitted with dozens of park tools, and they have always treated me well. Not only do they make great tools for almost every situation, but they provide great how-to type information on their web site that will walk you through almost any repair you are willing to try.
Adventure Trekkers: Adventure Trekkers is a mountain biking travel co-op managed by Rick Pratt and Josh Gerak. Since 1987 Adventure Trekkers has been taking friends (and friends of friends, etc) on some of the most awe inspiring mountain biking and hiking there is in the southern Utah area. This is the group that first introduced me to Moab and the desert southwest. This group has helped provide some of my best mountain biking memories and has also given me countless great friends in the 8+ years I've been on their trips.
The Ouachita Challenge: This is an annual 60 mile tour/race in central Arkansas. The course is almost entirely single track and is one of the best rides I've ever done. If you are looking for an epic mountain bike ride and a fantastic course, look no further.
Specialized: My list wouldn't be complete without a link to Specialized, the company that produced my 97 mango colored S-Works hard-tail. The bike that inspired the name, the site, and is still my faithful steed to this very day (even though the frame and the stem are the only original components!)
Santa Cruz: My newest steed is a Santa Cruz Blur, of course in orange, the closes color I could get to Mango. Fox F100RLC and RP3, Full SRAM X.0, Avid Juicy Ultimates, and carbon everywhere. This was, and now is, my dream bike!