HI everyone, I'm new here, from Italy. I have a question as I'm coming to California end of August and I'm going to Mammoth mountain, I need to buy and hardtail as soon as I land in L.A., so, what's the best deal I can do? Anyone can suggest me the best shop in L.A. or on the way to Mammouth? Really thank you in advance. Massimo
You can always rent a bike from a local bike shop. Plus I think you'll want a full suspension bike for Mammoth and it will make it more fun.
You will want to rent a big travel downhill bike for Mammoth. Riding Mammoth on a hardtail would be painful. The best place in town to rent is Footloose sports in Mammoth. http://www.footloosesports.com/ They have Norco A-Line, Specialized Demo 7 and Demo 8 for rent. There was even a Santa Cruz VP-Free in their rental stable. It's about $80 to rent for a full day.
Check out JensonUSA, I think I saw something on there site about some kind of travel refund with the purchase of a bike? Its worth checking into.