XC-style HT decision
 

Hi All,

I would like some general purchasing advice.

What I want:
Hardtail, 27.5" or 26" XC-style bike. Less interested in a niner, more on that below. WRT frame material, I'm into steel and Ti for this bike, but I'm not married to those and will consider carbon and Alu as well.

My Background:
Competitive road/track cyclist, have mtb'd intermittently. I owned one in college (Humboldt State Univ) and had a great time, but sold it before I moved. Figured I wouldn't want to as much down here.

For the past three or so years, I've been borrowing mtb's from co-workers for ~weekly MTB rides, and now I want one of my own again. I have plenty available to me, including 26" full susp. (xc style), a 29" HT stumpy with xtr and a sick fox fork, an 26" HT GT (Timberline, I think? Don't remember), and a fully rigid 26" Surly 1x1 SS. They're just left at work so I can grab one pretty much whenever if I ask in advance. Ironically, I end up riding the 26" fully rigid SS the most often.

What I know for sure is that I want an XC-style ride (may or may not ever race it), front suspension, and hardtail. What I'm not completely sold on, is wheel size. I like how fast and "safe" the niner feels, it's great, but I also like being able to maneuver through techy lines and feel a lot of the trail instead of just steamrolling over it. I ride the Surly most often as it is so fun to huck around.

I realize that 26" XC HT's are nonexistent, and that product serviceability/support is also on the decline. I won't totally rule out a niner, but think I want a 26", or the intermediate 27.5"

Budget:
$2k, give or take 10% or so.

What I've considered:

1) Buying new
I can get a decent deal (within my budget) on a Norco Revolver 7.2. It's a 27.5" bike with Shimano SLX and a decent RS fork, I forget which one. It's a tempting buy, but the frame is a little bit space-age for what I want: carbon fiber, internal routing, PF30 BB. I avoid some of those features on both of my road bikes (training/race), as I value simplicity and longevitiy. The dealer said that Norco puts a lifetime warranty on the frame, which surprises me.


2) Piecing something together
This could be a fun way to go, and would make the bike really mine, but I also value the simplicity, warranty and service associated with a new purchase at a bike shop.

I've considered purchasing a Ritchey P-team (26", steel, HT, disc tabs, external routing, threaded BB) frame and a partial XT group from Colorado Cyclist. I'd have to purchase wheels and a fork, but I have the rest of the components lying around or can get for free.


3) Buying used via CL and Ebay.
This was my first option, as my original budget was much lower. I'm getting a mid-year mini bonus for doing great in bringing more Analytical Service business to the company I work at, so now I'm considering mostly or all new bits. I still may consider this though, as I can get something real nice with my budget.

-----------------------------------------

OK, enough rambling. Advice please!

If you like a traditional 26'er --- I'd keep my eye out on ebay for a Ritchey P-23 or something similar ---- 26" wheels are still available from Stan's and other makers at good prices . and put it together with a contemporary 1x10 drivetrain, and you have simplicity , classic good looks, and a modern drivetrain

26" wheels are going to be supported for a long time - One thing that is not supported though are 1" head tubes, so make sure you dont go too far back in years


Modern 29'ers are also made with longer top tubes, slacker head angles and use shorter stems to quicken the handling over bikes from just 4 or 5 years ago --- you might be surprised at the handling of a new 29'er -----

One im partial to is the re-introduced GT Xizang that was made in a limited run maybe a year or two ago

From what I heard, the 29" does have advantage of able to roll over "stuff" a lot better than 26". If I am buying a HT today, I would opt for a 29" and take advantage of that.

I currently own a 26" Giant Anthem from 2008 and plan on keeping it for a while longer. I am getting older and not plan on racing. 26" XC FS still serves me well. :)

I don't worry about the tire and rims support for 26" now cause there are still plenty of 26" out on the road.

Jamis Dragon 27.5 jumps to mind
It is steel with a 120mm fork and a 68 degree head angle making it a bit more trail than xc race bike though, I'd like that. Problem is they offer it in a $1200 version that probably isn't highend enough for you and a $2800 version that is too highnend for you. No middle ground but maybe you could find a deal. There are a few steel hardtail 27.5 bikes out there but most of them are more aimed at the trail/AM/enduro side, lots of travel and slack head angles. Transistion AM for instance.

Wheel will be, as that's really the only difference between a 26" and 27.5 bike, for steerers, 1" was never really supported in the first place, as it went with in a few years of suspension becoming common, and had gone by the time it was standard (last seen in production around 1996), getting a 1 1/8th" for new now is harder, as most are tapered, although if your frame has a ZX heasdset, this isn't an issue.

If looking for a new bike for the 2016 season, would be looking at 27.5+, forget 26" as it's dead when it comes to new bikes, and would be cautious with 27.5 bikes as the + standard (with boost hubs & big tires) may will take over from the 27.5 that came about a few years back (nothing stays as a standard for more than a season or so today)

forgot to mention Jamis does allow online sales of their bike so you can usually find deals if you don't mind not test riding.

Jamis Dragon 650 Pro 2014 - Ferguson Bicycle Shop - Ferguson, MO

Its really not that bad for parts on the 26. Besides the frame...the wheels, fork, and tires are the only other 26 specific parts. None of which is in scarce supply. 26 specific parts can be found for super good deals right now.

Hmmm, thx for the opinions so far. A few notes:

What does "trail" mean relative to "XC" and "All mountain"? I've seen different mfg's refer to their product lines as such, and @Canker above referred to the Jamis Dragon as "Trail". Does that mean, like, more travel on the fork and relaxed geo relative to XC? I'd OK with that, up to a certain point... Also, thanks for posting that discounted Dragon Pro 2014 @Canker. It looks like a great buy, and I'd love to own a steel framed MTB.

Can anyone comment on the Norco that I had mentioned above? The model is this one: Archives - Norco Bicycles The shop owner said he'd knock it down to 2k, plus tax.

At that price point, the Jamis seems more enticing every way except it's "trail" description.

Finally, building up a 26" Ritchey P-team frame seems ideal to me, but I'm not sure that I can get the frame, decent wheels and a decent groupset and keep it to $2k.

Think by designation "Trail" is something in the 120/130mm travel segment. XC is usually 100mm and All Mountain is 150mm and up. A bike like the Pivot Mach 4 or Specialized Camber would be considered trail.

By the looks the Revolver is an XC bike. A Trail hardtail would have somewhere between 120 and 140mm of travel. Like a Kona Honzo, Niner ROS 9, or any of the Canfield HT's.

The Revolver 9.3 looks pretty legit...especially at under 2k. http://www.norco.com/bike-archives/2015/revolver-93/

Looking at the pic of the 9.3. It comes with X1...but the specs say Deore. Whats up with that?

Nice frame, but be aware that the headset is a IS/drop in type, which limits you to 1 1/8th" steerer tubed forks, these are around, but have been getting harder to find for the last few years, so make sure you can get a fork to go with the frame

Good point - thanks.

I've been sittin' on this one for a while, and I gotta say, that discounted Jamis Dragon 650b pro (17") is looking mighty appealing...

I ride a Trek Stache 8, and am a huge fan. 29" tires are nice, but didn't blow my mind. Will probably go 27.5" when the time comes (years down the trail).

I will say I am a Craiglist proponent.

Got my first bike, Giant Rincon, barely used and a year old for $300 (new is $500), and just got this Stache for $800 lightly used and two years old, when new it would have been over $2K.

Both bikes have been great, and close to new condition.

Sorry I can't be of more use, but man, there are some sweet deals on CL...

true, i'll keep my eyes peeled in the coming days.

Look at Marin
Very pleased with my NailTrail. Look at NailTrail and IndianFire. Good drivetrain, aluminum, triple butted and formed tubes. Stiff and light.
Has normal english threaded BB.

Well, this is going down. I decided to fork out some of my own cash (~$1k) and now we are doing a custom build, 27.5 hardtail, susp. fork, 1x drivetrain.

Purchases have been made:

Ritchey p-650b 17" (new cyan/red color scheme)
Fox Float 32, 100mm
Reynolds MTN R27.5 XC wheels
Shimano XT 1x10, using a just the middle ring from a triple
XT brakes, 160mm rotors
Thomson Elite + some random saddle

All that's left to decide is tire and bar choice - arguably the two most important ones.

didnt realize you had made a thread about this, things:

trail = more squish than xc, because bigger hits and drops and more aggro style

for tires id recommend asking locals/lbs that ride your trails what tires they use

you made good choices, did you get the new m8000?

make sure you get your suspension set up right for you as it makes a world of difference, good youtube vids for diy or a good shop/friend can help that knows what theyre doing

no m8000, we're doing 1x10 with a triple crankset and only the middle ring. If I feel like I want a 40/42t later in the rear we can do a conversion kit.

thanks for the tips, I'm still very unsure (read: noob) in regard to fork and tire setup. I trust my LBS mechanics, so I'm in good hands.

also: tubeless.

Sounds like a nice build. I saw this late but have the Dragon Pro 650B and it is an awesome bike. Way more comfortable ride and relaxed handling than my Stumpjumper hardtail, which is definitely XC. Oh yeah, it's gorgeous too, although a bit on the heavy side.

My 29er HT was fast out in the open and on long smooth down hills.
It was a handful anytime the trail got tight, switchbacks were hard work, BUT it had heavy wheels, not a big dollar bike.
I see riders on better quality HT's smokin it !

Think of wheel size as a bike fit parameter instead, A 6' tall long legged rider should fit a 29er real well..
I was 5' 11" and found my 27.5 to be faster almost everywhere for me, the wheels were also not expensive but still the smaller size meant less weight and a stiffer build.

I just did not have the engines to get the most out of the 29er...

Personally for me, If I was to do a Hard Tail I'd want a 29er, except I'd Insist on a much better (more expensive) wheel set....

On a $2k budget I'd have to have my current drive train, the Shimano Deore XT M8000 1x11, Its very affordable now.
Shifts just as well as the $1,000 Srams but cost less than half that..

another happy Dragon Pro owner. Nice!

Ya, this is a good perspective to keep in mind, especially for riders in boundary conditions wrt height.

A mid-size guy like myself can probably go either way (5'9", 32" inseam). I went w 650b, as mentioned above.

Also, it's getting built up this week, will post pics when it's done!

Today I rode my new mtb (sweet!) for 2hrs around open spaces and trails nearby my parent's house - and had a blast. First real ride on the new mtb.

In one section of the ride near San Marcos Mtn, or "Radio Tower Pass" as my friends and fam. like to call it, I found a true gem of a trail. Meandering through random intersecting trails near the bottom, I found one cut that happened to go up the contours/slope of the hillside for at least a couple hundred feet (maybe 300'), with 10 switchbacks. It had nicely carved berms, retaining walls, little jumps and drops etc, and nicely placed rock gardens - the works. It took me a full 7-minutes to descend. It took a fair bit longer to climb (obv.), but I wasn't paying attention because I was too stoked at what I was discovering.

I was stunned to find something like this so hidden and close to home. There was clearly signs of recent work, with new dirt, trash cans and tools strewn about the trail. At the top, the developed trail abruptly ended, with only a moderate brush-clearing, on top of which lied a wheelbarrow, mattock and two shovels. I used to do a fair bit of trailbuilding during my scout days, made me really appreciate these guys' work.

Pics soon.