Cyclocrosser looking to take trails to the next level
 

Hi guys,

I started cycling as a mountain biker but I've been a roadie for nearly 7 years now... I've been racing Cyclocross the past few years and I've been "training" in my local state park by riding trails on the CX bike. I'm only a 10~15 minute bike ride from a state park : )

I'm that one guy who brings his CX bike with MTB friends. I'm able to get through most trails outside of the rockiest or gnarliest of roots - but while I can keep up decently, my hands and rear are fatiguing quick.

I want to add an aluminum 29er mountain bike to my stable so I can keep my speed better and reduce fatigue for 3~4 hour MTBing through rocky and root filled terrain.


I'd really like to stay under $2000. Here's what I'm thinking so far.

Niner EMD9 $1350
E.M.D. 9

Santa Cruz Highball 29 $1650
Santa Cruz Highball 29

Cannondale Lefty $2200 (I mean... that fork looks so cool, but is it worth the price?)
F-Si 1 Cannondale Bicycles

Yeti - out of my price range :( Dream MTB, but out of my price range.

I'm open to other suggestions -- I've had enough Trek bicycles already though.

Kona Kahuna, Rocky Mountain Vertex, Scott Scale, Giant XTC (this one has a carbon frame but it retails for $1850 so it will meet your budget)

Pretty much every brand has a hardtail on that price range. Most of them are fairly similar, some have better suspension at the expense of drive train. Some -like the Giant- offer a better frame but have a Suntour fork.

I'd try to narrow it down to what's available where you want to buy -local shop. And then pick from there.

Always local, never online ; )
I guess I'd rather slack on my frame than my fork -- Im okay with aluminum frames and I've accepted that for my amount of money, I'd be better off buying a decent hardtail than an entry full suspension bike with shody componentry and forks.

Of those three I'd pick the Santa Cruz. But I'd go for the next level build to get the Reba fork.

The Cannondale does come with nice wheels, though.

I know very little about the componentry of a mountain bike...

I know shocks are important but I'm not familiar with their tiers and levels either.

I was debating about making my own MTB build and buying a complete groupset, forks, steering tube/bars/stem, seat, and wheels. I know making your own bike is always a bit more expensive than purchasing a pre-made bike.

Frame - $1200
Groupset - $210 (Shimano Deore) vs ($300 Shimano XT/SLX)
Fork - $200 (Rockshox / Fox?)
Stem, Handlebars, Grips - $40/40/20
Seatpost - $35 Standard aluminum vs ($250 Rockshox Reverb)
Saddle - Free (I have several)
Tires - $100 (Maxxis Tubless)
Rim Glue - $5
Wheels - $140 (Shimano Mt66) vs ($400 Stan ZTR) tubeless

$1990 vs $2575

If you want to build your own, plan OK at least doubling the budget for a fork. And I'd count on about $2-300 for the wheels.

I ride a Fuji Tahoe 1.1 27.5er that I'm fond of. You can pick up last years at PB for less than $1400. Specd w SLX and a decent air fork. The 2017 model is also available in a 29er for under 2K

You want an air fork--coil springs are heavy and harsh riding. Any of those bikes are fine, you don't need a lefty--if you look at races, only one guy out of 100 has one.

You're right about the wheels -- I cant skimp too much on them. I was super unsure about forks though. Dropper seatposts I can always omit as a luxury.

If you want an Al-frame hard tail, you can find a TON of good options for <$1500.

For a $2k budget, it's worth considering full-suspension bikes. Giant Stance is decent at ~$1500 MSRP. And tons of manufacturers have quality FS bikes that can be had for ~$2k on-sale.

Granted, your local trails may not warrant a FS bike. But honestly, the main difference is just weight once you get into the $1000+ hardtails.

I read the MTB sticky and was worried that jumping into a FS bike would be overkill for me so I was leaning towards a quality HT over a low spec FS.

I guess I can ride state park, take a some GoPro video of the terrain I'm riding on, and ask in this thread what kind of bike people would recommend me best.

If you are looking at replacing a cross bike, then a $1500 full suspension won't cut it. But yes, you can get a decent aluminum frame for less than a grand. And some open-mold carbon direct from China for ~$500 may work too.

I didn't see brakes on your build list. Assuming you included them on the drive train?

Yeah, there are some kits that come with disc brakes -- I forgot to include the discs themselves which tend to be between $10~20.

My cross-bike was $1700 (new). I kept telling myself I was going to sell it but I kept riding the damn thing. When my road bike was stolen, I stuck 25mm slicks on it and raced. When it was rainy, and I just didn't want to ride my other bikes, I threw 28mm hybrid road tires on. For cross and trails I have 31mm or 33mm knobbies. Yes, I do a lot of tire changes.

http://i.imgur.com/5pJLSjuh.jpg

Not really replacing it, just N+1ing.

That was poorly worded on my part. I meant that if you plan to use the mountain bike for the rides on trails you were using the cross bike, I don't think a sub-2K full suspension bike will cut it.

And cross bikes are awesome. I sold my road bike after I bought my cross bike. I've done mountain bike trails on it and yes, it is fun. But a mountainbike is -usually more fun.

Yahaha! I got it now. I'm half hopeful that the fork and beefier tires will be all I need...

I was doing what you said and seeing what my LBS sells. They also sell Ibis alongside Niner and the other major domestic 3. Any good thoughts on the brand?

Tranny 29 | Bikes

The Tranny is an awesome bike. And Ibis bikes are pretty sweet in general. Same level as Yeti.

Really? There was a Yeti dealer here but after seeing the pricing on those bikes I strayed away -- that same shop has Pivot bikes which I feel are also out of my price range : (

Good MTB are Expensive .. YGWYPF.

Yeah, Pivot makes great bikes, but no low priced ones. I test rode a Cannondale with the lefty fork, nice fork but not IMHO nicer than the Rock Shox Reba so of the original bikes listed I would suggest the SC Highball 29 C.

that being said, I ride my FS bike everywhere, and love it, won't go back. I ride a Giant Stance, you can get the Stance 1 for $2,100 air fork, Sram 1x11 gearing, and dropper seat post. Or a Giant Trance 3 for the same price. Better suspension and linkage, but no dropper post and 2x10 gearing instead. Personally I think I am about to upgrade my Stance to a Trance 2..

Ibis is a good brand. A buddy cracked his rear triangle, then drove down to SC and picked up a new one.

They're doing some interesting things with suspension design. I like the use of BB30 bearings as the main pivot, for example. You can get standard parts, and doesn't compromise the design.

Honestly, the Niner seems like a solid deal especially if they knock a little off the price. Gives you $200-300 for a dropper and you've got a very solid bike for ~$1500. I like Fox forks, but they're a beast to work on.

For some perspective on groupsets.
XTR= Dura-ace
XT = Ultegra
SLX - about like 105
Deore - a little better than Tiagra

I would generally say SLX is the sweetspot for price vs performance, but Deore stuff is very good. The differences between Deore are very minor. SLX just went to 11-speed, and Deore is still 10-speed, but the ergonomics are very similar.

My LBS had the Kona Kahuna HT and the Rocky Mountain FS. I tested them both but fell in love with a particular bike in stock.

I ended up settling on an aluminum 2015 Niner WFO9 3-Star XT which needed a home.

http://i.imgur.com/igKfw9gh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/lHU1ZVth.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3Vu89IZh.jpg

I picked it up for 1/3rd off the MSRP but it was still a bit more than I was originally hoping to spend.

I took her out for a good 2 hour session at the state park and I'm exhausted. I had an average HR of 187 BPM (my max is 204) for 80 minutes of biking.
I really need to dial in my skills and get better at MTBing. Perhaps pick up a dropper post for these rocky descents.
The bike handles bumps superbly compared to the CX but the downside is that I can't just pick her up and run up obstacles -- but that's probably cheating.


I took video but the camera angle was too low and was giving me major motion sickness.

I don't know anything about how that bike works but it looks really good.

Some weird mix between the 3 Star XT's Rockshox Pike RC Solo Air suspension and the 4-Star Spec's SRAM X01 groupset but with no dropper. So it's set up to be a XC bike I'm assuming.

I'm a little glad it's aluminum and not CF because I'm worried about sharp rocks scraping the bottom of the frame.

Damn that's a sweet rig! It won't be the best as a XC race whip but it will devour trail. A dropper post would be a nice addition. And the Pike is an awesome fork. Nice bike, sir.

Time to develop the skills. The rocks and steeps really did a number on me yesterday. I binged watch GMBN after yesterday... : ) Thanks a lot Frozen, you were honestly a lot of help!