Hardtail Trail 29er - Recommendations?

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

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F10
Posts: 78
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:55 am

by F10

Hi all - have recently got into MTB, riding on a bunch of trails here in the UK. I currently have a fairly ropey Merida with 1x10 Deore (upgraded from stock 3x7 Alivio) which has been a blast, but i'm getting the N+1 itch so would like to upgrade...

I think I want the following:

- Hardtail (lighter, cheaper, purer, better climbing and will force me to improve quicker)
- Probably 29er (bit more forgiving given hardtail, smoother rolling)
- Shimano 1x group (hear bad things about SRAM SX/NX and have been really happy with the shifting of the Deore 10)
- Reasonable fork (Revelation with upgrade down the road, maybe a pike if I can justify the cost, possibly bomber z2?)
- Primarily trail focused, but would be nice if it still climbs well / can handle the odd XC trip
- Allows me to exercise my cycle to work scheme benefits to reduce the cost

I'd rather self-build if possible, but creates a bit of a challenge with cyclescheme depending on where I go. Some options I've looked at are:

Pre-built stuff I could upgrade down the line:
- Nukeproof Scout 290:
- Radley Big Wig / Big Al
- Ribble HT 725 (SRAM only - boo)
- Vitus Sentier VRS/VRX (bit boring)
- Sonder Signal ST
- Commencal Meta HT (stock build look a bit average - seat tube is super ugly)

More exciting stuff I could build / spec from the factory:
- Bird Zero
- Pipedream Moxie X3 (looks super cool, but maybe a bit too enduro?)
- Pipedream Sirius (also looks super cool, but 120mm may not be enough?)

Any thoughts / recommendations? I'm not going for a WW build here, just would like something capable on trails and on the climb back up, that isn't going to totally break the bank...

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MikeMoore
Posts: 97
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 2:19 pm
Location: Midlands, UK
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by MikeMoore

If you're new to MTB, you could do a lot worse than looking at more 'downcountry' full suspension bikes - they will be more forgiving of a newbies lines, more confidence inspiring and will almost certainly outclimb and outdescend a hardtail on anything other than fireroads.

Got a rough budget in mind?
Weight 74.4kg, FTP 303W => 4.04 W/kg

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by Weenie


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thewoodsman
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2022 7:08 pm

by thewoodsman

hard to beat Giant if you are trying to get the best frame for the price and upgrade later. they own the factories that make the carbon frames for most companies, and make most of their own components. really depends on your budget, what you want to upgrade, and what kind of frame you want.

welchy
Posts: 458
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 4:04 pm

by welchy

Just picked this up a moment ago, should be a good shout. I was looking for similar to you:

Marin Team 1 with added Maxxis Ikon Tubeless and crankbrothers dropper. List £1325 so about £1600 as here..
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Femboy
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2021 1:52 am

by Femboy

Build a Chinese carbon frame (airwolf t1000) or a specialized epic ht or mondraker podium frame but I'd save my money and go for the Chinese carbon
Chinese carbon wheels: aerolite spokes dt240 or 350s(180s are overpriced unless your at the highest end) and some 25-30mm internal rims or bontrager xxx and swap to 180s if your ballin still tho I'd save my money
Just get dual maxxis aspens there the best xc tires
Rockshox sid sl (ultimate or select+) great fork and not too pricey
Kalloy uno stem (I'd recommend taking the logos off with paint/nail polish remover and replacing the bolts with black/colored ones for aesthetic reasons and it gets to 88g) or a hyperstem with the extralite ch-01 Garmin mount if your ballin
Get a one-up edc top cap because you don't use a starnut and you save weight and you can store a tube in because there is not starn ut
MT zoom flat bars are light, cheap, and plenty stiff or the schmolke tlo flatbars if your ballin still tho I'd go for the mt zooms
For drivetrain I would go for 11 speed (gx to xx1 depending on budget) but I would get the Cannondale hollowgram cranks with a power meter from stages or on the high end you can get a thm clavicula (you gotta got a stupid amount of money for these) or something from Easton with a power meter
You can also go for a garburuck cassette if you have the money
For chainrings I'm running an absolute black oval but if you don't use oval go for the fsa afterburner one cause it's mad cheap and works good. Also the garburuck ones if you wanna save weight
Seatpost is down to preference but I would go for an elita one seatpost for most or go for darimo/extra light/schmolke
For the saddle it's all preference I like bontrager but it's your choice (berk lupinas nice to)
Everything else is your choice
Extras: get into immersive waxing to make your chains and drivetrain last longer and be more effecient to or go for silca synergetic oil if you don't wanna.
Ight that's it have a good one

zscs
Posts: 135
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2018 12:05 pm
Location: Hungary

by zscs

I bought a Giant Fathom 29 1 (2021) more than a year ago. Actually, the ~1400 EUR setup was pretty nice at first but turned out, the NX/SX shifter pair is not really the shining point of the setup (failed/broken). Also the wheelset was not compatible with my spare XD cassette, after a while I decided to sell it and buy a new wheelset (DT EXC1501). ...and I sold the stock fork (by some reason, came with an RS 35 TK silver, which was ~2700 grams, yes, no typo!), bought an RS Pike. After that, the brake setup came, replaced the set to an MT7 set. :)
...after a while, I ended up having a completely new bike, haha, and spent a lot of money on it, only the frame, the 170mm dropper post and the handlebar remained original. (-: But, I really love it, usually I use it for practicing jumps, visiting - at least to me - technically demanding trails and the bike nicely excels everywhere. Oh, and it's only 12.1 kgs now, including XTR pedals. ;)

jrod88
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:55 pm

by jrod88

I'd keep an eye on Pink Bike, there's a robust UK market on their marketplace and buy something in your budget.
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by Weenie


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