Despite the wealth of full-suspension bikes on the market, there's still a place in the mountain bike world for the reliable hardtail. Ghost Bikes think so too, which is why they're released the Asket hardtail. Their marketing lingo is decidedly over-the-top—apparently the bike was designed "to bestow great enlightenment on its rider," but hyperbole aside, the new models are well spec'd, and could be a solid option for a newcomer to the sport, or for riders looking for a wintertime skills builder. There are 29" and 27.5" versions, both with aluminum frames, and all models come with with wide tires, a dropper post, and a 1x drivetrain.
Find out more here:
www.ghost-bikes.com/asket/
Is it cheaper?
The only reason I'd buy one is because you can get really dope 2nd hand cranks for peanuts
because no one wants SH*TFIT BB.
Sure, they make most of their money building clunky/commuter OEM stuff, but judging Suntour based on that is like judging RS based on the XC28, and 30 silver. For bikes around $1k I actually recommend those OEM suntours, as you get more value for the money than you would with RS. I've ridden the XCR-Air and it's a totally trail-worthy budget fork - smooth & super reliable, with decent adjustability. Obviously weight and damping aren't the best, but it's a low price point. Their mid/high end stuff is very competitive.
Stocked on my Norco Torrent 27.5+ bike for similar reasons.
Completely disagree on frame materials. Aluminum HT was my only bike for 3 years and it was fine, and I've ridden steel and Ti as well. It you run high volume tires, low pressures, and a decent handlebar I honestly don't think frame material makes a difference aside from aesthetics (I do love skinny tubes).
What ppl don't often account for in these discussions is that not all steel/carbon/aluminum is equal. There's plenty of awful steel out there - there's a big difference between double butted columbus tubing and cheap hi-tensile tubing. Then the design itself can have a lot of impacts on feel on top of that - bends, gussets, ovalizing/flattening, etc.