Fun trail hardtail for $1000

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Fun trail hardtail for $1000
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flag slevin011
Posted: Sep 8, 2016 at 11:24 Quote
What do you guys recommend? This will be my first mountain bike, though I do have a heavy BMX and cycling background. I live in Michigan, so from what I have gathered, the terrain is pretty...mild? No super intense climbs and no true downhill, but a little bit of everything on a smaller scale. Given my budget, I have been looking primarily at hardtails. The 2016 Specialized Rockhopper Comp and 2016 Trek X-Caliber 7 have both caught my eye, but I'm slightly worried they will be missing the quickness and overall "fun factor" with 29" wheels and more of an XC designation. Most of the trail bikes I see are full suspension and out of my price range. I'm a bit confused on what I should look for and don't want to make a mistake.

I do have 2 bike shops near me (one sells Trek, one sells mostly Specialized and Giant), so hopefully I can at least ride a few around the parking lot to get an idea of what feels right...

Here are the two bikes in question:
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/trail/rockhopper-comp-29/115498
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/cross-country-mountain-bikes/x-caliber/x-caliber-7/p/2040600-2016

Thanks!
flag aerosxl
O+
Posted: Sep 10, 2016 at 9:06 Quote
Commencal Meta AM HT
flag mistermtb
FL
Posted: Sep 10, 2016 at 9:08 Quote
+1 for the Commencal
flag slevin011
Posted: Sep 12, 2016 at 15:54 Quote
Thanks guys. I will look into the Commencal. Any opinions on the 2017 Specialized Fuse Comp? I was at one of the local shops today and the guy there said I would have "way more fun" on the Fuse compared to something like the Rockhopper on our local trails due to the 27.5+ tires and extra suspension travel. I have an opportunity to demo one on a local trail Saturday morning, but it is a lot more expensive at $1600. He made it seem like the extra price is worth it, but then again, he's a bike salesman...
flag RockSurf
Posted: Sep 12, 2016 at 17:02 Quote
The 2016 Santa Cruz Chameleon D build is on sale right now for a little over 1200. The Fuse is a fun bike, but like you said bike shop guys are there to sell bikes.
flag mistermtb
FL
Posted: Sep 12, 2016 at 20:14 Quote
The fuse does look pretty fun actually. But it mostly comes down to your budget I think. And whether or not you like the idea of plus tires. The link below is to a Commencal Meta HT which is $1300 with a pretty sweet spec. My buddy rides a Commencal Meta HT and the thing rips. But the Fuse also looks like it rips but it has less travel. And is kind of expensive

http://www.commencalusa.com/meta-ht-am-essential-650b-rockshox-yellow-2016-c2x18419109
flag slevin011
Posted: Sep 13, 2016 at 6:19 Quote
mistermtb wrote:
The fuse does look pretty fun actually. But it mostly comes down to your budget I think. And whether or not you like the idea of plus tires. The link below is to a Commencal Meta HT which is $1300 with a pretty sweet spec. My buddy rides a Commencal Meta HT and the thing rips. But the Fuse also looks like it rips but it has less travel. And is kind of expensive

http://www.commencalusa.com/meta-ht-am-essential-650b-rockshox-yellow-2016-c2x18419109

Thanks. I have actually looked into the Meta HTs a lot since yesterday afternoon based on the recommendations in this thread and for the price that is one I am seriously considering. Do you think that model is worth the extra $300 over the Origin model? Also, maybe a dumb question, but how difficult is it to put together a mountain bike that comes shipped in a box and get everything tuned up correctly? I have built BMX bikes, but my road bikes have always been purchased at local shops and they have been set up/fit for me at the shop.

http://www.commencalusa.com/meta-ht-am-origin-red-2016-c2x17825633
flag mistermtb
FL
Posted: Sep 13, 2016 at 7:29 Quote
It's ultimately up to you if it's worth it or not but I think $300 extra for the upgraded fork alone would be worth it. The Yari is a hard-charging fork that the Sektor just can't keep up with. And if you are a damn gnarly rider, you can upgrade the fork's internals to Rockshox's Charger Damper which will basically make the fork exactly like their new Lyrik. The 2nd biggest thing for me would be the much more aggressive tires on the essential. I've ridden the Ardents, which come on the origin, a lot and I like them as a fast rolling rear tire but on the front, they get pretty sketchy in any loose or muddy conditions. And the 3rd thing is that KS dropper post. It's not the most high end dropper but it looks like it will get the job done. Having ridden a dropper, it's hard to go back to a normal seatpost. But keep a normal seatpost laying around because you will need it if your dropper needs to get sent in for warranty.
flag slevin011
Posted: Sep 15, 2016 at 17:11 Quote
So...it's obviously way out of my budget, but a local shop had a demo Trek Stache 7 29+ that I got to take out on the trails for a few hours today and I have to say it was pretty awesome. Granted, the was my first time on a trail ever, but I had a ton of fun and actually made my way (slowly) through a black trail without falling. Got a little too confident near the end of the ride and went over the bars though. Oops. Lesson learned.

Anyway, back to my noobish questions since I am still slightly lost. I was able to make it up all but the steepest, most technical trail I encountered today, though I blame that more on my skill rather than the bike. I am really liking what I have read about the commencal meta am ht, but will it be more difficult to pedal around on and climb with the 27.5 wheels and slacker head angle? I was pretty conservative on the downhills today and it had me reconsidering if I really need a more "huckable" am oriented hardtail vs a more traditional 29er or 27.5. I still want to be able to have fun and love the idea of an aggressive hardtail but don't want to get too much bike for my skill level if that makes sense. Sorry for another bump, just want to make the right decision since this is a pretty big purchase for me.
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