There's never been a better time to get into mountain biking. Prices have dropped post-pandemic, and there are lots of deals to be had with a minimal amount of hunting around. Granted, it's not all sunshine and rainbows for companies that are sitting on large stockpiles of inventory, but that's a topic for a different time.
For riders, whether you're a newcomer or a seasoned vet looking to save some cash, in many cases the bikes that used to be considered entry-level are more capable than ever. Modern geometry plays a large role in this, as do improvements in suspension, drivetrain, and brake technology.
For this year's Value Field Test we brought in five bikes, all with retail prices below $3,500 USD. Bike prices jumped up dramatically over the last few years, but things seem to be starting to return to semi-normal, and many cases the sale prices of bikes like the YT Capra or Specialized Status make them a screaming deal.
Along with those two bikes, which have 170 and 160mm of travel respectively, we also brought in the GT Sensor Comp, Vitus Mythique, and Marin Rift Zone. Those bikes fall into the trail bike category, with 130mm of rear travel for the GT, and 140mm for the Vitus and Marin.
Why mix categories? Well, these days plenty of riders are riding enduro bikes as trail bikes, and vice versa. The goal was to bring in a good cross-section of what's available at this pricepoint to highlight their strengths and weaknesses, and to determine who the ideal candidate for a specific model would be.
Testing took place in Bellingham, Washington, and Squamish, BC. The bikes were ridden on a mix of trails that were well suited to their intended use, a healthy mix of flowy singletrack climbs and descents, jumps, and berms, plus steeper, chunkier terrain that was ideal for sussing out any potential frame or component limitations.
Dario DiGiulioHeight: 6'3" / 191cm
Weight: 175 lbs / 79.4 kg
Notes: Tech editor, the king of customization.
Mike KazimerHeight: 5'11" / 180cm
Weight: 160 lbs / 72.6 kg
Notes: Managing tech editor, serial cereal eater
Matt BeerHeight: 5'10" / 178 cm
Weight: 170 lb / 77 kg
Notes: Tech editor, fast... and late
We'll have Value Field Test articles and videos rolling out all week, and then we'll wrap it up with a roundtable where we debate the pros and cons of all the bikes in this round of testing.
Maybe we won't see it on naturally aspirated bikes, but that would be a real shame- especially with how cheap it is!
It's actually baffling to me how Shimano will make slightly different parts for related components just because. One look at how many derailleur pulleys they offer, or bearing cones, blows my mind.
I am so happy that shimano this year went less is more way
If you swear by alloy, or are looking for even better bang for your buck keep your eyes peeled the next little while for some new redesigned alloy offerings coming from Fezzari.
The Deore-XT shifter on the other hand has reliability issues (little spring breaks) which is not an issue on the Deore and Deore-SLX shifters.
Goin to keep us all in the dark forever PB?
@kingtut87 if your only plan is enduro then fair enough, but otherwise this is a good shout
Hardtails are like riding single speed, you do it for appearances, and to make things harder.
Sure, sone folks have a tighter budget too …
But seriously, the folks I've ridden with who are on singlespeeds / hardtails are usually annoyingly capable, and tough as nails, if they're keeping up with us on full squish bikes. SS/hardtails built for only parking lot cred aren't ridden for long
I've got a Instinct Alloy 30... nice bike but heavy AF at 35.8lbs for a Large totally stock. OK, take half a pound off if you remove the tubes and put sealant in the tyres
I think the days of weight watching are over; anything under 35pounds is "light" in my books now.
It's an absolute ripper of a fun-bike, which I think a 130mm trail bike should always aim to be. Not the fastest down the steep stuff, not the lightest and sharpest in the climbs and tech, more just the kind of bike that makes me smile and feel pumped every time I ride it. It took the 2021 trail bike of the year in MBUK and has received rave reviews in other UK publications, but has never been tested in the US from what I've seen; I guess they don't want to have to pay Pinkbike for the privilege like other manufacturers.
If you ever find yourself in MN feel free to shoot me a message for a test ride.
If you check your dashboard Levy's often online, he's still ref'd periodically in the podcast, and he's still included in the PB talk show intro. I don't need Levy's address, email or phone # - and he's just another dude, but a funny and important one - Levy will forever be the guy at PB who got me through the pandemic w/ weekly podscasts. For PB to just be mum is silly to me - Levy' was a public figure, who have following and in my view PB should just say whats up so ppl don't speculate for months on end in every comment section and how is a bunch of us rambling on about Levy not-private or helpful vs. PB just saying wtf is up?
Lets say youre a reluctant public figure, like you started getting small time famous being a dork on a super niche website about grown ass adults riding bikes in the woods for fun. Youd never expect that to happen, and you prolly never thought one bit about the ramifications if it did.
Now youre a big fish, in a real small pond, really small when you start to think about how tiny the sea-to-sky is, and man, you can hardly go for a ride (which is prolly your straight up passion) without being noticed, talked to, asked for pics, blah blah, you get it.
You'd just want to fade away into the background, and hes prolly doing everything he can to escape it most of the time.
Levy seems like a reluctant celebrity, Henry too, Kaz seems like its water off his back, but hes not working hard to be "on" hes just who he is.
Then, just when youre trying your hardest to blend in, more internetters are yelling about how they want info, they want to know where he is, why dont we have more info about his shoe size, or bald spot, or shirt collar size (its an exaggeration, but you get it right?)
Listen, we arent owed anything, big props to the guys and gals who run, and work this gig. Theres sometimes that I wish I was doing it, but theres times I get to keep it as my passion and not my job.
Hope all the staff is out living their best lives, dont listen to any of our non-sense, and keep churning out silly entertainment. You guys are great.
Levy, hope youre out there looking for aliens, pedalling your under packed gravel bike along a lonely stretch of dusty road, headed to the next motel 8.
Most biz's offer basic diplomatic and usually vague statements when a well known public figure needs a break or is axed so it just feels unsettled and questioanably bizarre to me that PB hasn't made generic statement about it. But how much more "invasive" would it be for PB to inform Bike World he's chilling or left than to have 100's of BS comments (mine included) in so many articles here wondering wheres Levy, what Levy, why Levy and Levy Levy? (And in fact I think you & I may have already had this debate 34 times already).
Still - I can see your points, yet still don't agree w/ the PB radio silence. And I also hope Levy's living his dream life getting his curling fix, birdwatching, cribbage with nursing home great-aunts, scanning the skies at endless human aircraft mislabeled as aliens, and soaking up quiet mornings on the interstate overpass sipping a hot cup of monster energy fizz.
Ditto all that w/ Outside / corporate style. Agreed - a simple "Levy's on vaycay" or "decided to move on" - whatever, would be better than all this BS chatter (I'm a key player in it, minus any conspiracy junk.) I'm a lightweight Levy User anyway - not consuming all the vids & everything, but was a podcast junkie til he evaporated and hey, I don't worship anyone...not even Levy...just a guy. But I enjoyed his humor, podcast style, questions, topics and the articles I read. I'm not gone but it seems sad here w/o Levy now.
The man speaks.
but
we can agree on
PB and Levy dont owe us any sort of explanation, we just "want" one, as a form of closure
The PBers (those that work for PB) seem to be decent people, and some of the most reluctant celebrities ever
Pinkers, we can be a bit too much sometimes, speaking for all of us
Everyone deserves to have control of their own privacy, and we should all learn to respect that....
Assumption cause I can speak for only two of the list, since I owned them.
The main issue IMO is that industry injects via marketing to average customer’s mind that value is a mix of a lower price and a [still] kind of good/big/cool brand. While it is certainly not.
Value doesn’t come from paying less, it comes for getting more for the same amount of earned cash; and by more I mean tangible things, not facts that the “same” bike is ridden by a fastest pro or the brand has other expensive bikes which are actually good.
If the bike has a cheapest headset or wheels as tough as lasagna running a paper-thin tires, or creaking bearings on the first week, or too small dropper length fit its size, or customer care doesn’t give a sh*t about you – it’s not valuable, regardless how cheaper it is in comparison.
Going for value one might sacrifice wider ranger of suspension or geometry adjustments and latest tech inventions but never a reliability and trustworthiness. Reliability of the whole system, meaning each single part of it, including company’s way of doing business with customers.
Perhaps (never owned one - can’t judge) Santa Cruz is more valuable then any of these listed bikes, considering the warranty, spec choices (on higher end) and praised customer support.
What I mean to say with this message is that I hope that PinkBike will address value properly, considering how seriously industry actually takes articles written here.
Thank you.
While on the surface my Commencal Supreme appeared to be a good value (good spec, good performance, good price), the subsequent two frame failures and the eventual warranty showdown for the ages proved otherwise.
If I paid myself my hourly wage for the amount of time I had to spend fighting with them about warranty, I easily could have paid $1000 more & bought a bike from a more reputable manufacturer that 100% stood behind its products.
160-180 travel is still as much even when stiffer. Saving ±150 grams on a tire still keeps your dinner plate of a cassette there. HTA doesn't get steeper either. At least not on these "valuable" bikes where adjustments are present for the sake of more marketing words
But I'm not disagreeing with you; curious to hear if that has ever helped you for real.
But ditto on that longer travel. I mostly use a 180 fork (and 50mm riser) for just about everything though the 160 fork occasionally gets in the mix. Even then my buds on 120/130 and 120/140 are still pillaging 95% of the downhills because shy of super rowdy park riding like Sugar (or select super rocky trails) most of the surfaces are 90-95% dirt.
I believe on revels website you can upgrade to real snazzy coil.
Shuttle Bennett over and over again, or hammer all the gravel on a cyclocross and mix in some single track. Under bike or over bike, coil or air, I’m super pumped to live and ride in this area. And now Wolf Ridge is making a bike park!!!!
@Velosexualist : My current rig is a 170/180 Niner WFO that I had originally built up at 36 pounds. Changing the wheels, tires, and upping the psi made a massive difference in climbing speed.
www.ibiscycles.com/bikes/ripmo-af
edit:// When I bought mine all I could get was the slx
Looking at all these pictures, it looks like the Status has a higher standover height, could that be what I'm feeling?
Or maybe PB needs to do another field test called the "Fire Sale Field Test"
But Propains…
Most people in this price range will be able to get one bike for everything. This will, hopefully, give them a better idea of how the bike rides/ intended types of riding terrain versus guessing with your wallet…
I actually think it’s a great idea. Even better that they’re testing trail bikes in Bellingham.
Last time they tested in BC and claimed the trail bikes weren’t very good, because they couldn’t ride down double blacks with wooden features.
Being able to afford one bike and being new to mountain biking are not the same thing.
But to give you a better idea of what I am talking about: Listen to Levy talk about how the ibis mojo 4 wasn’t very good in BC ( when descending down the “pointy bits”) then go watch/ read the other reviews of the Mojo4 , in Bellingham ( Freehub) and Marin ( Bike magazine) and they have nothing but good things to say about it.
At the end of the day, the geographical differences in terrain don’t seem to get translated into reviews very well.
I am pretty happy that Pinkbike is testing in multiple locations, so that those differences can be fleshed out better. Because what makes a good bike up there(BC) and in other places can be very different bikes. Horses for courses…
The three 130/140 bikes look very close in geometry.
Also -- no short-link suspension designs in this comparison, interesting. All Horst except the Rift Zone.
I'm sure they will get a separate test, but directly comparing against some value hardtails would be helpful, as in the value category you have to consider that for the price, you may get better components on a hardtail, and so you have to decide where the balance is.
Still - comparing full sus to hardtails (in my view) is not at all useful as its different bikes for different terrain & ride preference mostly and I think PB finally does do value tests on both full sus and HT at the value range (PB did this in 2022 right?) Seems like comparing HT to trail / enduro is like comparing enduro bikes to downhill bikes...just not even close (in my view). As 3+decade HT rider, I just don't see the value in comparing HT to full sus...but maybe I'm mssing your point on other considerations (?)
I think it is much simpler. They set a 3.5k price cap, then chose the bikes they liked best below that cap. As for hardtails, I agree they deserve a different test as below that price there are a lot of things that can be better if you don't have to invest in rear suspension (one that works and lasts). And it becomes even more of a can of worms. For one the custom geometry adds most value, for others it is in the high end fork and brakes you can spec.
I absolutely love running AXS for my drivetrain and dropper post, but I'm still a clumsy goof on the trails. I'm no better than I would be if I ran SLX and a OneUp.
Long story short, let's just consider these reviews mere inspiration and use your own filter for what you consider important for the riding you do.
to bike with 130 travel?
That’s like enduro v cross country
Pictures only tell half of the story