Appreciate that! Anything priced over that is super marginal gains I've found. Anytime I demo a really expensive bike, I often wonder why anyone would spend that much, but to each their own!
Fezzari Delano Peak, Comp build, is currently $2,999 with 135/150 DVO suspension and Shimano SLX. Great carbon bike with lots of room to grow. The custom build based on your measurements. I got the Elite model for a little over 4k.with XT and Fox, it's been a great bike. Polygon Siskiu is another well reviewed bike to look at in this price range.
I just got the 2023 Rift Zone 2 recently. It's early but so far I like it. I did upgrade some parts since I already had the parts. Got the bike down to 32 lbs without pedals. I could probably lose another half pound if I upgraded the cassette 😊. That deore cassette is heavy
My son rides the previous gen Rift Zone 2 and he loves it - but the new one is even better!!!. The short chainstay makes it a very playful bike. Regarding Norco - What no one seems to talk about regarding the fluid is a very short seattube, making for longer dropper posts and lower standover. I recently aquired the Norco Sight A3 20% reduced.- which also has a short seatube (and in my opinion was ahead of its time - and still is). I was hoping for a small size (5"3 \ 161cm) but found the Medium works also - something unheard of in other brands). Norco have it down when it comes to Geo! Great video Kyle!
The great thing about it is that it is short, but still straight enough to have enough insertion depth for whatever size dropper you could need. I'm in an XL Fluid and I could fit a 250mm dropper if I needed to
That is a great point! One of my pet peeves is bikes coming with too short of droppers and no room to run a longer one. I've never ridden a Norco before, but would love to. I think a shop in town just got them, so I'll see if I can go demo one.
This is a fantastic list, so many great bikes at this price point. I bought the Fluid A1, and it is more bike than seems reasonable at this price. My only hope is the rest of the industry starts acting like these brands, and makes bikes of this quality for reasonable money.
Congrats on the bike. I'm quite envious of your choice! The power lies with us consumers. Just gotta buy relatively affordable parts, and from less known brands to send a message.
I had a bike with all SX components. The crank is great but probably too heavy for some. The cassette is similar to an NX, it loosened up and rattled on me after a season. It sucked. The shifter, like NX is garbage. The derailleur, however, was actually pretty reliable. Oh, and the chain is the only chain I ever had snap on me. That bike still has the sx crank and sx derailleur on it but I have a GX shifter and a new NX cassette
Boy, IDK. I don't understand why no one has been mentioning the Motobecane HAL boost DTS 29r from Bikes direct. It comes with a better parts set up than ANY of these bikes, and similar geometry frames. DT swiss 1501 XMC carbon fiber rims with DT Swiss 240 hubs. Rock Shox Pike select+ fork, and Full SRAM Eagle GX drive train 10-52t. Full Shimano XT hydraulic brakes. Dropper post. It's scary to buy a bike you can ride first, but I got lucky and test rode my buddies. He took the plunge just over a year ago when the bike was $2750! They are now $3499. The wheel set, hubs, front fork, and GX is worth that alone. And I kid you not, the frame is bullet proof and SUPER tight, accurate, and twitchy.
I have a question. I am looking te get a aluminium bike from canyon, I am thinking about the spectrail. But I heard many stories that canyon frames suck, that they snap all of the time. Is this true, should I risk it or should I buy a bike from another brand because the frame can snap easily? Does anyone know something about the frame quality?
It really is a bummer to see the low end of groupsets getting worse. I think tech is great, and making the newest group significantly stronger is rad, but not if they ignore the quality of the stuff I can afford
Im looking for a full squish currently. I've owned, ridden hard, and upgraded a vitus nucleus for the last 3 years. The quality and value is great on it, considering i imported it to the US for less than $650 in the height of covid. My experience with vitus is certainly making me lean more toward the mythique, plus that color is beautiful. Not a big fan of the external cables though?? My $650 hardtail came with internal cable routing, odd choice in my opinion
I ride a 2022 Giant Trance X3 ( 27.5" ) and I love her. I believe my bike is the 27.5 version of yours and my riding style is kind of like yours too . Lol.
In the rest of world 🌎 we have new Merida 140 trail bikes they are amazing 🤩 I rode one at crankworx rotorua: quality, good design, balanced and excellent value. My favourite is the Marin rift zone for the average joe and good value
Great list! Seems like 140/130 is the sweet spot for trail bikes. Didn't realize Commencal came out with such a...ridiculous name 😂 Press fit and SRAM SX are generally deal breakers for me too, and interesting to hear you don't like GX - I'm more of a Shimano guy myself. Talk about a cliffhanger though! Congrats on the new bike 🥳 My guess is something XC or downcountry rig based on the flex stay 🤔
I'd love to demo the T.E.M.P.O. and I'd always spell it out when people ask what it is haha. I much prefer Shimano drivetrains and brakes, but Microshift has been capturing my heart for drivetrains. Have the Advent X on my Polygon, and it's been great for how cheap it is. I do have a preference for short travel bikes, but I may have went a little crazy this time!
My l.b.s. threw me an offer of 4400.00 for an enduro expert last year. Yes it's expensive, but over 2 k off list, couldn't say no. Sold my stumpy for 3600.00.
Honestly as bikes are getting way too expensive I’m very lucky to be getting a Marin riftzone 3 27.5 medium I couldn’t pass it up when I pass it every day knowing it’s my exact size and discounted from $3000 to $2400 I’m also building a hardtail and that will take awhile since I’m picky on choosing my parts. I’ll have my very first Full suspension bike soon.
I’ve been looking at the Canyon neuron for coming in at 1699 however I don’t know if that’s a good deal or not it’s probably better than a Santa Cruz Chameleon D version 2099
If anyone sees this comment, bike shops are having clearance sales again now that covid demand has gone away, so you can get 2022/23 models for 30% off depending on your country/town. The used bike market has good deals for hardly ridden bikes as well.
We can dream. The industry must be selling a ton of these expensive bikes/parts cause they keep making them. I was pretty astonished how many positive videos came out about the Transmission like it somehow revolutionized mountain biking. "It shifts slower than our last gen wireless, makes your derailleur hanger useless, and costs way more!" Products like that should be ridiculed.
I agree, price of new bikes is insane, high end suspension is great but extra knobs and tuning is prob ineffective for most riders without aspirations of joining the ews.
Love the bike design ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L and functionality. It is hard to align the front tired to center the disk brakes. The brake wheel touches the stationery side of the brake caliper and pad. I aired the tire up to 40 psi as the markings say 40-60psi. Left the house for a few hours and came back to an exploded innertube.All in all it seems to be a good bike. Have not ridden it yet though so that's the max of my knowledge. Update, put a new innertube made sure the tire was set properly and it did the same thing in under 20 minutes as second pic shows.
You automatically get a thumbs up for saying, “$4,000 is anything but a ‘budget’ option”
Appreciate that! Anything priced over that is super marginal gains I've found. Anytime I demo a really expensive bike, I often wonder why anyone would spend that much, but to each their own!
100% this... It's a bicycle... 4 grand can buy you a car...
Also, I put 2,000 miles on a 2021 Rift Zone 1. I absolutely loved that bike.
I bought the fluid fs A2 and I absolutely love it! Glad it made it on the list!
Very cool! I hope I can demo one soon. Seems like a fantastic bike.
Fezzari Delano Peak, Comp build, is currently $2,999 with 135/150 DVO suspension and Shimano SLX. Great carbon bike with lots of room to grow. The custom build based on your measurements.
I got the Elite model for a little over 4k.with XT and Fox, it's been a great bike.
Polygon Siskiu is another well reviewed bike to look at in this price range.
Good choice getting a Delano. I test rode one last summer during bike fest and still one of my favorite bikes I've ridden.
I just got the 2023 Rift Zone 2 recently. It's early but so far I like it. I did upgrade some parts since I already had the parts. Got the bike down to 32 lbs without pedals. I could probably lose another half pound if I upgraded the cassette 😊. That deore cassette is heavy
My son rides the previous gen Rift Zone 2 and he loves it - but the new one is even better!!!. The short chainstay makes it a very playful bike. Regarding Norco - What no one seems to talk about regarding the fluid is a very short seattube, making for longer dropper posts and lower standover. I recently aquired the Norco Sight A3 20% reduced.- which also has a short seatube (and in my opinion was ahead of its time - and still is). I was hoping for a small size (5"3 \ 161cm) but found the Medium works also - something unheard of in other brands). Norco have it down when it comes to Geo! Great video Kyle!
The great thing about it is that it is short, but still straight enough to have enough insertion depth for whatever size dropper you could need. I'm in an XL Fluid and I could fit a 250mm dropper if I needed to
That is a great point! One of my pet peeves is bikes coming with too short of droppers and no room to run a longer one. I've never ridden a Norco before, but would love to. I think a shop in town just got them, so I'll see if I can go demo one.
@@CobraKyle yeh you should... rad bikes!
So glad to see “reasonable” bike prices again 👍 and those Norco Fluids are great looking bikes! I’m looking forward to seeing your new bike 🤠
Thanks Joe! I'll show you my new bike when you show me your new hardtail!
@@CobraKyle you betcha! I almost have it built up 😎
Great run down Kyle. And Thanks for the spot in the video.
Thanks for having a video comparing those two bikes. Appreciate you having me at Walnut Springs today! It was so much fun.
Vitus has full external cables! Kinda refreshing, especially if you do your own bike maintenance.
For sure! That is a very nice touch.
I replaced internal cables recently, ya use a kit, it was easy. Don't let internals turn you off.
Vitus ftw! I just got the VRX, so in love!
This is a fantastic list, so many great bikes at this price point. I bought the Fluid A1, and it is more bike than seems reasonable at this price. My only hope is the rest of the industry starts acting like these brands, and makes bikes of this quality for reasonable money.
Congrats on the bike. I'm quite envious of your choice! The power lies with us consumers. Just gotta buy relatively affordable parts, and from less known brands to send a message.
I’m excited to see what you got!
I had a bike with all SX components. The crank is great but probably too heavy for some. The cassette is similar to an NX, it loosened up and rattled on me after a season. It sucked. The shifter, like NX is garbage. The derailleur, however, was actually pretty reliable. Oh, and the chain is the only chain I ever had snap on me. That bike still has the sx crank and sx derailleur on it but I have a GX shifter and a new NX cassette
Can’t wait to see what full suspension bike you ended up with!
It's a pretty sweet bike! I should be working on that video soon.
Boy, IDK. I don't understand why no one has been mentioning the Motobecane HAL boost DTS 29r from Bikes direct. It comes with a better parts set up than ANY of these bikes, and similar geometry frames. DT swiss 1501 XMC carbon fiber rims with DT Swiss 240 hubs. Rock Shox Pike select+ fork, and Full SRAM Eagle GX drive train 10-52t. Full Shimano XT hydraulic brakes. Dropper post. It's scary to buy a bike you can ride first, but I got lucky and test rode my buddies. He took the plunge just over a year ago when the bike was $2750! They are now $3499. The wheel set, hubs, front fork, and GX is worth that alone. And I kid you not, the frame is bullet proof and SUPER tight, accurate, and twitchy.
I have a question. I am looking te get a aluminium bike from canyon, I am thinking about the spectrail. But I heard many stories that canyon frames suck, that they snap all of the time. Is this true, should I risk it or should I buy a bike from another brand because the frame can snap easily? Does anyone know something about the frame quality?
It really is a bummer to see the low end of groupsets getting worse. I think tech is great, and making the newest group significantly stronger is rad, but not if they ignore the quality of the stuff I can afford
Do you know if Bandera Bike Park is still open? I watched your video on that the other day. Can’t find any recent info from them
shots fired at SRAM! LOL!
It needed to be said!
Im looking for a full squish currently. I've owned, ridden hard, and upgraded a vitus nucleus for the last 3 years. The quality and value is great on it, considering i imported it to the US for less than $650 in the height of covid. My experience with vitus is certainly making me lean more toward the mythique, plus that color is beautiful. Not a big fan of the external cables though?? My $650 hardtail came with internal cable routing, odd choice in my opinion
I ride a 2022 Giant Trance X3 ( 27.5" ) and I love her. I believe my bike is the 27.5 version of yours and my riding style is kind of like yours too . Lol.
In the rest of world 🌎 we have new Merida 140 trail bikes they are amazing 🤩 I rode one at crankworx rotorua: quality, good design, balanced and excellent value. My favourite is the Marin rift zone for the average joe and good value
I like the looks of Merida. They'd probably do well here in the U.S.
@@CobraKyle can’t sell in us because of a secret deal with specialized
Check out German Radon bikes. They are the bomb at the price
Specialized Status 140/160 is $2,250 rn
Great list! Seems like 140/130 is the sweet spot for trail bikes. Didn't realize Commencal came out with such a...ridiculous name 😂 Press fit and SRAM SX are generally deal breakers for me too, and interesting to hear you don't like GX - I'm more of a Shimano guy myself. Talk about a cliffhanger though! Congrats on the new bike 🥳 My guess is something XC or downcountry rig based on the flex stay 🤔
I'd love to demo the T.E.M.P.O. and I'd always spell it out when people ask what it is haha. I much prefer Shimano drivetrains and brakes, but Microshift has been capturing my heart for drivetrains. Have the Advent X on my Polygon, and it's been great for how cheap it is. I do have a preference for short travel bikes, but I may have went a little crazy this time!
I’m new to this, is slx better?
Should also shoutout the polygon collosus n7 it's only 1799 and has pretty nice components for the price point
Does rift zone 1 have only quick release on rear not thru axle?
I’m happy with my Scott spark 970 for $3000
My l.b.s. threw me an offer of 4400.00 for an enduro expert last year. Yes it's expensive, but over 2 k off list, couldn't say no. Sold my stumpy for 3600.00.
Honestly as bikes are getting way too expensive I’m very lucky to be getting a Marin riftzone 3 27.5 medium I couldn’t pass it up when I pass it every day knowing it’s my exact size and discounted from $3000 to $2400 I’m also building a hardtail and that will take awhile since I’m picky on choosing my parts. I’ll have my very first Full suspension bike soon.
there is also the new 2023 yt capra core 1 for 2699
A great affordable enduro bike for sure!
I’ve been looking at the Canyon neuron for coming in at 1699 however I don’t know if that’s a good deal or not it’s probably better than a Santa Cruz Chameleon D version 2099
If anyone sees this comment, bike shops are having clearance sales again now that covid demand has gone away, so you can get 2022/23 models for 30% off depending on your country/town.
The used bike market has good deals for hardly ridden bikes as well.
Yes. Can the industry stop overcharging for parts and builds? People can buy cars for the amount we are being charged.
We can dream. The industry must be selling a ton of these expensive bikes/parts cause they keep making them. I was pretty astonished how many positive videos came out about the Transmission like it somehow revolutionized mountain biking. "It shifts slower than our last gen wireless, makes your derailleur hanger useless, and costs way more!" Products like that should be ridiculed.
I agree, price of new bikes is insane, high end suspension is great but extra knobs and tuning is prob ineffective for most riders without aspirations of joining the ews.
Under 4000 ? 3-4 times more than I can do. Entry level. My nich.
Nukeproof mega all the way
I had a Reactor and loved that bike. I'm sure the Mega is just as good!
Love the bike design ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L and functionality. It is hard to align the front tired to center the disk brakes. The brake wheel touches the stationery side of the brake caliper and pad. I aired the tire up to 40 psi as the markings say 40-60psi. Left the house for a few hours and came back to an exploded innertube.All in all it seems to be a good bike. Have not ridden it yet though so that's the max of my knowledge. Update, put a new innertube made sure the tire was set properly and it did the same thing in under 20 minutes as second pic shows.
$4k.on a bicycle is insanity
Thanks! Your my favorite You Tuber. Have lunch on me.
Hey Tim thanks so much! That's incredibly generous!
Always a pleasure, thanks. 👍🚵
Always a pleasure to have you watch and comment! I appreciate it.
Im loving my Rift zone 2