[The_Granny_Gear]

recently i've come to the conclusion that if i want to get a new bike it will either have to be a lower end full suspension or a aggressive hardtail.

hardtails may be less capable in some areas but they provide more bang for the buck, which is a great virtue since im not old enough to actually get a job. i was thinking that the new marin san quentin 1, ragley marley 2.0, and 2019 raliegh tokul 3.

would it be worth it to get a hardtail? im upgrading from a REI drt XC bike which isn't suited for the steep and technical trails i ride. for more context im located in the general north-shore-washington area. i ride almost twice a week, and im usually hitting 2 or 3 black diamond tech trail each time, and my bike isn't keeping up.
i also love to ride at my local dirt jumps, which would suite the san quentin. one other quality i'd like in a hardtail is something that still climbs, as i gotta get up to the top of the trails

 

[Undescended]

If your price point is the San Quentin 3, check out this FS bargain with practically the same components...
https://www.bikesonline.com/polygon-siskiu-t8-dual-suspension-mountain-bike

 

[The_Granny_Gear]

If your price point is the San Quentin 3, check out this FS bargain with practically the same components...
https://www.bikesonline.com/polygon-siskiu-t8-dual-suspension-mountain-bike

if i had the price point of 1800 i would go ahead and get a full squish, what i meant was actually the san quentin 1 or 2. porbably should have mentioned that

 

[cookieMonster]

I wouldn’t hesitate to get a hardtail. Also check out the Kona Honzo. I just bought a 2019 one for $1100 brand new. The fork is nothing too special, but it does the job for now, and I’ll upgrade it later. The same would be true if that Marin; you can ride it right away and it’ll be a big improvement over what you’ve already got, and you can slowly build it into a really nice bike over time.

With 29” wheels and 2.4 tires or 27.5s with even wider, more voluminous tires, it really takes the edge off.

Also, the main thing holding back those older XC hardtails was geometry. My Honzo is a ripper. I’m going to Moab in a couple days and intend to ride Captain Ahab on it. That is an abusively gnarly trail in a lot of spots. I will report back.

 

[The_Granny_Gear]

I wouldn’t hesitate to get a hardtail. Also check out the Kona Honzo. I just bought a 2019 one for $1100 brand new. The fork is nothing too special, but it does the job for now, and I’ll upgrade it later. The same would be true if that Marin; you can ride it right away and it’ll be a big improvement over what you’ve already got, and you can slowly build it into a really nice bike over time.

With 29” wheels and 2.4 tires or 27.5s with even wider, more voluminous tires, it really takes the edge off.

Also, the main thing holding back those older XC hardtails was geometry. My Honzo is a ripper. I’m going to Moab in a couple days and intend to ride Captain Ahab on it. That is an abusively gnarly trail in a lot of spots. I will report back.

im interested about how you ride will go, but im more interested at the idea of a 29in wheels. since none of my friends ride them i don't know how they are, or how they jump. it'd be interesting to find out!

 

[John Kuhl]

Hardtails are great. I would be on one if my old back and ass could take it. At my age I need full squish.

 

[MillerC]

Get the hardtail because the fork and components will be of higher quality plus there is less to maintain. A year from now if you want a full squish then just upgrade the frame. Most low end hardtails don't charge much for the frame. Also check out vitus sentier.

 

[cookieMonster]

im interested about how you ride will go, but im more interested at the idea of a 29in wheels. since none of my friends ride them i don't know how they are, or how they jump. it'd be interesting to find out!

Well, 29" wheels definitely roll over gnar with a lot more ease and speed, and less suspension travel is needed to do it. However, I can't say that I've ever been as excited about how 29ers feel on jumps. 26ers and 27.5ers definitely feel more agile both on the lips of jumps and the air. However, it's something you can get used to on a 29" wheel. I prefer smaller for that, and if I was doing dirt jumps a lot, I'd likely have a dedicated dirt jumping bike with 26" wheels.

 

[mtnbkrmike]

I wouldn’t hesitate to get a hardtail. Also check out the Kona Honzo. I just bought a 2019 one for $1100 brand new. The fork is nothing too special, but it does the job for now, and I’ll upgrade it later. The same would be true if that Marin; you can ride it right away and it’ll be a big improvement over what you’ve already got, and you can slowly build it into a really nice bike over time.

With 29” wheels and 2.4 tires or 27.5s with even wider, more voluminous tires, it really takes the edge off.

Also, the main thing holding back those older XC hardtails was geometry. My Honzo is a ripper. I’m going to Moab in a couple days and intend to ride Captain Ahab on it. That is an abusively gnarly trail in a lot of spots. I will report back.

I love my Honzo and ride it everywhere that I ride my Druid. The Honzo is DIALLED and is an absolute joy to ride. There have been times when I have thought that I could easily get away with my Honzo as my only bike (come to think of it, I also often think that about the Druid too).

I did swap the fork for a 140mm though...

 

[MillerC]

You can find nice chromag stylus for under a grand on pink bike classifieds.

 

[Timothy G. Parrish]

im interested about how you ride will go, but im more interested at the idea of a 29in wheels. since none of my friends ride them i don't know how they are, or how they jump. it'd be interesting to find out!

If you like to DJ, then you'll be better off with a 27.5 HT. Hell, you'd be better off with a 26er HT. 29ers don't DJ very well, especially on DJ designed trails.

 

[eb1888]

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2711856/
This Norco Torrent is local to you.

 

[scottzg]

If you like to DJ, then you'll be better off with a 27.5 HT. Hell, you'd be better off with a 26er HT. 29ers don't DJ very well, especially on DJ designed trails.

I have a 29er with a 1270mm wheelbase, and i prefer jumping it to my 650b hardtail. It took a little to learn the timing (and yah, it's not great on pucky jumps), but it's suuuper forgiving.

I'm 6'3; i'm sure it's different for shorties.

 

[Timothy G. Parrish]

I have a 29er with a 1270mm wheelbase, and i prefer jumping it to my 650b hardtail. It took a little to learn the timing (and yah, it's not great on pucky jumps), but it's suuuper forgiving.

I'm 6'3; i'm sure it's different for shorties.

Yeah, person size makes a difference. I'm 5'8" and my 26er works better for me than my 27.5. Bigger riders may find 29ers easier to whip around.

 

[Timothy G. Parrish]

Some others to check out:

Kona Blast
Norco Fluid HT

 

[The_Granny_Gear]

I have a 29er with a 1270mm wheelbase, and i prefer jumping it to my 650b hardtail. It took a little to learn the timing (and yah, it's not great on pucky jumps), but it's suuuper forgiving.

I'm 6'3; i'm sure it's different for shorties.

size does matter for this, and i fit most bikes small or medium sizes. my current is a medium but i think a small would be better for riding. i'll consider 29ers, but i like the 27.5 size so ill see.

 

[scottzg]

size does matter for this, and i fit most bikes small or medium sizes. my current is a medium but i think a small would be better for riding. i'll consider 29ers, but i like the 27.5 size so ill see.

IMO the difference of opinion between 27/29 has more to do with rider height/fit around the larger wheels than some truth about wheel circumference.

if you're small/medium i'd be looking REALLY hard at 275.

 

[OzarkFathom]

Giant gives pretty good bang for your buck in a hard tail in that price range.

 

[The_Granny_Gear]

Giant gives pretty good bang for your buck in a hard tail in that price range.

i've looked around at the newer ones, but they dont offer the agressive/ dj-like geometry as the others, they are cheap so ill keep them in mind

 

[scottzg]

i've looked around at the newer ones, but they dont offer the agressive/ dj-like geometry as the others, they are cheap so ill keep them in mind

I haven't been following dirt jumpers, but historically aggressive/dj-like are opposite things.

dirt jumpers tend to have a wheelbase ~4" shorter than an aggro mtb. That's enormous.