130-140mm travel is very much trail bike territory, not XC. My wife has the Polygon Siskiu T8 and it’s not a light bike, especially with the stock wheels and tires.

The Trance 29 is a short travel trail/‘downcountry’ bike and is surprisingly light for the money.

 

The Trance 29 is a short travel trail/‘downcountry’ bike and is surprisingly light for the money.

I'm semi-interested in picking up a cheap Trance 29 for backcountry and more XC type riding where my enduro bike is too much. A Trance would be easier on my old joints than my hardtail too.

 

I rode the Polygon D7(120/120) for 3 years. It worked really well. Had no issues with the frame or components.

Having ridden a Fuel also I can say the polygon suspension design has a lot less petal bob but the Fuel absorbs impact a little bit better.

The trance is similar to Fuel geometry wise but I haven’t ridden it myself.

Any bike with more than 120mm rear travel probably isn’t an XC bike

 

My son rode a T7 for a year and a bit. Heavy ass bike. We did upgrade the fork and shock mostly because I had extras laying around. I will use some older wheels and tires which will help with weight. My wife will be using it this coming season and it needs to be lighter.

 

It'd be good to ride some bikes. Rental, demo on trails is best. Test ride in and out of ditches and off curbs if at a shop.
You can get a benefit from a light bike with good suspension. Getting the right size is important. Test rides help with that.

 

Don't do it. Get a real bike instead.

These Indonesian 6000 series frames are soft aluminum and do not last. Threads stripped on a friend's T7 rocker and were not warrantied, less than a year old. And for a light weight, light use trail rider. My Marin Rift Zone split in two at the top tube/seat tube. It was also sold thru Bikes Online. Better warranty coverage with Marin. No way I'll ride that one with an even smaller diameter top tube from 2023 (warrantied last year). Still trying to sell that new XL frame.

No warranty at all on your Flake Book ride.

 

I rode a Polygon T7 for 2 years. I bought a used frame ('22 or '23) and built it up with some high end stuff I had. Carbon wheels ,cranks and handlebars. Sram GX, and a 160 Lyrik up front. It was a 27.5. It weighed only 30 lbs and was a great bike. Climbed as well as anything else I've had (Yetis, Trance, RM Pipeline and my Revel Rascal.) Just as good going down. I was surprised actually. Then I built it up as a 29er and it was just as good.

 

I have Mercedes Benz a Toyota Tercel before. In that case it was a cheap $805 Raleigh full suspension bike. The upgrades were worth twice the bike’s original price.

Sure it rode pretty alright. I even set a KOM on Strava. But when one throw that much money at something it will work.

But when I start taking it to the more severe trails, the way the suspension behaved at high speed repeated hits just wasn’t where I wanted it to be. This is likely not something experienced on every ride. How much one is willing to pay to gain a more proper suspension behavior in a full suspension frame is questionable. Is it worth another $1k? Only the OP can tell.

In my case, that vpp feel over the single pivot or the very bobbing 4 bar during climbing is worth the 1k extra. I have been focusing on climbing for a very long time and the subtle difference is important.

OP, how long have you been riding and how much do you care about these subtle differences?

 

I have been riding for about 35 years. Over that time I have had 4 bikes. Most components were at or below XT.

My current bike is a 2010 Cannondale Rize 5. The component level is fine but would like to give 29" wheels a shot. I am also interested in seeing what "modern geometry" is all about.


So no, the subtle differences are not that important.

 

What sort of trails are you riding? Is there a lot of elevation and long climbs where you live and ride? What's your overall budget?

 

The trails are mostly flat with short climbs. The trails are covered with rocks and roots.

I would like to spend under $2000.
Not against something one or two years old.

 

I got a t8 a little over a year ago to get back into riding. It's a great budget trail bike but definitely too heavy for xc racing. The stock wheels are it's weakest link. They are heavy, flex and the hubs feel slow.
I blew out the free hub and Polygon sent a replacement wheel but that was a 3 month process. In the meantime I upgraded to a set of XT wheels and it made a huge difference in the ride.

 

Here's a series putting different upgrades on the Polygon frame.

 

For your terrain I'd chose less travel, better fork/shock tuned for high-speed compliance on a light frame with light compliant wheels. Total under 25lbs. Like this for 2150. 2021 Trek Top Fuel 9.8 XL For Sale

 

i have both - T8 and a Trek Fuel EX Gen 6 XT, and to be honest with you i don't feel that the Fuel is THAT much better than the T8. especially given the price point. i have been super happy with my T8. it has been a great, durable, reliable bike. i have about 1700 miles on the T8 and i am replacing the chain for the first time.

my wife also has the same pair of bikes, except her Fuel is an EXE (pedal assist) and she loves them both also.

for reference, we typically ride a mix of XC/trail with a lot of climbing and mostly chundery sort of stuff. we don't really huck our meat or do big drops. generally blue trails with occastional blacks. obviously lighter bikes would probably be great, but we are happily overbiked and not really racing anybody.