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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
So i have a question i wana buy my first mountain bike but should i buy Marlin 8 Polygon siskiu d7 or marin hawk hill 1 wich one and why i wana get full suspension but my friends told me to get marlin 8


Best regards tutsik
 

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Don't go for any of these.
Why?
The Marlin 8 is old geo. The Roscoe is the only hardtail with current geo. Slack head tube angle, longer reach and steep seat tube angle. It's the only one Trek updated this year. The Marlin has quick release hubs from two generations back in time. 15x110 front thru axle and 12x148 Boost rear is current.
7 & 8 have crap forks. 9 has a very good fork at a high price.

The other two are 27.5 wheel or 29.
29 gives you better rollover and handles quickly with good geo; The RockShox RL fork is easilty overwhelmed at speed and has almost no small bump compliance from the junk plastic Motion Control damper. Crap. You can replace the fork for about $500 for a Marzocchi Z2. Or about the same for a used Pike or Fox 36. So add that to the price.

A Ragley Big Al 1.0 hardtail has current geo, 30mm inner rim width wide wheels. And the best fork until you spend $1k for a fork. Marzocchi Bomber Z2. Get on the notification list at CRC and order immediately when you get an in stock email. You'll get the bike in 4 days. Free ship no tax. Ragley Big AL 1.0 Hardtail Bike 2021 | Chain Reaction

Here's a review.
 

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The closest to your budget with a decent Z2 fork is the 2022 new model Orbea Occam H30.
Because it's a new model you could put a deposit on one and get some of the first shipment.
You could also look for a one or two year old model where the owner wants to sell his to get the new version.
The old one was extremely capable. Better than many top name bikes.
 

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Discussion Starter · #11 ·
The closest to your budget with a decent Z2 fork is the 2022 new model Orbea Occam H30.
Because it's a new model you could put a deposit on one and get some of the first shipment.
You could also look for a one or two year old model where the owner wants to sell his to get the new version.
The old one was extremely capable. Better than many top name bikes.
Okay but what would you recomend if my budget would be like 2-3k
 

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I bought my wife a Marin Rift Zone 1, the Hawk Hills successor. It's a great value for the money. I wish I would have had on starting out.

This review of the Hawk Hill shares my point of view well for bikes in this price range.

It's a great bike for the price point that you can ride out of the box on 90% of trails. A few upgrades (brake rotors and dropper post) make it even more capable. If you get the Rift Zone 29, the geometry is more modern than the Hawk Hill, and makes a great base to upgrade the suspension and wheels with later.

I have ridden my wife's Rift Zone a few times. I was surprised how well the "crappy" suspension worked coming from bikes with top of the line stuff custom tuned to my weight and riding style. It's no Fox Factory but it works well. If you're not smashing the rockiest most technical descents all the time it will be fine.

The Polygon and Marin Rift Zone are both great options. Polygon comes with a dropper and you'd have to get the Rift Zone (or hawk Hill) 2 if you want the dropper but that might blow your budget. You could also buy a dropper like I did for my wife (rift Zone 2 was not available) but thats the price difference between the 1 and 2.

For all bikes, you'd need to upgrade the rotors and pads if you plan in riding on the wet and mud.
 

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The problem is that unless you can find a used FS, it will be hard to get a good FS entry at $2000. You could buy one, but then you'll be spending $1000+ on upgrades in the first 3 months. So that is basically $3000.
You can buy the Big AL (if available, of course) as a frame and build it, or as the package, and either way you're under $2000.
It will be a LOT better than an entry level full suspension.
 

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The problem is that unless you can find a used FS, it will be hard to get a good FS entry at $2000. You could buy one, but then you'll be spending $1000+ on upgrades in the first 3 months. So that is basically $3000.
You can buy the Big AL (if available, of course) as a frame and build it, or as the package, and either way you're under $2000.
It will be a LOT better than an entry level full suspension.
The Marin Rift Zone 2 and Polygon Siskiu D7 are both great entry level full suspension bikes that you don't need to spend $1000 of upgrades on. Brakes can be upgraded for less than $100.

MoCo might not work well for people used to custom tuned forks with avalanche and push upgrades or Manitou stuff, but it's not the end of the world especially for beginner to intermediate riders.
 

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I'd go with the Commencal Meta TR with SRAM NX groupset. At the high end of your budget, but IMO it's the best bike under $3,000 USD. Extremely capable bike from a great company. I'd replace the hubs though, or at least that'd be my first upgrade. My buddy just got one recently. Great at everything from bike parks to local trails. If you're in Estonia I'm not sure about shipping prices or how Commencal customer service is outside the US, so you might want to Google that ... But they're great with availability and transparency as far as expected shipping dates, which is something not too common with online bike manufacturers nowadays.
 

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Okay but what would you recomend if my budget would be like 2-3k
I'd recommend you spend more now so you save more in the next year or two. You won't have to buy another bike or upgrade a low end bike with expensive parts. . .And you get to do all your learning and development on good performing equipment.

The reality is if you spend money upgrading a low end bike it'll ride better. But it won't ride as good as one designed around better parts from the beginning. So you'll still buy a more expensive bike anyway. And your upgrade money is largely wasted.

Look into what it'll take to get an Occam H30 in your area or if you travel a bit.
 

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Don't go for any of these.
Why?
The Marlin 8 is old geo. The Roscoe is the only hardtail with current geo. Slack head tube angle, longer reach and steep seat tube angle. It's the only one Trek updated this year. The Marlin has quick release hubs from two generations back in time. 15x110 front thru axle and 12x148 Boost rear is current.
7 & 8 have crap forks. 9 has a very good fork at a high price.

The other two are 27.5 wheel or 29.
29 gives you better rollover and handles quickly with good geo; The RockShox RL fork is easilty overwhelmed at speed and has almost no small bump compliance from the junk plastic Motion Control damper. Crap. You can replace the fork for about $500 for a Marzocchi Z2. Or about the same for a used Pike or Fox 36. So add that to the price.

A Ragley Big Al 1.0 hardtail has current geo, 30mm inner rim width wide wheels. And the best fork until you spend $1k for a fork. Marzocchi Bomber Z2. Get on the notification list at CRC and order immediately when you get an in stock email. You'll get the bike in 4 days. Free ship no tax. Ragley Big AL 1.0 Hardtail Bike 2021 | Chain Reaction

Here's a review.
I agree with everything except that it could be more than four days for delivery to Estonia. I got my Ragley in about a week to the US. Really great bikes.
 

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Stock 2021 Giant Trance 29 3: Deore, Bomber Z2
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Vitus Mythique VRX and Giant Trance 29-3 both have good geo, full suspension, Shimano 12 speed, and Z2 forks. $2200 and $2500.
If Polygon, I’d try to spring for the 8 model with the float fork. That’s a beast. The bikes I listed are the ones I was looking at in your (our) price range.
 

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I'd recommend you spend more now so you save more in the next year or two. You won't have to buy another bike or upgrade a low end bike with expensive parts. . .And you get to do all your learning and development on good performing equipment.

The reality is if you spend money upgrading a low end bike it'll ride better. But it won't ride as good as one designed around better parts from the beginning. So you'll still buy a more expensive bike anyway. And your upgrade money is largely wasted.

Look into what it'll take to get an Occam H30 in your area or if you travel a bit.
I generally agree with all this. However my cousin just bought a Polygon Siskiu T8 and it's very well specced for the price. Just took it out for it's maiden ride this last weekend and he loves it.
 
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