New Mountain Bike
 

I have a hybrid and a road bike. Looking to get into a little mountain biking. I want a hardtail. I'm a big guy, so a 29er is preferred. Locking fork. Hydraulic discs. Under $1000, but would prefer around $750.

Local bike shop options are Trek, Giant, Cannondale, Specialized. However, I am not brand loyal and will drive if the quality and value are worth the trip.

GO!!!

Thank in advance

All the companies have a bike in this category. You should definitely get one of them. What color do you like?

They are all about the same at that price point. Find a shop you like and buy whatever they can get.

Haha, I was actually thinking about that. My hybrid is maroon and the road bike is flat black with a little white and silver. I was thinking the mountain bike should be something fun and 'pretty.' I'm open to anything bright.

As stated the four brands you mentioned all have bikes in this category. If you want one now, you might not be able to be as selective - so get one they have in stock and start riding!

Only clarification - locking fork?

I want a fork that can be locked for pavement riding. I may have the wrong term, but I know they exist.

750, won't be many options with forks, most likely an entry level SR or similar

They do. You’re fine. He’s saying he thinks your budget is too low. A Procaliber or Stache really is better than an X-Caliber / Roscoe which really is better than a Marlin. But the Marlin is ok to get started and find out if you want to spend more, and it's ok to keep if you're satisfied.

I rather like my matte green bike, now with "electric blue" pedals (one of the previous bright green pedals had bearings go bad). Anyway, this is a 2020 Kona Honzo which would meet your specs but is over budget (around $1,400+pedals). I believe the Mahuna and Lava Dome would work for your specs and budget, but I've not tried either. Neither currently comes in green, though, but the Lava Dome is in purple and blue.

While shopping I checked out a couple Treks and Giants before buying the Kona. As for why I chose it, it wasn't so much a difference in the bikes themselves but that one shop took a lot of time to figure out what size bike I needed, so I bought from them.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5cee8b8021.jpg

Since you have a hybrid, ride that on pavement. New forks are designed well enough that lock out is just fluff. If you are riding the mountain bike when you need the suspension for a pothole or uneven pavement inevitably it will be locked out :lol:

The 2021 Trek Marlin 7 is in your $750-$1000 price range, has hydraulic discs, lockout fork. Good luck finding a bike shop with one in stock, though.

Yes, but not at this price. The lockout feature on inexpensive Suntour forks might or might not provide any damping - the HLO on the Marlin 6 does not (per Suntour's "cartridge function chart" on their FAQ page). That means with the lockout turned off it's just a pogo stick. Suntour forks work on a cartridge system so it can easily be upgraded, but only a little. The next level up Marlin 7 has a Rockshox TK damper, which definitely provides lockout, compression damping, and adjustable rebound damping, but is definitely not new. The next level down Marlin 5 does not have a lockout or damper - it's just a pogo stick all the time.

To get a "new" and nice fork (ie volume compensating, shim stacks that can tune high and low speed response beyond just the adjuster dials, all aluminum chassis) he'd have to pay about as much for the fork as his budget for the whole bike. Believe me, I've been shopping for a way to get it cheaper. But that's not really necessary just to go bash around in the woods.

Haha, I do get your point. The reason taking the MB on the bike path would be due to using the bike path to get to a trail park. Using paved trails, this park is about 15 miles from house. I see it as a way to log miles while also getting a quality trail ride at the turn around point.

A lot of great tech info here. Thank you.
Looks like Marlin 7 will be my benchmark and find the comparable models for the other manufacturers.

Some of us are nerds but you don’t need to be. This happens to be what I’m learning more about right now so I’m eager to natter about it. I feel like there’s a lot of ill will about cheap suspension forks that’s probably misplaced. Hobbyists like to dump on them... Hence the suggestions either to go rigid or get something three steps better. But I’m sure most people riding them are glad to have them and don’t know the difference.

FWIW I have a Salsa Timberjack. I like it a lot but it’s got nicer builds this year that cost more. Their closest current model to mine is the Rangefinder SX. Trek Roscoe is quite similar. My bike is now finished with kid towing and I’m getting started turning it into a better trail machine. Item 1 will be the fork. After that I’ll probably wait for something to break and upgrade as I go.

A $750 mountain bike...the whole fork is just fluff...locked or unlocked.

I'm always amazed that it's 2020 and people still don't know how to use Google.

http://letmegooglethat.com/?q=mounta...+under+%241000

The best!

I have a 2019 Marlin 7 that cost $800. After two years riding it on streets, roads. gravel and trails I'd recommend saving up another $400 and getting at least a Trek Roscoe 7.

Thanks for the tip. I did some research on the Roscoe 7 and have tagged one at my LBS. ETA, first week of January. Almost upgraded to the Roscoe 8 because the LBS girl had her R8 there in the shop, but I couldn't justify another $500 after going up $400 for the R7. That would have been double my original budget.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...coe-7/p/28499/

The Marlin 7 that I had my name on had an original ETA of May 2021 and was pushed back to Aug 2021.

are you set on getting a trek if not https://www.fezzari.com/cross-countr...comp-27-5-plus

I have one of their bikes(abajo peak) I really love mine.