Originally Posted by
Sealth
Thanks for the replies.
The 1x drivetrain is a personal preference. I've been riding bikes for ~8 years now, and I've only owned fixed gear and single speed bikes. I definitely like the look and idea of a 1x drivetrain, but perhaps I shouldn't prioritize that out of the gate.
It sounds like I should prioritize frame, fork, and brakes initially as these make the biggest ride difference. It looks like the Rockhopper Elite and Kona Blast and Mahuna might be the best. Additionally, the Specialized Fuse is really nice and the cheapest offering is $1250...
What is bad about those forks specifically? Are they just the worst offerings from those companies? It seems like most if not all the $700-800 bikes I've looked at have the Suntour forks. The $900-1000 range bikes typically have a "nicer" fork (Rock Shox Judy?) and they usually have a 1x, hydraulic disk brakes, and all the bells and whistles I'd want.
I would avoid this forks because they are either heavy, have a really simple damper, or are simply lower quality. A fork is a component that suffers a great deal of stress, so it's better to invest in a good one and service it regularly IMO. I would only choose a cheap fork over a more expensive one if I knew I wasn't going to service it when I should.
I understand you prefer a 1x, but I would definitely sacrifice that over a nicer fork or brakes, or both. In any case, if you go for 1x, I would avoid anything that's not 12 speeds unless you're sure your only going to ride relatively flat terrain. I would also discard anything that involves SRAM SX (which is a complete piece of crap). I would also prefer running a Shimano microspline cassette as I prefer the gear spacing on that (on sram cassettes the last gear seems like a bailout, with a big op from the previous one, while Shimano 12sp cassettes have a more even spacing which doesn't involve such a big cadence change).