Znake

I have started looking for a full suspension mtb but honestly i have no idea what i'm doing. Is there any good Full suspension mtb for around 3000$? Is it possible to upgrade the components if i feel that mountainbiking is for me? I'm looking for any tips or/and advice on what to get and what's good about it.
I have looked at Merida One-Twenty 9. 600 and Giant Trance 3, but like i said before, i know nothing so i have no clue what to look for in a good mtb. Would really appreciate some help.

Thanks!

dabac

Bike parts are a lot more expensive when bought piecemeal than when bought as a bike. Buying with the immediate thought of a thorough upgrade is poor economics, unless you're very good at bargain hunting or have a stash of parts already.

If you're unsure of your dedication, a far better option is to buy used.
Assuming you manage to buy a bike in decent condition at a reasonable price, you can sell it on with little loss if/when you decide to buy your "keeper" bike.

grubetown

I feel like we are being trolled.
If not, there a lot of good bikes for $3000 and you will not have to upgrade components.
What kind of terrain will you be riding?

hig4s

I know how you feel.. But anyway

IMHO for around $2000 you can get a decent entry level FS from a few companies.,, $2500 to $3500 for me is the sweet spot for best bang for the buck, almost every manufacturer has a good bike in that range. And over $3500, while there are some sweet bikes I would love to have, but more than most people need.

FrozenK

Based on the fact that the OP is considering a Merida, I think that may not be American dollars. Ot at least they are not in the US, and biked can be signifficantly more expensive in other countries.

Otherwise yes, you can get a decent full suspension bike for $3000.

MisterK

I have a trance 3. Really the only things i plan on changing is shorter stem and a lil more rise on the handle bar and converting to a 30t 1x. Its more personal preferance stuff.
Its a great bike.
If anything the monarch r shock is the weak point. But for under 3000 i dont think i could have gotten a better bike

Znake

i'm not trolling, i really dont have any idea what i'm doing, haha.
I want to ride in the forrest and an trails and so in, basicly just have fun

and i should prob point out that i'm from sweden and used a converter to $ so it may be a bit off or if it's too cheap

gsa103

At $3000 there's a lot of good options. All of those bikes have good suspensions and Deore or better components.
You can spend a lot of time debating the various idiosyncrasies between the different suspension designs, but those are minor details.
More important is that the bike fits well and feels comfortable.
Make sure the bike includes a dropper seatpost, so factor that cost (~$300) if it's not a stock part.

Nao_lin

you can pick up a Trance 2 for under 3k. I think the 2 is better value then the 3 as well.

Just make sure you want that much travel. I have a Trance 2 and used to have an old anthem 29er with 100mm of travel. I like my Trance 2 and it's a great all rounder bike to have for someone like me that only has 1 MTB.

But I would love to have something more XC for the days that I ride less technical trails.

Znake

What's the difference between the trance 2 and trance 3? What's the downsides with much travel? Is it possibe to set how much it will travel? Like soft, medium hard? Or is it all or nothing?

Nao_lin

you can compare the two bikes on the giant site but off the top of my heads the 3 has a 2 x 10 drive train and the 2 has a 1 x 11 system. The 2 also has a better fork and a dropper seat post.

The fork does have compression dampening but that doesn't shorten the travel it just makes the fork harder to compress, all the way on it basically locks the fork out.

But the differences between a larger travel bike and a shorter travel XC bike usually isn't only in the amount of travel. Trail bikes are usually built burlier and thus heaver, and the fork is by nature heaver because it's bigger. The geometry of a bigger travel bike like the trance is also more slack then an XC bike like the anthem and better suited for descending.

Mountain Mitch

Ghost (Germany) has some decent mountain bikes in your price range.

gsa103

Between the Trance 2 has Fox suspension components vs RockShox on the Trance 3. The Trance 2 also has slightly better components. The Trance 2 is probably 1-2 lbs lighter, but functionally they will be very similar. RockShox forks are easier to service, but the Fox fork will likely perform better.

The air pressure in the fork and shock control how firm or soft the suspension is. Beyond that you can typically compression and rebound rates, so how the suspension responds to sudden impacts vs more gradual.

On a modern bike like the Trance, there really isn't that much disadvantage to the travel. Shorter travel will generally be more efficient for cross-country trails, or if you're doing lots of climbing with relatively smooth descents.
The Giant Anthem is basically a reduced travel version of the Trance, you should be able to test both.

NinjaKitten

I was looking for a full susp for a year before i settled on mine, Just an FYI you can get a Santa Cruz 5010D for 2599 USD, or a Santa Cruz High tower for 2999 USD. A Salsa Bucksaw goes for 2200 2999 USD depending on the model you get and components. REI sports has a Ghost Kato 27.5 for 2K USD or the Ghost Kato fs 5 for 2699USD, you can get a cannondale habit FS for 2299 USD. Fuji has several FS from the Outland starting at 1100 to the 27.5+ Rakan for 3000 USD .

speshelite

I demo'ed a giant trance a couple of years ago: higher end carbon frame (can't remember exact model), and it was a bucket of bolts. The bushings were very loose, to the point that I didn't even feel confident that it would hold up over the course of even a one hour test ride. I'm used to demo bikes, esp. mtb's being in less than perfect condition, but I was a little surprised Giant reps would loan out a bike in such poor condition.

I've also read numerous accounts and seen several videos which claim that stance and trance chainstays and top tubes fail at a high rate after relatively minor falls for example.

There is certainly a possibility that accounts of frame failures are more common for Giant since they're a high volume seller but it still gave me pause. I'm sure they're good about warrantying frames (haven't read many complaints on that front) but ideally, one wouldn't have to go through that process in the first place.

It's too bad; Giants seem to be among the better values.

kevrider

i think for $3000 you should not worry too much about what brand you are buying. anything you buy at that price is going to be a nice bike. instead, you should figure out which bike shop you want to use and choose from what they have on offer. then, you will have place to go that will help you get the suspension set up properly and answer any questions you might have as you learn the ropes. they may even have shop rides that you can join.