Originally Posted by
Russ Roth
I don't see this coming up much but I'm looking to replace my 7yo hardtail with a dual suspension but the typical shop brands seem so overpriced for what you get. Looking at trek it seems that their cheapest is over 2500 but also about 35lbs and and even clearing 3000 still leaves you with a 35lb wonder. It seems like for 3k it would be possible to build something nicer and better, but I'm not sure who makes a decent dual suspension frame that could be built up. I did see trifox, which is advertised on this site but haven't seen any real world reviews, but what else could be out there? For those who say building a bike costs more than buying complete, I have never found that to be the case on a one for one basis.
If you're willing to look at complete bikes, Cervelo has been having some good deals recently. I've been seeing the ZFS-5 being advertised for 3400, and it's normally a $5k+ bike. 120mm fork and Sram GX mechanical, it's a good deal even compared to consumer direct brands IMO.
No advertised weight specs, but I'd imagine the 120mm GX bike would be less than 26lbs. I own it's cousin, the Santa Cruz Blur, and the equivalent Blur is 26lbs...the Cervelo has an even lighter frame. I'd say the only thing I don't really like about the spec on that bike, is it doesn't include a dropper post from the factory, but that's an easy enough problem to remedy.
https://mikesbikes.com/collections/c...o-zfs-5-120-gx