Originally Posted by
topflightpro
I did not buy that version. I bought the cheapest version they offer.
Buying a new MTB has been weird. On the one hand, I don't want an expensive, top-of-the-line bike because I know I'm not going to ride it enough to justify the purchase. On the other hand, I don't want to go too entry level because I know enough about bike parts to know that I'm not going to ride a bike I don't like or that doesn't work well. With my gravel bike, I was fine buying one with Apex shifters and heavy wheels. I know those parts will be heavy but will work fine. But with MTBs, you have to consider geometry and suspension parts too, and that's an area I didn't want to cheap out too much.
But yeah, I'd have bought the Ibis, Evil, Revel or Yeti they mentioned if any of them were in my price range. The Ibis aluminum was in my range, but availability is some time by the end of 2022, maybe.
I ride on the road mostly, so I always had cheap mountain bikes. The frame broke on one in 2008 so I bought a new one for $1000. Heavy and odd fitting and a crappy fork, I still had fun with it for 10 years. When I decided to upgrade, the choices were mind boggling. I didn't want to spend 6 or 8 grand and mtb fit is so different from one to another.
I ended up with a KHS enduro type bike because the geometry looked close to what I wanted and my friend was a dealer and he got me a super deal. Had to buy it sight unseen, we couldn't even find one anywhere I could go look at.
I've been pretty happy with it but I would like to try something else. N+1 never ends.
