New Low-Cost Mountain Bikes – What $1000 Gets You

For those of you who are considering getting into mountain biking, please read this posting  as much as possible – I believe this is a good set of information for you.  Why, you may ask?  Because, it will be good to first try the sport and see if you would like it…At any rate, the bikes we are covering in this article, will get you to try things at a reasonable entry fee.

What are the $1000 bikes good for:

  • They have relatively entry level components – Shimano Alivio or Deore shifters and drivetrains; Those are shifting OK but they most likely won’t last the strain of continuous riding in the hills – but again, as a beginner you are probably going to have relatively easy rides…So the combination of these components and pricing should be OK
  • Less than challenging rides – especially climbs – as the frames of these bikes are most likely going to be made of aluminum with less rigidity, but hey, again, you are getting a low cost bike, right…
  • Finally, the rest of the components will be low end as well – pedals=flats; front shock = no, you are not getting air shock – in this price range, it will be a spring / coil based shock; seat = entry level WTB

So, let’s look at the list below

Specialized-Rockhopper

Specialized Rockhopper Comp 29 – $950 retail;   The bike is very good when it comes to agility and entry level components; The shock is coil spring 100mm travel custom made by Suntour for Specialized; The brakes are hydraulic Tektro Auriga (2 generations ago the Tektro brakes were really noisy – speaking when braking – check those out well before buying); The drivetrain is Shimano-Alivio and the deraillures are Shimano Alivio and SRAM X5;

Marin-Mountain-Bike

Marin Pine Mountain 1 – $989 retail;   This is a hardtail bike with 27.5″ wheels; Surprisingly (for this price range) it has a chromoly steel frame and further surprising the designers have managed to include an aggressive fork without a shock in this package.  Very interesting.  The drivetrain is 1×10 at the front with a SRAM X7 Type 2 rear derailleur;

 

Rocky-Mountain-Bike

Rocky Mountain Soul 730 – $899 retail;   As expected (in this price range) this is a hard tail bike with 27.5″ wheels; The frame is alloy (the designers at Rocky Mountain bikes claim they take special care in the design even of the aluminum alloy tubing – so may be a bit of an advantage here)  and the front fork includes a Suntour spring coil based 120mm travel shock – this is certainly a good shock given the travel even if it is not air one; The shifters as usual are Shimano Alivio, and the front and rear derailleur are Shimano Acera and Deore respectively; The brakes are hydraulic and are Shimano M355 as expected as well;

BMC-Bike

BMC Sportelite SE – $999 retail;  This is an interesting bike.  Why?  Because it actually offers some less than low-end components in this sub-$1000 price category.  While its frame is still aluminum alloy tubing, the front fork sports a RockShox XC30 TK Solo Air 100mm – yes, the first bike in this category with air shock;

 

Giant-mountain-bike

Giant Talon 29er – $850 retail; The frame of course is aluminum alloy tubing – no surprises there;  The drivetrain is Shimano 3×9-speed and the brakes are now Tektro hydraulic disc;  The front fork includes a Suntour coil based fork with 100mm travel and lockout.  Overall this bike is not a spectacular one, but then the price is very convincing

 

So all in all there are some good bikes in the listing above.  If you want to get in this sport – these are some good machines to test ride and enjoy and decide…

 

 

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