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MT/trail bike questions

Then you can upgrade things like tires, saddle, dropper post, grips and handle bars later. All that stuff has to do with preference and types of trails/ terrain ridden.
 
What about this salsa? It's closer in pricing to the Trek and a little closer to where I'd like to be spending.

 
What about this salsa? It's closer in pricing to the Trek and a little closer to where I'd like to be spending.

it’s got the SRAM Eagle drivetrain which is a Stellar drivetrain. But that front fork is pretty opposite. Are going going to be doing any jumping or serious trails? The Suntour XCR isn’t built for that. Especially in its 120mm of travel.
 
it’s got the SRAM Eagle drivetrain which is a Stellar drivetrain. But that front fork is pretty opposite. Are going going to be doing any jumping or serious trails? The Suntour XCR isn’t built for that. Especially in its 120mm of travel.

No, not really planning on it. Most of the time is gonna be gravel driveway and field roads and old logging trails in my woods. The rest of the time is pasture and maybe deer trails and such around my place. Not gonna be going out on other trails any time soon or doing any traveling to ride. That's why I was looking at the Trek marlin 7 as well.
 
This peaked my interest as a possibility as well...

I would go with the Rangefinder SX out of the two. $200 more and you’re getting way more than $200 difference in drivetrain. I have a $2600 bike and it still didn’t come with SRAM Eagle drivetrain. ??‍♂️
 
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I have a yeti sb 5.5 and a Specialized Stumpjumper. Obviously the yeti as the cats ass, but bang for buck, the stumpjumper has given me more than my money's worth. I spent about 3500 on it.
 
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Too much money for what I want to do and need I think. I don't want to go over $1600 and prefer to be closer to $1200 or 1k.
 
What about this salsa? It's closer in pricing to the Trek and a little closer to where I'd like to be spending.


Eagle is really damn nice if there are a lot of steep climbs in the area. My wife's bike has the 10-50T rear cassette, and it's more than enough gear to go up any hill around here. I personally run 11-42T on most of my mountain bikes, and while it's enough gear for what I do, there have been times when deeper gearing would have been nice. And if I were trying to pack hunting gear into the woods, I'd definite want that big rear cog.

As others have pointed out, the fork is strictly "meh", but if you get deep enough into the sport where it starts to hold you back, it's easy to find replacement forks and the rest of the bike is good enough to justify an upgrade. My guess is that you'll get some good use out of it before deciding that it's inadequate.
 
Eagle is really damn nice if there are a lot of steep climbs in the area. My wife's bike has the 10-50T rear cassette, and it's more than enough gear to go up any hill around here. I personally run 11-42T on most of my mountain bikes, and while it's enough gear for what I do, there have been times when deeper gearing would have been nice. And if I were trying to pack hunting gear into the woods, I'd definite want that big rear cog.

As others have pointed out, the fork is strictly "meh", but if you get deep enough into the sport where it starts to hold you back, it's easy to find replacement forks and the rest of the bike is good enough to justify an upgrade. My guess is that you'll get some good use out of it before deciding that it's inadequate.

Probably a better buy than the Trek marlin 7 then, I assume...? The fork on that has less travel and I'd also like to stay away from having a front shifter if I can.
 
Im voting Salsa too. 1x drivetrain is the way to go.

As the kids get new bikes they will all be going to SRAM Eagle also. Like others have said that fork is bare minimum, but easily upgradeable down the road if you felt like it was holding you back. Used forks in great shape are easy to get and get good deals on. Mountain Bikers are WWWAAAAYYYYY worse than gun people when new stuff comes out. There is going to be a RockShox Lyric coming off one of mine pretty soon. I am waiting for the new Fox36 forks to get released.
 
The $1000 Salsa with Deore dt will treat you damn well for how you plan to ride. There are a zillion MTBr's riding Shimano components. Save the $200 for ammo. You don't need the best of the best as a starter bike.
 
I have had a few punctures that the Dynaplug worked great on and some that 3 plugs would not seal up. But it is always my 1st go to. Plus I always make sure I have at least 4oz of Orange Seal in my tires (29X2.25/2.35). I skimp on weight in a lot of places but sealant is not one of them.

Speaking of tires, if your an XC / marathon geek like me check these out:


I have been a 2.25” Aspen fan for a long time, they are light weight, high volume for a 2.25, they roll fast, and have good predictable traction. If these 2.4” are true to the advertised weight (720g) then they will be SWEET!!