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Looking for advice on upgrading

1K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  hags707 
#1 ·
Currently I am riding an entry level hard tail 29r (Trek Marlin), have been for the majority of this season. The Marlin works well for my local trail (which isn't very technical) and for riding around town with friends/family. But it leaves something to be desired when the going gets tough, particularly in decent's and tight stuff.

Recently I was able to try out my aunts full suspension 26r mtb, a Trek Fuel EX 8 to be exact, and it was AWESOME! I was able to push harder in the turns and go faster on the decent's with confidence, climbs were better too. Honestly it re-invigorated my excitement for this sport/hobby.

So as you may have expected, I want to upgrade. The way I see it I have 3 options (in no particular order).

1: Get a full suspension 26r bike now
My budget is around $1500, I know this is pretty low for a full suspension bike but I figured I could get a decent used bike and upgrade the components as they wear/break.

2: Slightly upgrade my Marlin for the rest of this season, and get a full suspension 26r next season.
I would upgrade my fork to something like the Rockshox XC 32 TK Solo Air. Keeping the 9mm QR front end. Brakes are already upgraded to Avid BB7's.

3: Put all my eggs in one basket.
Completely upgrade my Marlin with a really good fork like the Manitou Tower Pro with 15mm front axle and get a new (lighter) wheel set. Also maybe add Hydro brakes to it.

4: Other
Maybe you would suggest something else? I'm open to other options.

I would like to add that I want to keep my current bike because, like I said in the beginning it works well for around town/road rides and for my local trail.

Let me know what you think!
 
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#4 ·
4: Other
Maybe you would suggest something else? I'm open to other options.
You know $1500 is a lot to pluck down on a bike based on riding one 26 inch FS bike.

You need to do your homework and find out what else it out there before you narrow it down to "Buy a 26er, etc, etc." I do not want this thread to turn into a wheel size discussion because there is no one who can tell you what the best size to buy.

And you may not be able to do a valid comparison with your bike because maybe any quality FS bike would make you feel the same way.

If you can rent a couple of bikes here and there it would help you get a good idea how they perform in the same situation.

John
 
#5 ·
I was probably jumping to conclusions by saying I want a 26r. Mainly I'm looking for a full suspension bike that is more agile than my Marlin. Which I'm sure could be done with any wheel size 26 - 27.5 - 29.

I'll definitely have to test ride some bikes and see what I like.

Thank you everyone for your advice.
 
#7 ·
So I went and test rode 2 bikes today, well it was just around a parking lot but it was better than nothing. The first was a Large 2014 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp Evo 26". It was nice and felt really good but then I tried another bike and it was even better. The other bike was a XL 2015 Specialized Stumpjumper Comp Evo 650B. I was thouroughly impressed with it even though I was just taking off curbs and through the ditxh. Also I was able to wheelie it farther than I ever had on mg 29r hardtail, though I am pretty sure that is just because of the smaller wheels. They sized me up and I was inbetween a large and XL but the XL definately felt better.

I'm going to look at more bikes tomorrow! Sad thing is it is looking like I might have to sell my motorcycle to afford a decent FS bike :(
 
#8 ·
Well ill tell u right now dont assume u need a full suspension. That will open up ur options alot. I ride the same bike u do currently but only stock part is the seat post. Except a hard tail isn't near as smooth riding if u spend ur time sitting on the seat a decent speced on would still be capable of more than u r.
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#9 ·
My full suspension 29er is more agile than my 26" hardtail. Kona took the Hei Hei very seriously. Specialized could care less about the Hardrock.

I'd caution you against drawing conclusions about what a 29er hardtail can be based on a model Trek cares about as much as Specialized cares about the Hardrock.

Try to ride a bunch of different bikes. Since you have a bike, there's no reason to rush. Go to some demo days. Try a high end hardtail 29er. Try full suspension bikes in 29" and a smaller wheel size. Try bikes with a lot of travel and short-travel bikes. Try a long-travel hardtail.

For $1500 and with some patience and no hangups about buying a secondhand bike, about the only things I don't think you're likely to be able to find are a 650B full suspension, just because they've hit the market so recently, and a non-trashed downhill bike. Pretty much anything else has been on the market long enough that they should be kicking around secondhand too. And it's not like you're missing the remaining part of the season looking for bikes because you already have one.

If you decide you want to stick with a hardtail 29er and none of the bikes you demo grabs you and says, "Hey, you're riding the wrong size bike," then maybe you want to price an upgrade package. You don't get the prices Trek does, but you have the ability to choose an $800 fork and $600 wheels if that's what you want, and those don't come stock on bikes until they get very expensive, usually in favor of a fancier rear derailleur than I care about or something like that. You end up with kind of an unbalanced build, but it's one way out of the incremental upgrade trap.
 
#10 ·
Wisconsinite, I was wondering your hieght as i was in between sizes but went xl stumpy 650 b because it felt good fit wise. I would suggest waiting till you have more money saved up and tested a few more bikes. There's alot out there and some good deals to be had if you wait.
 
#11 ·
I'm going to a Specialized 'Test the Best' event in a week as that is the only demo day I have found so far. I'll have to start checking with individual bike shops to see if any would let me demo their bikes.



I'm 6'2" with a 34" inseam
 
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