VALUE BIKE FIELD TEST 9 Full-Suspension and Hardtails Ridden and Rated Words by Mike Levy, photo by Tom Richards Remember when we once checked out a $ 9,000 bike and it really disappointed us? Yes, neither do I. It turns out that when you throw a bunch of fancy accessories in a fancy frame, the end product is also fancy and probably not crap, which sometimes leaves us with little to say beyond stale clichés and trivial criticisms about cable routing or the chainstay PROTECTION. But enter that number at less than $ 3,500 for a full suspension bike or hardtails that cost less than $ 2,100 USD, and things get a lot more interesting. This time the crew headed south to Tucson, Arizona for the annual Value Bike Field Test, which saw nine reasonably priced engines collide with each other on rough, rocky desert trails. Two weeks of riding later and we can (almost) agree on which bike is the most impressive, which one scared us the most and how many orthoses the human body can consume before it needs serious medical care. Let’s be honest with ourselves: hard tails can be a lot of fun, but I suspect most of us would prefer to ride a bike with full suspension most of the time. The catch for some is that while they can certainly offer you more comfort, traction and speed compared to just having a front suspension, the extra moving parts also mean more money, weight and complexity. These are less worrisome if you spend a lot of money, but the story is different if your budget exceeds $ 3,500 USD or less as ours did with the five full suspension bikes. So much to talk about in our upcoming reviews. Want to get a mountain bike but don’t have a lot of money to spend? While full-suspension platforms made almost entirely of carbon fiber have the most headlines, hard tails offer a simpler and therefore less expensive way to get into driving. And because you do not pay for the extra mechanics, hardware and all these rims, they often have an impressive spec sheet that a dual suspension motorcycle of similar price may not even come close to. But they are not just for economical cyclists, as those who can not spend a season cycling without breaking another set of chains, destroying another set of bearings or blowing up another shock may have better luck – and less free time off the bike. – choosing a hard tail. How do we choose bicycles? With “choose,“What I really mean is,”Please only send us any bicycle you have in stock.“If you’ve tried to buy a new ride at any time in recent years, or even just parts of a bike, you already know that you are more likely to stumble upon the Pact Ark than the 12-speed chain. Even so, Kazimer spoke to me. some way to get five full suspension bikes sold for $ 3,500 USD or less, and four hardtails for $ 2,100 USD or less. Yes, some more bikes would be fine. Yes, some of the prices have gone up afterwards. And yes, Kazimer can be quite charming when he wants to be, but that does not mean you should not tell him how frustrated he was that he could not get the exact bike you wanted – you needed – to see in this field test. This is our tenth field test, and it does not even include all the trips that Kazimer and I made all these years before we got a name for them, so we have locked the testing process at this point. It’s not complicated: go out for a short test round and then do another one. Then do another, and another, and then a bunch more. After doing this, we go out for a few test rounds before starting for a few test rounds after returning from the test rounds. Then, after we return, let’s go for a few more … Okay, you understand the meaning. nothing beats short, repetitive laps on a track that fits any type of bike we do. This back-to-back testing is the key because it allows us to compare, well, comparable bikes much better than if we rode them individually, and highlights the individual differences in geometry, suspension performance and bike specifications. Just don’t say shot, okay? All these laps would not count much if the trails were more one-way. But on the other hand, as much as we like to look like we know what we are doing in our photos that we ride on sketchy ground, none of these reasonably priced bikes were built for do-or-die lines. In fact, they should be driven on a singletrack that matches their intentions, which I would argue is a light to medium ride on trails with some hard stuff thrown for good measure. And that’s exactly what Tucson served us. wavy trails with a mix of difficult low-speed climbs and fast, rough descents, all paved with pointed rocks and either all traction or no traction to keep us awake. It was mostly a smooth cruise, although there were a few accidents during our two weeks of riding, as one would expect, and we also had some mechanical concerns that we will talk about in the upcoming review videos. Oh, and this time Palmer had to manually sew his Maxxis rear tire to get out of the desert before it got dark, but we’ll get to those behind-the-scenes stories in a future podcast. Our Value Bike Field tests are a little different from regular group reviews, as we are less concerned with using control tires to balance traction and performance and place much less emphasis on the timing of our laps. Why; Well, we suspect that if you are looking for a bike in this price range, you probably want to know more about how it works than how it works since we put $ 250 in rubber which is much better than any tires that came in stock on the bike. In other words, if you spend all the fun coupons you have earned on a bike that costs $ 3,500 or less, the specification definitely matters and we did not want to overlook such an important factor. Speaking of observation, the timing of our laps will always be one thing in these encounters, as it gives us another measurement for comparison and discussion, but we also know that a two-second gap between two motorcycles at a good price certainly does. ” . It does not mean that one is better than the other. After all, maybe our feet felt better in the morning, or was it all the horchata that made me go so fast and drop the Kazimer? That said, since our nine test bikes are so different in terms of geometry, suspension performance and specifications, do not be surprised to see some notable differences in the timing sheet. However, how much stock you put into these numbers is up to you. Impossible Climb, (No) Efficiency Test, & Huck to Flat While the timer does not lie, it’s really the Impossible Climb and Huck to Flat on which we all base our buying decisions, right? I mean, it wouldn’t be a field test without some absurd climbing before you reach the bottom on a flat landing, so you can expect the series to end with Matt Beer riding all nine of these bikes on something steep and then to get away from something stupid. What we are not doing this time is the Efficiency Test. I know, I know, you’re probably angry with that, but listen to me. with value bikes having different tires and four of them being hard, we thought our time could be better spent doing something else, so the extra climbing was replaced with a video that analyzes each of the components in all bicycles that impressed us the most. In this we will talk about which economical forks, powertrains, brakes, dropper and other components worked best, along with some things that definitely did not work.
Beta Mike Kazimer, Alicia Leggett, me, and Ryan Palmer spent two weeks in Tucson, Arizona, evaluating and comparing our nine test bikes while eating Mexican food for each meal each day, including lunch before lunch. second dinner and hot midnight churros. As usual, the test tasks were shared among many riders to give us some perspective on the performance of each bike. we agree on most things, but not on all, and this allows us to calmly discuss our different views as well-adjusted adults. Yes, that’s how it went … Matte Beer Height: 5’10 “/ 178 cmWeight: 170 lbs / 77 kg Notes: Technical processor, allergic to allMike KazimerHeight: 5’11” / 180 cmWeight: 160 lbs / 72.6 kg Notes: Technology management editor, noted 10 “/ 178 cm. Weight: 148 lbs / 67 kg Notes: Moonlighting news editor as technical editorMike LevyHeight: 5’10” / 178 cmWeight: 155 lbs / 70 kg of the lizard: 183 cm. Weight: 200 lbs / 90 kg Notes: Senior Tech Editor in Beta, too poor to be so snobby While Ryan, Kazimer, Matt, Alicia and I are in front of the camera for these Field Test projects, the five of us do not even know how to focus or where to install the film. We would be completely lost without our overworked video and photo studio – Max Baron, Tom Richards and Lear Miller – who not only make us the center of attention, but also make us look much better than we really are. And then, after turning for two weeks, we lock them in the Pinkbike processing cave and feed them only with Timbits through a small hole in the wall until they come out on the other side pale, thick and with a complete series of videos. Speaking of complete videos, which bike review do you look forward to the most? Which bike seems the least promising?