Best hardtail mtb for less than €1000

DKILLER12

Having a gander at mountainbikes as I'd like to progress further in trail riding. Would like to keep the budget at €1000.

What can you guys suggest as the best bikes with the best components for just under that price?

dylbert

I picked this Vitus Sentier a few weeks ago, great spec for the price.

C3PO

Hard to look past Canyon at that price point - incredible spec for the money!

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-al-sl-7-9.html

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-al-sl-8-9.html

If you can afford the extra €200 - the 8.9 is well worth the extra!

nelly17

I'm new into it and coming from a starting point of 0 for knowledge a couple of months ago but I got this about a month ago and cant fault it

iwillhtfu

2nd Canyon some bang for your buck. You'll find it her difficult to beat them.

Orbea do some nice bikes also I'm not sure about the budget though.

dylbert

C3PO wrote: »

Hard to look past Canyon at that price point - incredible spec for the money!

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-al-sl-7-9.html

https://www.canyon.com/en-ie/mtb/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-al-sl-8-9.html

If you can afford the extra €200 - the 8.9 is well worth the extra!

Very similar spec to the Vitus.

StevieGriff

Worth thinking what style of hardtail you want, not just purely focusing on spec and price.
The next consideration should be what type of riding you'll be doing and where you'll be doing it.
For example, there is now a lot more hardtails with slacker (less upright) frames more akin to what a trail bike has. The Canyons linked above, for example, are more XC focused. Whereas the Vitus above is 2 degrees slacker and subjectively, more fun.
I'm probably doing a horrendous job at explaining this but to put it simple XC Geometry=Generally light, efficient climbing bikes, great for rolling terrain, terrifying when the gradient really points downward and you don't drop your seat post. (Examples: Canyon Grand Canyon, Cube Analog, Scott Scale, Specialized Stumpjumper, Trek X-Calibre, Giant XTC)
Trail/All-Mountain Hardtails=Slower climbers, heavier, barrels of fun when descending, bigger volume tyres so more grip and comfort and you can generally ride them anywhere. Usually, much more chance of a dropper post coming as standard on an AM Hardtail (Examples: Commencal Meta HT AM, Ragley Piglet, Ragley Bluepig, Genesis Tarn, Nukeproff Scout, Orange P7, Lapierre Edge+, Cannondale Beast of the East, Canfield Nimble 9, Kona Honzo.

iwillhtfu

dylbert wrote: »

Very similar spec to the Vitus.

Ah they're not really to be fair. I do rate the vitus bikes though and almost bought a sentier myself. Is that fork QR or through bolt it says through bolt in the ad but reading up on the recon sl it says it's QR.

I see a lot of Marin bikes popping up the last while also might be worth a look.

dylbert

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Ah they're not really to be fair. I do rate the vitus bikes though and almost bought a sentier myself. Is that fork QR or through bolt it says through bolt in the ad but reading up on the recon sl it says it's QR.

I see a lot of Marin bikes popping up the last while also might be worth a look.

Yep, through bolt, they're recon RL not SL.

C3PO

dylbert wrote: »

Very similar spec to the Vitus.

Not true - the fork on the Canyon is way superior!

dylbert

C3PO wrote: »

Not true - the fork on the Canyon is way superior!

In what way?, genuine question!

C3PO

dylbert wrote: »

In what way?, genuine question!

Really don't want to appear to be putting down the Vitus - I'm sure it's a great bike but the spec of the Canyon is better in a number of areas.

The Recon is Rockshox's entry level fork - the Reba is the next level up and a great "all round" fork.
The wheels and crankset on the Canyon are also of a higher spec.
The Vitus is alos significantly heavier than the Canyon - nearly 1.5kgs!

iwillhtfu

dylbert wrote: »

In what way?, genuine question!

Presumably better build quality. Dampening/rebound etc.

It may take a larger axle diameter.

I did spot a remote lock out in that canyon which is cool to have.

Also it's black everything looks cool in black

Lemming

And bringing the OP back to the most helpful post on this thread, by StevieGriff, what sort of riding do you want to do or expect to be doing most of? Cross-country? Trail? Are you wanting to get air-time, etc.? Those sorts of questions will do more to indicate the frame type that would serve best, rest of the components be damned first.

dylbert

C3PO wrote: »

Really don't want to appear to be putting down the Vitus - I'm sure it's a great bike but the spec of the Canyon is better in a number of areas.

The Recon is Rockshox's entry level fork - the Reba is the next level up and a great "all round" fork.
The wheels and crankset on the Canyon are also of a higher spec.
The Vitus is alos significantly heavier than the Canyon - nearly 1.5kgs!

It's no bother, I like the vitus and am glad I bought it, as StevieGriff pointed out, the canyon is a XC bike were as the vitus is a trail bike,. I'm just curious as to the difference in the components of the two.

DKILLER12

Cheers for all the replies lads! I probably should have specified the type of riding I'll be doing! I'm mainly looking for an all mountain bike, something I can tackle fast downhill trails, some small jumps (off rocks, etc) but also something I can use fairly handily on regular trails with both positive and negative gradients.

I like the sound of the canyon 7.9, the 8.9 is just out of my budget unfortunately. I think someone mentioned the commencal meta AM? Any opinions on this bike compared to the canyon? I was actually looking at it last week and it did tickle my fancy.. I do like the idea of having the extra fork travel such as the 120mm on the vitus sentie though

Also, Any advice on why Irish bike shops sell these bikes that I could possibly use the bike to work scheme? Does chain reaction cycles do the bike to work?

dylbert

DKILLER12 wrote: »

Also, Any advice on why Irish bike shops sell these bikes that I could possibly use the bike to work scheme? Does chain reaction cycles do the bike to work?

I bought from chain reactions using the bike to work, very easy to process with them.

iwillhtfu

That commencal has 140mm travel which would be great for trails personally I think 100mm isn't a whole lot. It's a heavy beast in comparison to the canyon but that the case with most frames canyon do make incredibly light frames.

Commencal have a cult following similar to Orange. If you get a chance to ride the commencal and like the feel of it there's little reason not to buy it.

The sentier is a nice bus as well you may find discounts starting to appear in the coming months as the 2018 range is introduced.

Lemming

On note of Orange, their hardtails (Crush, Clockwork, and P7) are worth a look-in. I own a much older Orange hard-tail and I've never regretted it nor felt let down by it. I was going to suggest having a look at the Bird Zero TR, of which the cheapest model skims in at £1.1k (and very well specced for the price) but if you're wanting to avail of the Irish cycle to work scheme then that'll be off the cards being a direct purchase from the UK manufacturer.

rtmie

Re BTW, that depends on your employer, not the supplier. If they will process invoice from online like CRC then no problem. There is a mega thread on BTW which should cover your every query but you will need to enquire with your finance/payroll function at work.

thekooman

iwillhtfu wrote: »

2nd Canyon some bang for your buck. You'll find it her difficult to beat them.

Orbea do some nice bikes also I'm not sure about the budget though.

friend of mine got that 2nd canyon on the sales... cant get over how good it is and light.

i had an Orbea MX20 which was a great machine... good value as well.
the Alma look a good machine and are much cheaper at a LBS (Marreys in Mayo do them) than on the website. https://www.orbea.com/ie-en/bicycles/mountain/alma

DKILLER12

Right folks, I've decided between two bikes. Although I like the sound of the canyon, the 110mm fork travel just isn't enough for me..

I'm trying to decide between the Vitus Sentier( http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/vitus-bikes-sentier-hardtail-bike-deore-2017/rp-prod146560), and the Commencal Meta AM HT Origin (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/ie/en/commencal-meta-ht-am-origin-bike-2017/rp-prod147114).

Any suggestions or feedback on either of these bikes from people who've owned them or even spec wise from people who know what they're talking about..

Size wise for the bikes, I'm 6' 3". I tried some Scott Aspects and preferred the L over the XL. Unsure which to get. I like the idea of being a bit more manuverable on the smaller frame

TooObvious

At 6' 3" you should be going with an XL frame. Not wanting to presume, it looks to me like your intending on doing normal cross country mtb, an XL frame will make going up much easier, plus you will also have a longer top tube enabling you to stick on a stubby stem and wide handlebar for cool handling on the way down.

At your height I would suggest that any notion of an XL being less easy to throw about is perceived rather than actual.

Lemming

Links don't work.

Here's the Commencal Meta AM HT Origin

Don't know which Sentier you went for as there are a few hardtails to opt for.

Tenzor07

6ft3, go for size Large, but always go and sit on the bike as different manufacturers could have different top tube size or wheelbase...

Afterall, it's a MTB, not a road bike, better to have good standover height and maneuverability... you can always get a longer stem if you need it...

C3PO

Lemming wrote: »

Links don't work.

Here's the Commencal Meta AM HT Origin

Don't know which Sentier you went for as there are a few hardtails to opt for.

We've discussed the spec of the Vitus previously but the spec of the Commencal is really very poor ... 2 x 9 speed!!! The bike is clearly built down to a price. I can't see it's weight but I'm willing to bet it's 15kgs+? However the general feeing is that it's a decent frame - I would only buy it if I was prepared to replace most (all?) of the components over time!

dylbert

I've only had the Sentier a few weeks but can't fault it, looks like Biking.ie rent them out so would be worth a trip over for a test ride.

http://www.biking.ie/index.php/mountain-bike-rental

I am 5ft 7 so was bang in between a small or medium frame, I went for the small and it fits me perfect.

StevieGriff

C3PO wrote: »

We've discussed the spec of the Vitus previously but the spec of the Commencal is really very poor ... 2 x 9 speed!!! The bike is clearly built down to a price. I can't see it's weight but I'm willing to bet it's 15kgs+? However the general feeing is that it's a decent frame - I would only buy it if I was prepared to replace most (all?) of the components over time!

Better frame than the vitus for sure but with Tektro brakes and sram x5 it's a non starter.
OP would be way better served by that Vitus. Can't go wrong with deore and shimano non series brakes for 1k really.

DKILLER12

Cheers for the replies lads. Would be nice to sit and try the both of them but that seems to be out of the question.

Apologies about the links not working. On CRC, the Vitus is the lime green, vitus sentier hardtail deore 2017. The one with 120mm of fork travel. On my phone at least, it is not showing me very much in the way of detailed specs.

The commencal comes in at 13kg if I recall correctly, the Vitus at 12.7kg. Not much difference worth talking about.

Component wise, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to these.. most seem to agree that the Vitus is better equipped.

Seems like the Vitus is the way to go in any case..

DKILLER12

Just to throw another spanner in the works, what are people's opinion on the voodoo bizango? Seems to have won a couple of hardtail of the year comps, seems fairly well specced for 400 quid less than either of the other two..

Tenzor07

DKILLER12 wrote: »

Just to throw another spanner in the works, what are people's opinion on the voodoo bizango? Seems to have won a couple of hardtail of the year comps, seems fairly well specced for 400 quid less than either of the other two..

A good deal for the price: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/hardtail/product/voodoo-bizango-review-50627/