Hardtail opinions

fjohn860

Alice in diaperland
What are peoples thoughts/experiences with any of the below hardtail models/brands.

Would be interested in which ones you feel are the top 3.

Possible bikes in no particular order

Giant Talon 2
Trek Marlin 6
Marin Bobcat Trail 3
Polygon Premier 5
Norco Storm 2
Merida Big Nine 100
Reid Argon 29 – Not sure about Reid bikes
Cube Aim Ex – Not many options to by
Avanti Montari 2
Scott Aspect 760 or 960

A bit of context, the hardtail is for my nephew. He's 12 and ridden with me at the You Yangs and The Hills MTB park. He is a confident rider who has outgrown his current bike.

Cheers.
 

moorey

call me Mia
Yeah, my brother was keen to spend $1500, but the wife pulled the brakes on that, so $1000 is his budget.
Fair enough. I would suggest that none of those bikes will last long at the You yang before parts start to fail. I but I suspect strongly that you already know that, and you’re just the messenger
 

fjohn860

Alice in diaperland
Fair enough. I would suggest that none of those bikes will last long at the You yang before parts start to fail. I but I suspect strongly that you already know that, and you’re just the messenger
Yes. And Yes.

The young fella is definitely not going to be bombing Cressy or Travs that's for sure. They are Melbourne based, so the Youies are an occasional visit so should take a while before bits start falling off.
 

fjohn860

Alice in diaperland
As far as geometry goes the Marin Bobcat has the most "progressive" numbers although still conservative.
 

Daniel Hale

She fid, he fid, I fidn't
a guy on fbook is looking to sell an xfusion fork off his polygon, to upgrade to pike do - would b a good buy, the reid bikes seem ok spec apart from fork - though the neon for 1099 w suntour aion should go ok.. even the vice 2 with 27.5 plus will soak up a,lot of bumps, esp for a lightweight, only 1099malso
how tall is the 12yr old? fit a sml men’s?
 
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fjohn860

Alice in diaperland
a guy on fbook is looking to sell an xfusion fork off his polygon, to upgrade to pike do - would b a good buy, the reid bikes seem ok spec apart from fork - though the neon for 1099 w suntour aion should go ok.. even the vice 2 with 27.5 plus will soak up a,lot of bumps, esp for a lightweight, only 1099malso
how tall is the 12yr old? fit a sml men’s?
Yeah I saw that x fusion for sale.

I thought the Reid bikes seemed like OK spec.

My nephew is 168cm so he is roundabout between a small and medium at the moment.
 

Daniel Hale

She fid, he fid, I fidn't
a few reid cross bikes race, they get hammered, never seen a rider damage one yet, welds hold together etc, one of the mechanics occasionally races cross, he told me they get few warranty jobs, thoug he did have 1 guy run into a car and try to claim warranty
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
Yeah I saw that x fusion for sale.

I thought the Reid bikes seemed like OK spec.

My nephew is 168cm so he is roundabout between a small and medium at the moment.
There’s your dilemma - the little buggers don’t stay little for long so factor on them outgrowing whatever bike you get. Choose a medium size bike with a low standover height so your nephew can be comfortable on it now, yet get a few years out of it before he outgrows it.

My 14yo son has been on a Scott Aspect (@rowdyflat’s frame actually) with a 100mm Suntour XCR 32 coil fork, which has held up pretty well to the abuse he gives it. A short dropper post was a game changer too - got a 125mm KS rage-i on sale for $140 on bikebug.
 

fjohn860

Alice in diaperland
There’s your dilemma - the little buggers don’t stay little for long so factor on them outgrowing whatever bike you get. Choose a medium size bike with a low standover height so your nephew can be comfortable on it now, yet get a few years out of it before he outgrows it.

My 14yo son has been on a Scott Aspect (@rowdyflat’s frame actually) with a 100mm Suntour XCR 32 coil fork, which has held up pretty well to the abuse he gives it. A short dropper post was a game changer too - got a 125mm KS rage-i on sale for $140 on bikebug.
Yeah, he's going to be pretty tall. So medium it will be.

Looking at spec and geo. The Norco is probably at the top, the Reid is there solely on spec.
 

rowdyflat

chez le médecin
the little buggers don’t stay little for long
Thats the critical point so whatever you get it wont be big enough for long at puberty >then buy another bigger frame .
I dont think young kids worry about whether the frame is progressive.
 
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