Brutally Honest Budget MTB Review: Cheap Parts & First Impressions
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- čas přidán 26. 05. 2024
- If you're in the market for a budget mountain bike, you're in luck! In this video, we review a Marin Alpine Trail 7 bike that I sold my dream bike to purchase. This bike is perfect for beginners or those on a budget.
After testing this bike out, I have to say that it's a great option for budget-minded mountain bikers. The parts are cheap, but the bike runs well. Plus, the Marin Alpine Trail 7 is easy to ride and perfect for beginners. There are a couple upgrades I'd like to do, which I cover in this video. Stay tuned as I upgrade this bike and get it ready for the amazing riding season ahead!
Get Stoked! Go Ride! Have Fun!
Thanks for the support!
Marin Alpine Trail 7
bikesonline-usa.sjv.io/c/3995...
Chapters:
00:00 - How much money should you spend on MTB?
01:34 - Marin Alpine Trail 7
02:10 - RockShox Yari RC Fork Review
04:19 - Rock Shox Deluxe Select + RT Shock Review
05:22 - Shimano Deore, 12-Speed Drivetrain Review
06:33 - Vee Tire Flow Snap Tire Review
08:27 - TranzX Dropper Seat Post Review
09:50 - Shimano BR-MT420, 4-Piston Brake Review
10:58 - Top 2 Shimano Brake Upgrade Hacks
12:00 - Budget Bike Final Thoughts
Tubeless Tire Conversion:
• Tubeless MTB tire setu... - Sport
Absolutely agree with your thoughts regarding what level of components one really needs. I find tyres and brakes are super important, the suspension needs to be able to be well tuned and the frame geometry needs to match your style of riding and your body type. And that's it.
Yup 👍🏻 I’m already looking into tire options. I kind of just want to replace the rear tire, but do NOT like any of the other Vee tire options I’ve seen… and am struggling with the idea of having mismatched front and back tires 😬 😂 Idk why it matter to me about matching tires/tyres
Brilliant post Jared. I was being pushed and pulled btw the Trek Fuel Ex 5 & 8. Ultimately I went with the 5 [Budget entry level] with the same Aluminum frame. I LUV IT! Upgraded: tires to Maxxis Assegai up front and Dissector out back and BOOM! Night and day. Upgraded the brake levers to Shimano XT = kid in a candy store! 2 piston to 4 piston and I'm enjoying the downhill shred. Super happy building on the budget set-up and enjoying riding with the big spenders. Looking forward to your future posts. Thanks for keeping it REAL.
Heck yeah man! Sounds like and awesome MTB
This is going to be a really interesting series looking forward in seeing the final conclusion.
I’m super excited to start testing things out. I’ve already got a set of budget pedals coming. I’m interested to see how a set of $25 budget flat pedals compare to $190 pedals.
The video matches the title well. Honest review. I'm still riding my Hawk Hill (now known as the Rift Zone) and have done several upgrades. For the money, it's difficult to beat MARIN. They build quality frames while giving the rider plenty of room for upgrades to turn anyone of their models into top contenders while the rider grows in skill. Have been beating the hell out of my Hawk Hill and it's still keeping up with the 8K bikes. Good job putting this review together.
Thank you! I’ve been really surprised with the performance of the budget components that come stock on this bike. I’m working on my next video now talking about just that. Thanks 🤙🏻
I appreciate this review alot and this outlook on essentially getting people to buy what they need to get into the sport. I've been riding since I could walk but I never aimed to own the super high end bike. I like getting the entry level stuff, modifying over time and just enjoying the sport and not really worrying about busting expensive components. I recently bought a Rocky Mountain Slayer A30 , the first slayer in the line up. It's actually really similarly spect to this bike except beefier suspension. Same drive train and breaks. Similar wheels, maxxis tires that are quite good.
I did my own mods but honestly it's erelevant to this argument cause they are personnal preferences. I found the bike to be super capable of doing quite honeslty Anything I wanted it to do. I'm no pro but I ride nearly 3-4 times a week, all freeride/Enduro or DH. Like the marin in this video, it really is good to go. And something else these lower end bikes with lower end components are generally simple meaning low maintenance and low repair costs. Keeping you riding and out of the shop.
For this Marin I would say 100% new tires, maybe new wheels as entry level wheels aren't always the most resilient but they will for sure get through a seasons. I'd say after that it's personnal preference from then on.
You bring up a lot of good stuff there. Great comment! Definitely feel this bike will handle almost everything and I’m no pro either, but can’t wait to put it to the test. Tires are definitely getting changed though 👍🏻
I really enjoyed this! That really is all the bike that most of us need. Give the 420 brakes (with 200mm rear rotor) a fair chance before swapping out the lever to a Deore 6100 and give us an update on their consistency in regards to Shimano's Wondering Bite Point issue.
Definitely will do! I’ve felt that wondering bite point on my previous bike that has Deore level brakes. But I still prefer Shimano brakes over SRAM. I’ll try out the larger rear rotor first as you stated. That’s the cheapest way to upgrade brakes anyway 👍🏻
@@JaredHoff did those come with resin or metallic pads? Because that can also make a difference in terms of stopping power.
I have a budget hardtail , a Marin full sus is my “dream” upgrade.
Heck yeah! I’m hoping to grow this channel enough to be able to do bike giveaways some day. When I do,,, I’ll let you know 👍🏻
@@JaredHoff regardless I wish you nothing but the best!
I feel you bro. I’m trying to decide which bike to upgrade to, and the AT 7 is a strong contender, but it will be a significant invest and I’m still trying to decide if a FS will be worth it. I currently ride a cheap decathlon mtb (used to cost around US $270 pre-covid) and it used to be enough for my riding style. I do small jumps and drops and used to be able no descend rough mountain trails by using technique and carefully choosing lines. I sold my first decathlon bike when I moved houses, 3 years ago, planning to buy the same model later. Come covid, and the bike price went to US $400 and somehow I can no longer do trail-type riding with this newer version of the same model. Component quality went down and it is blowing inner tubes at random every time I descend a mountain, without punctures. Not sure why yet, but I guess the Decathlon inner tubes themselves are also worse.
Your talking total sense. Still saving for the damper here though, I put 3wt oil in mine while I'm saving for a charger, my arms thanked me for that when the runs are long and gnarly...
I’m going on a long ride tomorrow with some gnarly trails, so I should know more after that ride. Next video I release will be that ride video, on the stock bike, and making final decisions on what I should upgrade. Thanks for the feedback. Always good to hear from a fellow rider 🤘🏻
Finding a balance, and refining it to your needs as you go along.
For sure 👍🏻
i got this bike 3 weeks ago. changed the tires to asse/dhr2. changed the cockpit as well. might as well change the levers to xt. i like the 420's caliper.
yari is doing well. i live on socal, were my local trails has some double black trails. going to test it.
overall, so far so good.
Awesome man! Thanks for the info. I am definitely thinking of changing the tires and levers, but trying my best to test out budget options. I might just go with the deore levers and only replace the rear tire. But then I would have miss match tires 😬 because I want to put something faster rolling on the back and Vee tires are pretty slow.
on the 2nd thought, i might do the deore brakeset 4pot. just do an xt rotors though. and probably xt shifter and RD
You're right in that most of us buy bikes we will never push to their limits, but still, high end bikes have their place. I'm building a "10k bike", picking each component to fit my liking, and while I realize it's way more than I need, I'm also in a position where the cost isn't the most important factor. That's not to say I can buy 10k bikes all the time, or would, but in this case I saw some videos on the bike in question and I immediately knew it must be mine. Just one of those things that felt right in the moment.
I love a 10k bike as much as the next guy. Stoked for you man 👍🏻 I bet that’s going to be an amazing bike. When you find the right bike for you, that’s an amazing thing.
I’m really excited to see how I can find budget ways to upgrade this bike and try to make it as good as I can on a budget.
Its the debate of pay up front or upgrade as you go. Great video
Totally! I think the benefit to doing it this way is to try and get exactly what you want without paying for stuff you might not want or need.
The Marin Rift Zone 3 has great geometry and after upgrading suspension, headset, shifter/derailer to xt and hub to hydra w/ Stan’s rims on maxxis Dhr/Dhr the bike is a lot of fun.
Awesome! Sounds like you got some good upgrades on that bike
I checked Spence last week, there was roughly a foot of snow in the parking lot. As for tires, I'm currently loving the Schwalbe. Like you said, tires are really person specific
Spence 🤦🏼♂️ It’s been so hard to be a mountain biker lately 😂 weather, weather, and more bad weather…
@Jared Hoff I went to the All Comers Meet last Sunday at Whypass. It was raining, but the trails were still rideable!
I bought the Schwinn boundary for just under $200 two years ago and I have been shredding trails almost daily since!
Heck yeah 🤘🏻 that’s what it’s all about.
Upgrade brake levers, cheep fork upgrade and lighter rear tyre. Race it stock with minimal changes. Be cool to see some timed dh run comparison with your old bike. This is a really good park bike
Heck yeah! Thanks for the ideas. The Vee tires are definitely a good front tire. Maybe I’ll just get a faster rolling rear tire. I’ll definitely do some timed back-to-back laps with this versus the Slash 👍🏻
Brakes are fine.
I have this bike and I was wondering if upgrading the brake levers would make a performance difference?
@@JaredHoff Check out the Vittoria Agarro 29er tire. Have the 27.5+ 2.6 version for the rear; rolls well, grippy, more of a beefy, fast trail tire. Vittorias are sweet treads no matter what you choose. Martellos (Enduro type) make a nice front tire; the 2.8 with a 50mm rim makes it pretty much a 3.0 almost. Fair warning, might have to wait more for Vittorias; my Agarro is being shipped from the U.K. and I'm in Reno, NV. February 1st is estimated arrival date.
@@bartmullin8018 the mazza is the best front tire ever!
I have a 2020/2021 GT Force 29 with the Expert build kit, Fox 38 Performance, Fox DPX2 Performance Elite, Sram Code R brakes, NX Eagle drivetrain, and Stans Flow S1 wheels. It’s Geo is a little funky, high BB, 64.6° hta, 445 mm reach, 442mm chain stays, and a taller standover than I’d like. But it was $3500 and all the the components are great, save for the drivetrain. Plus on trail the geo is perfectly balanced between stability and playfulness. I’d say the only necessary upgrade would be the drivetrain, brakes aren’t bad, suspension rocks and the in house bar and stem aren’t bad at all. Only big downside is the fact that it’s 38 lbs.
That’s definitely a little heavy, but still sounds like you have a great bike. I have been pretty impressed with the Shimano deore drivetrain so far.
@@JaredHoff it’s a killer drivetrain, significant better than the SX, or NX Eagle. I’d say it performs about as well as the GX Eagle over all. As far as 12 speed drivetrains go I’d say a combo of SLX and XT is unbeatable.
Definitely upgrade that Yari MC to Charger 2.1. $330 well spent. World of difference in performance. Also, I'd run that MC wide open if I were you, it spikes about midway through its travel. Motion Control will literally destroy your hands on high speed breaking bumps when you take it to a bike park. Trust me, get the charger 2.1. ...Re the brake levers, any of the two finger Deore level servo brakes are an inexpensive upgrade that you will notice immediately. I just did my 401s to a Deore servo brake levers and was able to get away with a level bleed on both front and rear.
Awesome! Thanks for the advice. It’s always good to hear from someone who’s already done the upgrades 👍🏻
hey jared, if you want a really good cheap upgrade, buy an XT shifter. As someone who rides a Deore bike, the XT shifter is night and day being quicker and allowing you to shift to multiple harder gears in one press plus its fairly cheap on sale.
Thanks for the advice 👍🏻 I’m definitely looking for cheap way to get the most out of this bike.
@@JaredHoff its great, similar feel and same features of xt for just the shifter
I’m pretty sure you’ll only be able to upgrade the Yari to a 2.1 damper, the 3.0 ultimate you mentioned utilizes buttercups. That said, I heard the 2.1 damper can be used in the non-butter cup chassis, never tried it though.
Thanks man! I was wondering about that, but I think a 2.1 upgrade is plenty enough.
Before you pull the trigger on the Yari upgrade look and see if you can find a new take off Lyrik. I’ve see some go for about $500
Wow! Okay. It would actually be cool to do side-by-side comparisons anyway.
The Yari is a very good budget fork but as soon as you upgrade that damper it feels like butter 🧈!!!
Awesome! Did you do the charger 2.1 damper upgrade?
@@JaredHoff Yeah the 2.1, I love it. Was well worth it. In repetitive janky rock gardens it used to feel harsh but not anymore and the small bump is much better too.
@@323johnnybravo Changing the damper oil to a lighter weight oil helps a lot on fast braking bumps/hits on the motion control damper, it made a big difference on my 35mm revelation, its now plush and supportive.
That bike would definitely meet my needs , I actually like the vee tires , they grip like crazy in the corners.The only upgrade i see is that stem just because it looks kinda flimsy.
Tires are definitely grippy! Most of the good downhill runs near me require a BIG pedal to the top. So rolling efficiency means a lot to me. I was going to “upgrade” the stem, but really trying to keep this bike as stock as possible.
Amazing value bike, honestly for the budget buyer, buy it ride it and replace only as things fail. Cheap is relative and this is still.a lot of cash for a bike....those Tyres have been used by pros in the world enduro series, they are soft, tough and grippy. The shimano "budget" brakes are 4 piston and absolutely solid. This really is park/race/shred ready for anyone with skills that sit anywhere sub pro level. Key thing with this bike is the frame and geometry...its very progressive, slack and built specifcally for shredding downhill...the short chainstays are pretty unique for such a burly bike and keep it playful rather than being a one dimensional plough .That's what your getting with this bike..insane downhill shredding stability from the frame but with still enough "pop" to keep it fun on the mellower stuff. Buy this for the frame and it's angles - it's awesome and the heart of this beast. Hang fancy components off it even, its definately worth it.
Great comment! I’ve been super impressed with the budget parts in this bike so far. I definitely agree that this bike is ready to shred out of the box. The tires roll a little too slow, but they are super grippy downhill and I agree with everything else you said 👍🏻
would like the review to include your opinion on the frame and not just the components, otherwise like the idea of exploring more affordable bike options.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll make a separate video about the frame. I’d like to get some more rides on it first. This winter has had some brutal weather in Oregon so it’s been really hard to go ride.
MT420's come with shimano's low pressure brake hose...you want the 90 series hose for maximum power from those brakes. Don't upgrade the levers if you don't upgrade the hose too.....otherwise they'll be mush.
From what I can find online it says the Shimano BR-MT420 Brakes come with SM-BH90 brake line.
Shimano website shows the DEORE M6000 Series brake line as the SM-BH90-SS
Isn’t this the same brake line? I think the XT levers might need different lines, but the Deore seem like the same lines.
@@JaredHoff Yes- in that case you're good to go if they've up-spec'd the hose to 90 series.
Without even watching the video I can tell you that you don't need a fancy bike, I sold my full carbon 2017 trek slash 9.8 for an all alloy 2019 norco fluid fs1 sacrificing 30mm of travel in the process, and I have much more fun on the norco, I also ride the exact same trails including steep double blacks and fast rocky and rooty tracks and I'm no slower, you can also tweak the motion control damper in the yari before you fork out hundreds of dollars on another damper, I have the motion control damper on my revelation and I found it really good except on fast braking bumps where it was pretty harsh, so I changed the damper oil from 5wt 16cst to 2.5wt 6.7cst and boy did it make a difference, it now handles fast braking bumps really well without packing down, and it will only cost you about $20.
Wow! Great advice on simply changing out the oil. I never would have thought of that. Winter time in Oregon this year has been horrible, so I have been able to test this out as much as I’d like. I’ll definitely look into changing out the oil option you mentioned.
@@JaredHoff Its worth a try, 6.7cst might be too light if you like to use the compression dial though, as the only adjustment you get is slightly firmer and locked out, personally I never use the compression dial though, also you lose a lot of rebound adjustment too, my rebound is fully closed and its about spot on, it rebounds fast but not too fast that the tyre comes off the ground, but I don't see the point in slowing it down more than that anyway, rockshow has a 2.5wt oil that is a 10.8cst that still helps a lot while giving you more adjustment options, I think the yari uses 5wt 16.1 cst oil.
I owned this bike for a year. Rode It on my local trails in so cal and arizona where I moved a year ago.
I no longer own it,I’ll give my experience with it. The dropper lever is terrible. The tires are grippy,they really bog the bike down . I went to the dhf and dissector rear and that made a huge difference. Brakes worked fine,levers are terrible. The fork beat the living crap out of me. It would make my hands numb. Not a good bike if you have to be in the saddle and pedal for a while. I know own a ripmo af because arizona has a lot of pedaling to get to the top. Bike is fun as long as it’s not chopped out where your hands will go numb
Thanks for the feedback man! Always good to hear from someone who’s already owned the bike. I’m definitely looking into tire upgrades already, and I’ll be interested to see how that fork feels on steep descents up here in Oregon, and Northern California 🤔 How are you liking the dissector rear?
I’ve been looking at that as a rear tire option for this bike, and I would keep the Vee tire up front. Mismatched tires 😬 I know 🤦🏼♂️ but could be a good budget way to upgrade the tires.
@@JaredHoff the dissector rear was a good tire and fast rolling. The tire only comes in a 2.4 on the width so that’s why I ended up with a 2.5 dhf up front and it made the bike way better for pedaling.. I’m testing out the 2.5 aggressor right now on my ripmo and I really like that tire plus it comes in a 2.5. The bike handles everything you through at it. Problem is when you get into some breaking bumps or stutter bumps at high speed your hands just want to fall off and go numb. Def upgrade to the charger 2.1. It’s fine climbing fire road type trails,here in arizona a lot of trails are steep and techy with rocks and that’s what really hurt this bike and why I sold it. My local trails are hawes and south mountain trails. Check them out and you will see what I mean.
Hot take: This bike stock is perfect for most weekend riders. We are so spoiled with great bikes even compared to 5 years ago. Best upgrade anyone can make to any bike is taking coaching classes to level up skills.
Buuuut once you’re done with classes: PNW Loam dropper/lever, yari internal upgrades, super deluxe shock, 200mm rotors, new tires after stock wears out.👌
Word! I hear ya bro 👍🏻 You’re spot on
@@JaredHoff Congrats. Your channel is cool enough to have scam accounts in your comments! 😄
Oh man 🤦🏼♂️ hate those
I've got some friends with that bike and it's an amazing value. Seems the pivot bearings are cheap though and wear out fast.
It’s always tricky with things like pivot bearings and all the little things that could fail. I’ll keep a close eye on those
Install a megneg air can on your rear shock.. Its amazing
I’ve heard some good things about those, but I know they are only good with certain bikes and riding styles. I’ll have to look more into that as a possibility 🤔
I bought a new mountain bike a few months back, about 6k rrp, but I work in the industry. Could well have afforded the carbon version, but went with alloy. For all the extra money it’s not going to drive me any performance benefit that I will need riding as casually as I do.
Totally agree with you. I’ve had both alloy and carbon models. Slight difference in the way the carbon feels on the trail, but definitely doesn’t matter much for all of us average riders.
I love videos on cheap bikes! I want to know how they’re specd, hoe they ride, and what need to be fixed. I love Santa Cruz, but they’re just not affordable anymore. I’m looking elsewhere.
I’m having a lot of fun pushing this bike to the limits to see what upgrades I really need. Today I’ll be taking it out an another ride to make a list of the next things I need to upgrade. I’ll be working on that video this week and hopefully have it out before this weekend.
Quality seals, good oil and some extra care might all you need to keep that fork running well. I’m not sure the charger 2 is worth 300-400 but that’s just my two cents.
Thanks for the advice man! I’m definitely going to try and put this bike through some tests before upgrading the damper. I wish I could get two Yari forks to be able to do back-to-back test with the Motion Control versus Charger 2.1 damper. I’ll definitely look into this more
I have the motion control damper on my 35mm revelation and I changed the damper oil to a lighter weight one (16.1cst to 6.7cst) and it performs much better on fast braking bumps/hits, it now feels at least as good as my 2017 lyric with the charger damper, and it only cost me about $20.
"do you really need all those fancy high end components"
My Brain: Yes
My Wallet: No
LOL! Yup 👍🏻 if money was no option the answer would always be yes. But I’be been really surprised with the budget parts spec’d on this Marin.
Dropper might just be installation issues, too much or too little slack on the cable could cause it. Or the housing might be kinked. 🤔
I didn’t even think of that. Thanks man! Always good to get advice from a real mechanic 👍🏻
i got the bike were the dropper is not working. took out the cable housing, its too long. changed the housing and cable to a shorter length. and all is great
The lever for the dropper post is crap, it's flimsy so swap it for a pnw one and it should be fine. Personally I'd swap the cheap rear shock out for a 2nd hand super deluxe ultimate air can pretty quick and also put a fidock bottle on, they are great.
I’ve definitely thought about upgrading the dropper lever. I haven’t taken the bike on black diamond trails or big jumps/drops yet so the shock is working for now. I’ll make sure to give some honest reviews and document the upgrades as I go, but buying a used shock is definitely a great budget way to upgrade a bike and there could be some good deals coming with the way the bike market is going.
If you remove the saddle the dropper might have an air valve at the top, depending on what model it is, this should also help with the speed and stiction.
i can realy like the cheap shimano dropper lever. it costs like 20 bucks, comes with a cable and is not that much worse than a wolf tooth lever
I’ll look into that. Wolf Tooth is one of my favorite levers.
@@JaredHoff the wolf tooth is defenetly the better option but the shimano is realy good for the price as it is not as flimsy as other more expensive levers
yari cant be upgraded to charger 3, only new pikes and lyriks and last gen and new gen zebs
Word 👍🏻 thanks! I had t looked into that much until making this video. Honestly though after riding it, I’m pretty impressed fork how it is. I didn’t think I would like it this much.
The weights are what gets me. With all the carbon they still weigh alot more thans bikes from years
ago. My 26 full sus from 2013 only weighs 27.5 lbs. And its alu frame and Deore 10 speed. And not light Mavic alloy rims. Then I see a brand new 11k Yeti that weighs 33 lbs. I dont get it.
And my Strava times confirm Im not losing anything to newer bikes.
Sometimes it’s best to stick with the bike you’ve got if that’s what you like riding best. I’m mostly just riding long travel enduro bikes, so weight isn’t that much of a concern to me. But I’ve never actually done back-to-back Strava laps with a heavy vs. light bike
My CF Warden Is 31 lbs . I paid 3500 for it Had 300km on it Lady Owned 😎 Will be 28Lbs By the End Of This Summer 😃
Didnt think the yari accepted charger 3?
I have only seen the charger 2.1 upgrade kits, so haven’t looked into the charger 3 much as an upgrade but I believe you’re right. However, I just took the bike on a gnarly ride today and was really impressed with how this budget fork handled.
I have 4 broken rift zones in the back of my shop from the last 5 months
Oh no 🙈 that’s not good! Hopefully those customers got a warranty replacement.
The newest rift zone ?? Or previous model ?
Hope rotors are very good. I suggest 200mm on the back and 220mm up front. The Yari is as you described, I recommend the 2.1 rc2 upgrade though for the really rough stuff.
I had problems with my slx 12 speed drive train - couldn't get it perfectly dialed in so returned to 10 speed Sunrace 11-46 cassette, deore M6000 rear derailleur and xt shifter. I find this drive train to be utterly dependable.
Sounds like you got a good setup. I’ve used the SLX drivetrain with XT derailleur and loved it 🤙🏻
I put the same cassette with Advent X. Much better thank 12 speed
There is no way im selling my 2022 trek slash 9.8 xt. Just love this bike to death. But i think i was lucky with the price. Got it on sale for 6k dollar which is good enough for me. However i totaly agree with you. Looking at the top level models. It just makes me puke how expensive they are. If instead of 9.8 xt went for say xx1 axs flight attendent. It would cost me like 8000 dollar more. Its totals nonsense how expensive some of this components are. I tried 9.9 xx1 in the bikeshop for comparrision and honestly i didnt feel any difference. Some 100 gram here snd there makes absolutely no difference except for the wallet.
Definitely! I’m thinking about keeping my Slash at this point. I really want to focus on budget bike upgrades, but maybe I’ll still feature the Slash in a video or two.
That bike is sick. Bike shop bikes are too expensive
I still try to support my local bike shop. Those guys are awesome, and have always taken great care of me. I wish I could afford to get a base model Trek Slash. It would be fun to do comparison videos of the base model slash vs. this bike.
@@JaredHoff yeah it would and I like bike shops too. I worked in one when I was a teen. But consumer direct is so good and you get so much for the money spent as you know. I think if you had a piggy back shock in the back and a more big hitting higher end fork that bike could be a monster truck as the geometry is as good as it gets.
Many mountain bikes are getting pretty damn expensive, some of the high end bikes are more expensive than high end motocross bikes, which is absolutely crazy.
Delium tires try them they are great
Thanks! I’ll check those out.
@@JaredHoff yea they are like 50 dollars with dh casing and they are made by people who left maxxis
Tyres are disposable items when they wear out change them
I hear ya! This tire is just wayyy to grippy for the rear. I was think about maybe just replacing the rear tire
@Jared Hoff don't upgrade spend that extra money on premium mtb. Upgrad may cancel warranty on frame for original owner only. I've used it numerous on mtbs
Throw a topaz and a Durolux or Mezzer on there!
I’m going to do my best to keep it stock but I’ll look into that.
I find those brakes to be weak, even shimano doesn't rate them as a "trail ready" brake.. I'd say the upgrade to SLX (or something similar)should be the first thing. Especially if you're racing and doing bike park laps..
I hear ya 👍🏻 I definitely plan on putting these brakes through some long, steep downhill laps so we will see how they perform. But I’m also trying to find the cheapest way possible to upgrade them. I’ll probably try levers first, then upgrade the rest of the brakes if needed.
@@JaredHoff Sounds like an interesting before, the swap over and then after video.
Why not just get the status 160 it’s the same price but much better parts
The status 160 is a great bike with great parts but it’s a mullet bike and I really like to run full 29er
That old idubbz intro
What’s that?
That’s not a very big Enduro. I think the level of components is has stock would fit its abilities pretty well already.
Yeah 150/160 isn’t the biggest enduro bike these days. I’m pretty stoked on the budget components so far. There a couple upgrades I need to do, but nothing major.
@@JaredHoff the one thing I always upgrade is the rear hub. I have blown up budget OEM wheels now twice. Both times a long way from the car.
The truth is no you don’t need the expensive bike but if you can afford it why wouldn’t you
I hear ya. I think the easy way to get a great bike is just to buy the most expensive one. But I’m having fun doing small upgrades to this to try and get it “good enough” to shred.
Problem comes down to the weight
I honestly don’t think weight effects downhill performance on an enduro bike that much. I can definitely feel the difference between a 35lb bike and a 50lb e-bike, but a pound really isn’t something I’ve notice too much on the type of riding I like to do. Although, I’ve never taken back to back laps on a bike that only weigh a pound or two more.
@@JaredHoff depends alot on where that weight it located
Honestly don’t know why you sold your slash as you already had it and is obviously a way more capable bike. I respect your decision tho
Totally understand where you’re coming from. The Slash is an amazing MTB.
I actually haven’t been able to sell my slash because of the bike market right now. But couldn’t fit all of that on a CZcams thumbnail 😂 I’m thinking about keeping it for a bit and doing comparison videos. I still love the Slash
$3k is budget now? wow
It’s ridiculous 🤦🏼♂️ I know! $3,000 is still a lot of money 💰
A friend of mine is poor, looks a little scruffy and his 2,5k bike is always falling apart.
On the rougher trails he keeps up with the elit.
It's not in the bike.....
👍🏻
Never up grade buy it on bike
There’s definitely an argument for buying a mid level bike that already has descent enough parts to not have to upgrade.
Why are videos nowadays always "brutally honest"? Is "brutally honest" more honest than "honest"? If so, then that means "honest" is not honest at all.
You make a good point 👍🏻 titles and thumbnails are always hard to get just right.
They just aren't politely honest. And most aren't actually brutally honest. Because none of them are strait goods blunt. Blunt is saying you can spend all the money on an xx1 and its still gonna be hard to tune and will have periods where it will catch and click between gears. Blunt is saying rockshocks ultimat and fox factory front forks are borderline the same thing. Brutal is saying in house manufactured parts (specialized, giant) are dog shit and cheap and your better off going with specific manufacture such as the over priced We Are One.
Brutal is saying you will never know that your riding a race face bar or another.
Brutal is saying, yes, you need a bike that can handle the trails you wanna charge, but no you don't have the balls to hit shit enduro bikes are built for.
Lastly Brutal is saying you probably don't know how to set up your suspension properly any way, so buying premium is wasted on most folks (if you don't get suspension re valved or know what the possibilities of valving are, factory and ultimate is wasted on you )
You should spend the money on toupee your in the public domain
I lost a lot of my hair from the crazy stress and pills I took during 3 combat tours to Afghanistan while flying Apache helicopters. Some of it is genetics, but the stress and meds from deployment’s definitely sped things up. I usually wear a hat during my videos. I’m definitely insecure at times about being bald, but I’m also just trying to be the “real me”, and this is who I am. Im still proud of this video, and proud of the time I spent protecting fellow Americans on the front lines of battle 🇺🇸
seriously, this guy. IT'S ALL ABOUT BIKE dude. toupee? you're weird man. really. 🤦♂️
Not to mention Marin makes a fantastic all around trail bike
For sure!
Hardtail would be more of a budget then full suspension. Also your only a average rider till you get more seat time and more experience. 🤘🏻
You’re probably not wrong. I’m definitely no expert lol