(laughing)
- I'm warming up.
(laughing)
It's slalom. Don't knock over the bikes.
(upbeat music)
- Hey everybody. I'm Mike Levy and welcome back
to another Field Trip review series
where we pit 10 bikes against each other in a back-to-back
testing format. And while the last field test was all about
carbon fiber, electronics and the high price tags
that come with that stuff, this time around, we're talking
value minded trail bikes.
- And I'm Sarah Moore. Our stable includes five value hard
tails, all that costs less than 1700 US dollars.
We've also got five trail full suspension bikes that cost
between 2,300 dollars and three grand.
- But don't worry, we're still going to have plenty of
reviews of those 10,000 dollar dream machines.
But I bet I can sum them up right now.
They're going to be really damn good.
- That's true but you know what? Your job is a whole lot
harder if your budget is 1100 US dollars which is what this
Canyon Stoic 3 retails for.
- [Sarah] For that price you'll get an SR Suntour 140mm
fork. Shimano's 1x10 drivetrain and some
meaty Shelby tires. It's ready for anything.
As long as anything, doesn't include it needing a dropper
post.
- Now, if you've got an extra 350 dollars to spend
there's also the Vitus Sentier 29 VR.
- [Mike] For 1,450 American you're going to get 130mm
travel Z2, an 11 speed Shimano drivetrain and a brand X
dropper post.
Ready to send it then, but it's got to go up against this
bike.
- Narco's Fluid HT1 which retails for 1,500 US dollars,
which is 50 dollars more than the Vitus Sentier.
For that price you'll get 120mm X-Fushion fork.
You'll get Shimano's 1x12 drivechain and you'll get some
Tektro stoppers.
- Looking for something to ride and maybe even race while
wearing the lycra and no, I'm not going to make you guys
watch me in the sausage shoot again, but this bike has me
tempted.
- [Mike] BMCs 1,600 dollar two-stroke AL1 is more of an
entry-level cross-country machine than an all mountain
hardtail.
That means less travel of course.
There's a 100mm recon fork up front with the remote lockout
and a whole bunch of interesting frame features that
we're going to talk about in the review.
- Our last hardtail is also our most aggressive one.
That's the Rocky Mountain Growler 40, which retails
for 1,669. It has 140mm SR Suntour fork and
a 64 degree head tube angle, meaning that it should be ready
for some aggressive terrain.
It's also got a Shimano 12 speed drivechain and some meaty
WTB 2.6 inch tires that should help the edge off on the
downhills.
- Speaking of taking the edge off it's time we talk
about our five full suspension bikes.
Starting with the least expensive of the bunch,
Devinci's 2,300 dollar Marshall.
For that price you're going to get a RockShox 35 fork,
a Deluxe rear shock and a 12 speed Shimano drivetrain.
It's also made in Devinci's Canadian factory in Quebec
so of course we're going to be comparing it to a whole bunch
of poutine and maple syrup.
- And of course this bike. The Polygon Siskiu T8.
It's a degree slacker and a degree more expensive at 2,369
US dollars.
For that price you'll get Fox Rhythm fork, Shimano
12 speed drivetrain and some 4 piston Tektro stoppers.
It also gets you this incredible paint job.
- Now, if black is more your thing, we also have
Giants new Trance X. For 2,500 dollars you're getting
135mm of rear wheel travel paired with 150 upfront
and it's the only trail bike here with the adjustable
geometry and it's also the longest travel bike that we
have on test but I'm not sure if more travel is more better.
- Next up we've got the Marine Risk Zone 3.
It has 125mm of rear travel and 130mm fork.
Like all the other bikes we have here, it's a 29'er with
an aluminum frame.
It retails for 2,849 US dollars and for that price
you'll get a Marzocchi Z2 Bomber fork. You'll get a 12 speed
SLX drivetrain and you'll get 4 piston brakes.
- Now, if you've got a bit more money to spend
there's also Ibis' 3,000 dollar Ripley AF that we have
on test.
The Ripley AF comes with 130mm Fox Rhythm fork with the grip
damper and it's 120mm of rear wheel travel.
It's controlled via a DW-link suspension system and a
Fox Float shock. You're also getting a 12 speed drivetrain
Schwab tires and a KS dropper post.
And one last thing to mention this aluminum Ripley AF
is a full degree slacker than it's lighter and more
expensive carbon fiber brother.
So those are our 10 test bikes and next up
let's talk about how we're evaluating them and a big part
of that is figuring out how ready for action they are
right out of the box.
Now, the thing with the value minded trail bike is
that if you're not spending a ton of money on a bike
you probably don't want to spend a ton of money
right after you buy it.
- Exactly and that's why we're going to pay really
careful attention to the spec on each of these bikes
because if you have breaks that don't work or a fork
that doesn't fork it's not good value is it?
We will boil down what might need to be upgraded or changed
on each of the 10 test bikes.
- Speaking of changing, one thing we're not doing this time
around is installing identical control tires on all of the
test bikes.
Given that these are value minded trail bikes We want to
test them on how the manufacturers deliver them to you guys.
Not how they would be if you spent another 250 dollars
on overpriced rubber.
And another thing to point out, given that none of these
are really geared towards racing, We're not doing any time
testing this time around.
- While we may not be changing those tires we are still
going to be doing the efficiency test and the impossible
climb.
- But at least I don't have to do the Huck to flat.
He's usually behind the camera, but that's where Jason Lucas
comes in.
Sarah does he know we have a bunch of hardtails?
- He's been filming us all week so you think by now he'd
have figured it out but I really do not envy him that task.
We should probably talk about where we're testing.
- [Mike] We're here on the beautiful Sunshine Coast,
which is a hell of a lot drier than Squamish right now
and the trails, so good.
On that note, we believe that it's important to evaluate
these bikes on terrain that they were intended for and
that means no triple black diamond runs or 50 foot death
senders.
Instead picture natural single-track full of rocks and roots
to keep us on our toes.
- [Sarah] I think that just about covers it Levy.
So just like that welcome to the Pinkbike Field Trip
and don't forget that there's a team of photographers and
videographers behind the scene that are working at least 10
times as hard as we are.
- Probably even harder than that.
We have a whole bunch of Field Trip videos coming.
So remember to like, and subscribe to the channel so
you don't miss a single one of them.
Sarah, let's grab some of these bikes and go for a bike
ride.
- Let's do it.
- All right.
(upbeat music)