# Any good bikes under 800?



## F11 (Dec 30, 2017)

Hey everyone! I'm looking to upgrade my well-worn Walmart Huffy "mountain" bike (if you could even call it that, ha ha) that was given to me a while back by a co worker. The Huffy really helped me get into the sport, but now it's just about falling apart (as expected).

I've been looking at a few options from Trek, like the Marlin 6 and Marlin 7 (2019 models). I was also looking at the Diamondback Hook (2018 model), the Mason 1, and the Line (mostly because the 1x drivetrains) but the mechanical disk brakes of the Hook and Mason 1 didn't really appeal to me. The Line does look really nice, though. I just wanna know if there are any other bang-for-buck bikes out there.

I don't really plan on doing any hard riding, mostly because the trails around here aren't super technical. I also have some very minimal trails in my desert-like backyard that I could ride.

BTW, I could possibly push my budget to 850, if that'll get me anything better.

Edit: I am 5'5" (supa short, as my friends call me ) and I most likely weigh well within the weight limits of most bikes, if that helps any.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I think you should extend your budget a little bit more so you can grab one of these beauties: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/mens-s-works-epic-xx1-eagle/p/128995?color=240113-128995


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## F11 (Dec 30, 2017)

Battery said:


> I think you should extend your budget a little bit more so you can grab one of these beauties: https://www.specialized.com/us/en/mens-s-works-epic-xx1-eagle/p/128995?color=240113-128995


Wait, only $9,200 more!? Well, time to turn off all the utilities and live on instant ramen for a few years!

In all seriousness though, your reply pretty much sums up a lot of the replies I see a lot on this forum, lol.

Edit: turns out you can get it for $.01 less here. Now, you see, if it were $10,000 the wife would notice but at $9,999.99 that's practically invisible on the credit card!


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## TwiceHorn (Jun 18, 2014)

Some things that will make a material difference in your riding experience, no matter how green you are are an air fork and hydraulic brakes, particularly the air fork.

It seems that bikes at that price point and lower, new, do not have air forks, rather coil forks. The problem with a coil fork is that the only real adjustment is to replace the spring, otherwise you have a spring selected for an "average" weight of rider and if you are big or small, it's too soft or hard.

Understanding that limitation, a bike with a coil fork can get you on the trail and riding and learning. But paying much more than say $300 for such a bike, used but in good condition, might be a waste of money.

As you already have some riding experience on a suboptimal bike and want to continue, it might be worthwhile to monitor used bike ads and local bike shops for a used hardtail with a decent air fork. For $800 or so, you should probably, eventually, be able to find something that makes you a pretty nice bike for your purposes.

Also, it was pointed out that Bulls Bikes makes a decent hardtail and you can get a demo or last years model from ebay here https://www.ebay.com/itm/BULLS-Copperhead-3-27-5-Shimano-XT-SLX-Groupset-22in-56cm/263779424023

However they are out of smalls and mediums.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

Buddy of mine got a DiamondBack Sync'r for $800 shipped. It's actually a pretty nice bike.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Check out some of the Scott hardtails!


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## tfinator (Apr 30, 2009)

I think $800 is a great price point in the used market. You can often pick up a great hard tail or entry FS at that price. 

Check Craig's, classifieds, and pink bike.

If you want to go new, then you may find something decent in a shop, but it'll be harder. 

Depends on if you're comfortable doing basic maintenance too.

I would aim for:
1x drivetrain
Shimano hydros (deore is fine)
Air fork 
If you're in the desert you may want to set aside some cash for tubeless if needed.

The rest is gravy IMO.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


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## twodownzero (Dec 27, 2017)

A good hardtail costs $12-1500. I agree that you should be looking for used. Hydro brakes and air fork are a must and while I would avoid 3x drivetrains, I wouldn't necessarily run away from a 2x10 bike. I would want a bike that came ready for tubeless so you don't have to run some kind of ghetto tubeless.


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## F11 (Dec 30, 2017)

TwiceHorn said:


> Some things that will make a material difference in your riding experience, no matter how green you are are an air fork and hydraulic brakes, particularly the air fork.
> 
> It seems that bikes at that price point and lower, new, do not have air forks, rather coil forks. The problem with a coil fork is that the only real adjustment is to replace the spring, otherwise you have a spring selected for an "average" weight of rider and if you are big or small, it's too soft or hard.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply! The used market of bikes here is pretty much all Walmart bikes but I'll definitely keep an eye out for anything better.

The Bulls bike you linked seems like a ton of bike for the money, especially because of the Rock Shox air fork with the remote lockout. I'll keep an eye out for the smaller models once they're back in stock.


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## F11 (Dec 30, 2017)

tfinator said:


> I think $800 is a great price point in the used market. You can often pick up a great hard tail or entry FS at that price.
> 
> Check Craig's, classifieds, and pink bike.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reminder about Pinkbike and the forum classifieds :thumbsup: I completely forgot about those and I'll keep an eye on them. Tubeless is probably something I'll upgrade to later on (way too many thorns here and I'm tired of repairing tubes).


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## F11 (Dec 30, 2017)

What do you guys think about the Raleigh Tokul 2? It's in my price range, hydraulic disc brakes, 1x drivetrain, and a better fork than most of the bikes I've been looking at, plus I like the colors.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I'm not too fond of the Tokul 2's drivetrain and other parts. It also comes with 2.2" tires which may not be optimal for desert terrain. It's just a wild guess on my end. You can probably find that bike used for half that price. With $800, I would test the market and find a nice used trail bike. There are people on Pink Bike that will ship bikes to your doorstep too. Don't hesitate to look outside of your area and poke around the country.

Hell, you can buy a DB Mason 1 for $600 and get Shimano Deore parts which is considered an entry-level trail! https://www.diamondback.com/mason-1

It does come with a 120mm coil spring fork which can be upgraded later.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

$875 with corp. discount, 3% cash back through Active Junky, and if you can score one...there's 5% off discount codes out there so the total would be $805 to your door.

https://www.diamondback.com/sync-r-27-5


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

F11 said:


> What do you guys think about the Raleigh Tokul 2? It's in my price range, hydraulic disc brakes, 1x drivetrain, and a better fork than most of the bikes I've been looking at, plus I like the colors.


No.

9 speed. Straight head tube. Coil fork. Seal cartridge square tapered bottom bracket. QR rear. Shockingly it has a thru axle front. There's really nothing good about that bike.


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## Rhodyman (Aug 7, 2015)

This might be worth a look, if you want a new bike, air fork, 1x10, hydro brakes. Looks like a good bang for the buck HT under $900:https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/durangoexpert.html


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## F11 (Dec 30, 2017)

Battery said:


> I'm not too fond of the Tokul 2's drivetrain and other parts. It also comes with 2.2" tires which may not be optimal for desert terrain. It's just a wild guess on my end. You can probably find that bike used for half that price. With $800, I would test the market and find a nice used trail bike. There are people on Pink Bike that will ship bikes to your doorstep too. Don't hesitate to look outside of your area and poke around the country.
> 
> Hell, you can buy a DB Mason 1 for $600 and get Shimano Deore parts which is considered an entry-level trail! https://www.diamondback.com/mason-1
> 
> It does come with a 120mm coil spring fork which can be upgraded later.


The Mason 1 is actually one of my favorite bikes out of all the ones that I've been looking at, and at $600 I can spare some $$ to upgrade the mechanical brakes to hydraulic (if that'll even make a difference, of course).

Plus, my LBS has the Mason and it even comes with a pump and a few other things for free, so that bumps it up higher on the list.


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## TwiceHorn (Jun 18, 2014)

F11 said:


> The Mason 1 is actually one of my favorite bikes out of all the ones that I've been looking at, and at $600 I can spare some $$ to upgrade the mechanical brakes to hydraulic (if that'll even make a difference, of course).
> 
> Plus, my LBS has the Mason and it even comes with a pump and a few other things for free, so that bumps it up higher on the list.


Yeah that isnt bad at all. Mechanical brakes should suffice, but hydraulic are better. An air fork is light years ahead of a coil fork. 1x drive is a nice plus, but not necessary. Probably makes up for the mechanical brakes. They could be upgraded to hydraulic for under 100 bucks. Not that I advocate replacing them immediately, but if you find them unsatisfactory.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Yeah I would ride with what ya got and see how it feels. I upgraded my brakes to XT for $89 per set plus Ice Tech rotors. It came out to around $250. I upgraded from lower tier Shimano brakes. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TimberjackJG (Jul 15, 2018)

Snatch that DB Line from Diamondback's website quick before the smalls sell out! https://www.diamondback.com/line-2018 I wouldn't go for the Mason or the Hook because at that price point they really should have hydraulic disk brakes, but the Line is an excellent bike for that price. The coil shock should be fine for you. I weigh 75lbs (don't laugh, I'm a very underweight teenager!) and my air fork is set up for a person <140lbs and it feels great. My vote is on the Diamondback Line.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

TimberjackJG said:


> Snatch that DB Line from Diamondback's website quick before the smalls sell out! https://www.diamondback.com/line-2018 I wouldn't go for the Mason or the Hook because at that price point they really should have hydraulic disk brakes, but the Line is an excellent bike for that price. The coil shock should be fine for you. I weigh 75lbs (don't laugh, I'm a very underweight teenager!) and my air fork is set up for a person <140lbs and it feels great. My vote is on the Diamondback Line.


I have a hard time recommending a bike that has a frame with old standards. The line looks nice but if you check it out...it has a 1 1/8" head tube and old QR dropouts in the rear. Might be ok if the person buying won't ever want to upgrade wheels or fork. But still...for not much more why not get something with current standards?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Nubster said:


> I have a hard time recommending a bike that has a frame with old standards. The line looks nice but if you check it out...it has a 1 1/8" head tube and old QR dropouts in the rear. Might be ok if the person buying won't ever want to upgrade wheels or fork. But still...for not much more why not get something with current standards?


Yeah, I fell in this same boat when I bought my Fathom hardtail. I thought it was somewhat a standard to use a closed mounting hole design for newer bikes. I guess not. It comes with rear dropouts and a dropout fork. I plan to upgrade it from a 5mm skewer to a 9/10mm QR after I find a set of wheels. Most newer hubs (Like Hope and DT Swiss) allow you to buy a 15mm hub and reduce it to 9/10mm QR for dropouts with new end caps (or a new slip in axle). Hell there are kits out there to reduce a 15mm to 5mm QR if people really wanted to do that! If you upgrade the bike frame later, you can yank that junk out of the wheels and run thru axles.

It's not the end of the world with dropouts. I plan to ride my Fathom frame for quite a while and then buy a new frame and swap parts.


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## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

Battery said:


> It's not the end of the world with dropouts. I plan to ride my Fathom frame for quite a while and then buy a new frame and swap parts.


You're right...it's not. But if you're informed and the cost isn't that much more...why start already behind the 8-ball. Might as well start with current standards that way if you want to upgrade...it's easier and there's a lot more stuff available with newer and better tech. The drop outs aren't the worst issue...but I'd never buy or suggest a frame that has a 1 1/18" head tube these days.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Nubster said:


> You're right...it's not. But if you're informed and the cost isn't that much more...why start already behind the 8-ball. Might as well start with current standards that way if you want to upgrade...it's easier and there's a lot more stuff available with newer and better tech. The drop outs aren't the worst issue...but I'd never buy or suggest a frame that has a 1 1/18" head tube these days.


Yep I agree with you there. I felt like an idiot when I didn't check the dropouts on my Fathom. I honestly presumed that an entry level XC bike wouldn't have them. I still love the bike though. I am lucky that Giant did use a tapered head tube setup on the Fathom so I'm at least 1 for 2 (LOL!)

I find having a bike with dropouts is a learning experience for me. I know now to double check it before I buy and I can add to my experience working with them.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

Nubster said:


> I have a hard time recommending a bike that has a frame with old standards. The line looks nice but if you check it out...it has a 1 1/8" head tube and old QR dropouts in the rear. Might be ok if the person buying won't ever want to upgrade wheels or fork. But still...for not much more why not get something with current standards?


That's the problem. You either stick to 100mm front / 135mm rear or you don't. This is becoming more and more apparent; that axle spacing above is going the way of the 26" wheel, and you really have to decide on sticking with it long-term or eventually joining the boost spacing crowd with a whole new bike. You can't 'upgrade' to boost from standard so easily, not even worth it on a sub $1000 bike anyway.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

Nubster said:


> You're right...it's not. But if you're informed and the cost isn't that much more...why start already behind the 8-ball. Might as well start with current standards that way if you want to upgrade...it's easier and there's a lot more stuff available with newer and better tech. The drop outs aren't the worst issue...but I'd never buy or suggest a frame that has a 1 1/18" head tube these days.


He's right. No point in buying a $500-800 bike now long-term if it's already outdated for the axle spacing. I can't believe that 10-speeds are already outdated! Just save up for the $1200-1500 bike with 1x11 and modern spacing if you plan on riding it several years.

Case in point: I really wanted to try a + tire up front, but the widest rim I could find that they made for a 9x100mm QR axle was only 25mm internal width. So I put a 2.8 tire on and it's OK, it works, but the tire to rim ratio is 2.85, probably not optimal, but there is no choice. You either settle with a relatively skinny rim or you redo the whole thing for more than the whole bike is worth to begin with. Not worth it; you have to save up for a new bike with modern wheels, especially for +.


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## richj8990 (Apr 4, 2017)

Battery said:


> Yep I agree with you there. I felt like an idiot when I didn't check the dropouts on my Fathom. I honestly presumed that an entry level XC bike wouldn't have them. I still love the bike though. I am lucky that Giant did use a tapered head tube setup on the Fathom so I'm at least 1 for 2 (LOL!)
> 
> I find having a bike with dropouts is a learning experience for me. I know now to double check it before I buy and I can add to my experience working with them.


Even Giant makes really cheap bikes, some of them still have freewheels. Just because it's a brand-name doesn't mean all parts are quality. And please correct me if I'm wrong but aren't entry level XC bikes the bottom of the barrel to start with, 2018-manufactured or not?


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## F11 (Dec 30, 2017)

So I was getting ready to leave to go to the bike shop yesterday to go check out the Mason (and maybe a few other bikes), when I got a call from my brother. I don't want to go into too much detail about the whole situation, but long story short his ex wife got him into some financial trouble a few months back, and yesterday he found out he was still in debt from the legal fees. Since I felt bad for him (he's been super stressed about this for the past few months) I decided to give him most of the money I had saved up for a bike. Unfortunately, it'll probably be around November by the time I get enough money saved up again, but who knows, maybe something even better than the Mason will be out by then?

However, when I told him what I was planning on spending the money on, he gave me his son's long-outgrown 2015 Trek MT220. It isn't the best bike, but it is miles better than the Huffy and it fits my short self fine. I even went to the trails before I got home, and it actually rides really well! The derailleurs and brakes will need some tuning and the suspension feels like a rigid fork, but other than that it's pretty much perfect, and will hold me up until I save up enough money again.

This reply is definitely off-topic (and a bit stupid ) but I figured I would post it in case anyone was wondering which bike I ended up with.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

That is a very noble act on your behalf to do such a thing. In return, the mountain biking gods will provide you with an awesome bike to ride this winter! Who knows. Maybe it will be a $10k S-Works


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## blundar (Jan 18, 2013)

Outstanding thing that you did for your Bro!

When you save up a bit of cash for your next bike, take a look at the Airborne Guardian 29. At $699 + Shipping it should fit your budget. https://airbornebicycles.com/collections/bikes/products/guardian?variant=6895514255418

For a tiny bit more money at $829 + Shipping, you can move up to an Airborne Seeker.
https://airbornebicycles.com/collections/bikes/products/seeker


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## kimguroo (Dec 26, 2006)

Bulls bike wild cup 2 is $900 and if you wait for eBay promotion, you might be able to get it for $800.
Probably full suspension might be overkill though and much heavier than hardtail.
Price wise, awesome ^_^
I don’t think bulls bike will restock their old stock items for a while.


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## clubmanager (Jul 17, 2018)

22” frame on the Bulls, would that be ok for a guy 5’10”? I’m guessing not but had to ask.


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## Muirenn (Jun 17, 2013)

When you are ready to replace, keep an eye on Jenson Cycles. They tend to have a lot of size smalls on closeout.

They’ve had this Jamis for awhile, now. And quite a few more for less. 

https://www.jensonusa.com/Jamis-Dragon-Sport-29-Bike-2016


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## kimguroo (Dec 26, 2006)

clubmanager said:


> 22" frame on the Bulls, would that be ok for a guy 5'10"? I'm guessing not but had to ask.


Too big in my opinion.


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## CMAN007 (Dec 13, 2017)

Vitus Sentier, i ordered one for a coworker of mine it still has not arrived was mentioned on top 10 mountain bikes under 1000 on youtube.

Vitus Sentier + Hardtail Bike - Deore 1x10 2018 | Chain Reaction Cycles


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## TwiceHorn (Jun 18, 2014)

CMAN007 said:


> Vitus Sentier, i ordered one for a coworker of mine it still has not arrived was mentioned on top 10 mountain bikes under 1000 on youtube.
> 
> Vitus Sentier + Hardtail Bike - Deore 1x10 2018 | Chain Reaction Cycles


That's one of the best deals I have seen.


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