After moving back to my home town and suffering big time commuting and just
general bike access of any kind I broke down and bought a hard tail 5
months ago so I could at least utilize the neglected MTB trails. I went
with a All City Electric Queen and have been super happy. They were on sale
I was a dedicated hardtail guy for decades but tried a 6" trail bike in
2013 and can't go back, despite the additional maintenance and care
required. Something like the Rocky Mountain Instinct, which takes 27.5+
tires or 29er tires. That said, within your price range would dictate used,
which
I've long been a steel guy, but I'm very happy with my aluminum Ragley
Marley. It rides as well as most of my steel bikes did, and it's lighter
and cheaper. The new geo is spectacular downhill and in otherwise sketchy
situations.
The best bang for the buck I see right now is:
Niner Air 9 is at the upper end of your price range, if you're looking
new: https://ninerbikes.com/products/air-9?variant=32890770784365
I've had one for probably 10 years and it's one of my favorite bikes ever,
along with my Rivs. Light, nimble, can convert to single speed if you want.
The Surly Karate Monkey is a fun bike.
I have a 1st generation, that has older style geometry (steeper head angle,
lower BB) and it's a fun bike for all around riding. For trails, I would
prefer the new Karate Monkey, which has more modern MTB geometry (slack
head angle, long front center).
That looks amazing! I forgot to mention I'm in NYC and planning on riding
in the countryside (Adirondacks/Mohawk Valley).
M
On Monday, September 21, 2020 at 3:22:07 PM UTC-4 nus...@gmail.com wrote:
> I picked up a Kona Honzo ST in August. Its definitely not a Riv, but I can
> attest that it
I picked up a Kona Honzo ST in August. Its definitely not a Riv, but I can
attest that it is very fun and will permit more aggressive riding. My Toyo
Atlantis can generally handle the same trails with my knees / elbows bent,
but the Honzo is faster on them.
On Monday, September 21, 2020 at
