Hey y'all,
A possible deal recently presented itself to me, and that led me to some shopping and comparisons. Which of these would you label as the best "deal" or the most bike for the money or the best upgrade? Which would you recommend?
Marin Rift Zone Carbon 1 (Carbon/Alloy Mixed frame, ~31+ lbs, 130F/125R, $2,600)
Orbea Occam H30 (Alloy, ~33-34lbs, 140/140, $2,100)
Vitus Escarpe (Carbon/Alloy Mixed frame, mixed info: 31-34 lbs, 150F/140R, $2,200)
Vital spec Comparison: https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/compare/26018,27061,31231
For reference, I currently ride a 2018 Marin Rift Zone 2 (alloy, 33+ lbs) with upgraded tires (Maxxis DHF+Aggressor) and an upgraded 11/46 cassette. It also has a different crankset (fun story: i took a fall and the pedals ripped out of the threads, completely stripping the threads in the crankset).
Geometry comparison (scroll down).
All thoughts and discussion appreciated! Thank you!
Additional context: "What kind of rides do you do?"
The only thing I don't do is monster downhill or big-air riding. I like flowy and moderately technical trails. I like everything from 30-min rides to four-hour epics. Rocks, roots, dust, dirt. There's not a lot of nice hero-dirt or loam around me. I like going up, prefer going down, but am not a crazy hard-charger. If you ever find me on one wheel or sliding, it's not on purpose, and isn't likely to end well.
I'm looking for something that climbs efficiently, but descends just as well.
Not going to answer until you admit you stripped the pedal threads by forgetting the left one is reversed.
Hahaha. Nah. My front washed out at moderately high speed. Landed on my right pedal, which stuck in the ground. Ripped the pedal right out of the crank arm. Somehow the left crankarm was also damaged, even though it was up in the air. Go figure.
IMHO the best bike for the money is your current bike with some repairs and select upgrades.
Those bikes are all so close in spec its wild.
One thing I would bear in mind is that the parent company that owns Vitus is in trouble, hard to know how that will pan out for them.
I had a Rift Zone, I found the insertion depth annoying. 425mm seat tube on a large, but the bend meant I had to swap my 210 for a 180 dropper.
Good bike otherwise, and the seat tube is straighter on the 27.5 version.
What is mid-max?
"Mid-Max" is a name for trying to maximize the "cost effectiveness" of a build-out by using "mid"-level components. The theory is that the step from mid-range components to high-end components buys you a tiny improvement in performance at a huge cost increase. "Mid-Max" is trying to find that sweet spot where you get the most for your money.
Ex: A $500 coil-only warehouse store bike is mostly garbage. It's worth it to spend an extra $1,000 to get a more name brand bike with name brand parts. But the improvement from garbage to Shimano's level 1 is much larger than the improvement from level 1 to level 2, but the cost increase in the second step tends to be more. Then the next step, from L2 to L3, you get an even smaller improvement at an even bigger cost increase. "Mid-Max" is finding the sweet spot.
These are more or less the same in terms of spec. It would come down to geometry, features or travel requirements in order to chose one over the next. All of those bikes have good enough drivetrains, ok brakes, mediocre suspension but livable and crappy wheelsets.
For me, the best one bike quiver bikes out there are: yeti sb140, giant trance x 29, santacruz hightower, santacruz bronson, YT jeffsy (the one that was just released today). The marin's that you've listed seem good enough to qualify as well.
Me personally, for a one bike quiver I'm looking for the following: 140 - 150mm rear travel / 150 - 160mm front travel, flip chip to run mullet or full 29 and hitting my geo targets. I usually recommend buying the bike that has the geo you want, that has the best suspension you can possibly afford knowing that I'll need to upgrade wheelset on anything that costs under 7k otd from a reputable brand.
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