Can't be a gravel bike, no drop bars.

Some courses are tough, some are easy.

Most likely a full suspension will be faster but it depends on your budget and your skill level.

What race are you planning to do?

The few Xterra races I've done did not allow gravel bikes - only mountain bikes. Not sure if that's an official Xterra rule or just specific to those races. The courses can vary quite a bit and I can only speak for the races I've done, which were typical northeast/New England XC courses - rocky and rooty singletrack but also some big fire road sections. You could definitely do them on a HT but the vast majority of people rode FS. I guess it depends on specifically which races you're thinking about doing, and how much you think you might ride the bike outside of racing. A FS bike will probably be more versatile and fun but a HT will be lighter and potentially faster on certain courses.

Xterra requires a mountain bike (Although I have seen hybrids occasionally that suffer on the course).
I put on an off-road tri/du, (not branded by Xterra) athletes can essentially use any bike other than recumbent or bird of prey style bike.
My course is not technical and I have people that use gravel and CX bikes and do fine.

Thanks for the info.

What are the fastest bikes for racing?

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

2021 Specialized S-Works Epic Hardtail.

Supercaliber

So that's what I was torn btw ...... A super caliber and top fuel

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

I have been back and forth between the top fuel and supercaliber as well. I am really leaning towards the top fuel and here are my reasons. I used to chase podium spots and would always go for the most light and aggressive mountain bike I could. I only mountain biked to race. Then I moved to Colorado and mountain biked for fun. No timing, no real seriousness, just go ride with buddies and have a good time. And then we would race the weekends. Super laid back compared to what I was used to racing in the Midwest. The top fuel is very capable as a race bike, but I expect it to be much more fun than my “weight weenie” hardtail. Dependent on the course the top fuel might even be faster, but I am positive it will be more of a pleasure to ride on. And that will get me on the bike more, too.

The answer isn’t as simple as picking the fastest tri bike. For mountain biking the fastest bike and setup is dependent on the terrain and your skill

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Matt

Given your use and that you're considering a Top Fuel, I'd also consider a Specialized Epic Evo. Light, fast, and capable enough for some pretty rowdy terrain.

Scott Spark WCS. Hard to beat.

Something that is not a trek, specialized , cannondale etc is my Mondraker F-PodiumRR
Perfect XC rig

I thought the same but it was a size thing for me as well. Trying to get the right front center, short stack and as short of chainstays as I could. Narrowed it down to a few bikes, some which were mentioned earlier. The ones that wern't mentioned were the Giant Pique/Anthem lineups, Pivot Mach series and Cannondale Scalpel.

Yes been struggling with the weight of these bikes coming in ass stock.

I am leaning more to aa trek as I have some discounts there to work with.

But I am seeing top fuels weight is around 30lbs stock......

After my morning ride and talking to my friend thats knows way more about this then me: sounds like switching out components or building frame up can cut about 4-6lbs off the bike.

I am running into a time crunch a little with a race now in end of April and getting bikes is not as easy aaas it used to be.

I am going to be more like your old self and chasing podiums spots with maybe Friday afternoon MTB rides fit btw normal training during the week.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

I have kept researching and talking to people:

Scott spark and Spec Epic Evo seem to be all around the best.

Trek not a bad option with the caliber running 29's might be ok and keeps weight down.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

For the average person both are great bikes.

For someone small, not so much.

The Spark and Fuel were on my short list but I didn't choose them because of the long wheelbase and front/center.

I’m biased because I ride an Epic Evo but it really is an awesome bike. Fast and light but not twitchy like an XC race bike. The front end is a little slacker than the regular Epic which gives it trail bike stability going downhill. On flats and rolling terrain it carries speed really well, and it climbs like an XC bike. A lot of that is the carbon hoops so I’d stick to the Expert or above unless you plan to upgrade the wheels.

I live in the northeast and ride plenty of technical rocky & rooty terrain with punchy climbs and downhills. The Epic Evo is pretty much perfect for this type of riding. Super chunky downhills and bike parks are not its wheelhouse but it doesn’t sound like that’s what you’re looking for.

You came up with 2 bikes out of dozens. Nothing wrong with these but the fact that you got these as the answer means you need to do more research. No offence. This is off road and a completely different skill.
1. This is not a triathlon or road bike although weight is important it does not trump all
2. Tires, tire choice and tire pressure are one of the most important things.
3. Suspension set up also makes a massive difference.

Unless it is a very easy bike course actual mountain bike skill will be a huge determinant in how fast you go. A could MTB rider will crush you on a course of medium difficulty on cornering, descents, technical climbing etc. Until you master this the bike is not nearly as relevant.

x1000

Picking a bike when you have little to no technical skill is somewhat irrelevant.

It's very "triathlete" to get into an entirely new sport and be concerned about weight, brand, and podium spots.

My wife wass pro-level cyclist fitness, but beginner mountain bike skills. It was exceptionally easy to drop her despite being way less (relatively) fit.

I agree with all of this!

But at same time I don't want to just go out and pick up the first bike I find; so cramming in as much research as I can during down time while considering what bikes I am actually able to buy.

Tire pressure tires suspension will all need to be learned but still need a bike first.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

Yes, so true. Most of my training partners are on the same level as I am while on the road. On the trail I'm always waiting on them or riding behind them with a HR of 95 and I'm only a decent hack mountain biker.

in my opinion, you can't really go "wrong."

as long as you get a full suspension bike that has a solid design and is probably carbon, everything else is negotiable (and replaceable).

So basically get whatever I can get at a decent price and go from there :-)

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz