I recently moved to an area that has some great xterra racing and I will like to cross over into that field - question for someone in the know, what’s a good mtb bike that is a great racing bike around the $1500 range. I know road bikes well, but pretty ignorant about what to look for in a racing mt bike that is made for racing, not leisure riding, light weight for the mtb scene, and whatever else I need to know in my hunt for a good bike. thanks in advance for the useful info
Your budget of $1500 should get you a decent *used *MTB worthy of race quality. Scrutinize the components, wheels, frame, weight the same as you would for road bike. Generally, hardtail will be lighter/faster, full-suspension more comfortable, choice is up to you.
Boy that question is almost impossible to answer as there are so many variables when it comes to Mt Bikes (much more then road bikes) Wheels size, Suspension type, HT VS FS just to name a few, and until you ride for a while you won’t really know what you prefer or works for your riding style.
First off if you are talking about a serious race bike, $1500 just won’t get you very far (new), like the other poster said, get yourself something decent that is used, ride it for a year or so and then you will have a better idea of what you need.
And has been said over and over but bears repeating, go to few LBS’s and just get some idea.
I recently broached a similar question. I ended up building the below bike for about $1350. Everything came off of ebay. I decided that since I’m a beginner I simply wouldn’t ride aggressively anywhere where a full suspension rig or dropper post would be required. I decided I wanted a 29er, 142x12 through axle out back, 100x15 through axle up front, tapered head tube, 100mm of travel, and as light as I could build it without spending crazy money.
Aluminum hardtail (Specialized Stumpjumper, used from a reputable seller)
100mm Rockshox Reba (new, takeoff)
Shimano 1x11, 32x11-40 (new)
XT8000 brakes (new)
Stans Crest/DT Swiss 240 29er wheelset (used from a reputable seller)
Cannondale Save2 seatpost (new)
Shimano tharsis handlebar and stem (used)
RaceFace NextSL (new)
18.5lbs size large 
Depends on what you mean by race bike.
If you are up at the pointy end of the field then $1500 isn’t going to cut it.
$3-4k will get you a race ready light weight hardtail. Add at least 1k for a full suspension bike.
For a bike that is good enough for racing:the Grand Canyon CF 5.9 is good. A little heavy at 11.1kg but a solid bike.
Second hand stumpjumper will work too.
Where I race the MTB races have lots and lots of smmall steep hills (30 seconds to 2 minutes long). Weight is key in bike choice.
I recently broached a similar question. I ended up building the below bike for about $1350. Everything came off of ebay. I decided that since I’m a beginner I simply wouldn’t ride aggressively anywhere where a full suspension rig or dropper post would be required. I decided I wanted a 29er, 142x12 through axle out back, 100x15 through axle up front, tapered head tube, 100mm of travel, and as light as I could build it without spending crazy money.
Aluminum hardtail (Specialized Stumpjumper, used from a reputable seller)
100mm Rockshox Reba (new, takeoff)
Shimano 1x11, 32x11-40 (new)
XT8000 brakes (new)
Stans Crest/DT Swiss 240 29er wheelset (used from a reputable seller)
Cannondale Save2 seatpost (new)
Shimano tharsis handlebar and stem (used)
RaceFace NextSL (new)
18.5lbs size large
thanks, this is super helpful. I have a rockhopper frame I could buy for a good price and had been thinking of going this route after having done quite a bit of shopping.
This is all good advice, but one thing to consider is that full suspension can make up for lack of technical skill in a lot of circumstances. Particularly in long races where you will lose technique over time, or more technical races where picking lines is critical. Full suspension also improves traction in a lot of instances.
I bought a hardtail when I was in a similar situation as the OP and came to regret it. Suspension widened the margin of error considerably and made me a much more confident and faster rider in many situations.
That being said, finding quality FS bike for $1500 might be a stretch.
There is also a flip side to this.
Starting out on a Hard Tail teaches you good fundamentals about choosing a proper line, keeping good traction on techy climbs etc… so that when you do upgrade to a full suspension it allows you to ride even faster.
And like you say, a FS bike at the $1500 price point (new) will be a piece of junk.
One other piece of advice, go Tubeless!.
I recently broached a similar question. I ended up building the below bike for about $1350. Everything came off of ebay. I decided that since I’m a beginner I simply wouldn’t ride aggressively anywhere where a full suspension rig or dropper post would be required. I decided I wanted a 29er, 142x12 through axle out back, 100x15 through axle up front, tapered head tube, 100mm of travel, and as light as I could build it without spending crazy money.
Aluminum hardtail (Specialized Stumpjumper, used from a reputable seller)
100mm Rockshox Reba (new, takeoff)
Shimano 1x11, 32x11-40 (new)
XT8000 brakes (new)
Stans Crest/DT Swiss 240 29er wheelset (used from a reputable seller)
Cannondale Save2 seatpost (new)
Shimano tharsis handlebar and stem (used)
RaceFace NextSL (new)
18.5lbs size large
thanks, this is super helpful. I have a rockhopper frame I could buy for a good price and had been thinking of going this route after having done quite a bit of shopping.
I’ve been racing mountain bikes over 15 years now. My first bike was a Rockhopper. I beat the shit out of that bike and it still asked for more. I would start with that frame, get SRAM X7/X9 components, Stans NoTubes wheels, Carbon seatpost and handlebars and a Specialized Phenom saddle. This should all be WELL below $1500 if you are a good shopper and always look for coupon codes.
I’ve been racing a Specialized Epic since that bike was invented. Other than the 2007-2008 models (complete garbage) the bike is a racing machine.
If you cannot find a bike on FB’s Online Swap Meet for 1500 bucks you are doing something really wrong. There are a ton of options out there just do you homework on what you want and what fits.
I recently moved to an area that has some great xterra racing and I will like to cross over into that field - question for someone in the know, what’s a good mtb bike that is a great racing bike around the $1500 range. I know road bikes well, but pretty ignorant about what to look for in a racing mt bike that is made for racing, not leisure riding, light weight for the mtb scene, and whatever else I need to know in my hunt for a good bike. thanks in advance for the useful info
I just practically had to give away a “used” carbon frame hard tail 29er. Used in quotes because I rode it <5 times. It was a sick bike and the type of thing I’d recommend. In order of importance I’d say frame, fork, group, wheels because of ease of upgrade later. Here was my ad copy
I bought this hardtail 29er XC rig in new/stock condition a year ago and put about $1K incremental into it by upgrading the suspension fork and converting to a 1x drivetrain with SRAM XX1 crankset…I also rebuilt the front wheel around a DT Swiss 350 Hub (rear is stock Sun Ringle), set up tubeless. I have put a total of 4 miles on this bike, and since I have too many other offroad bikes, I’m looking to sell this.
The fork is a 2015 RockShox SID XX Solo Air with 15mm thru axle (100 mm travel). The only other change is that I swapped the rear tire to a Continental Race King 2.2; the rest of the stock specs can be found here:http://www.29ercafe.com/2013/03/cube-reaction-gtc-race/.
This is a great bike, especially if you’re just getting into mountain biking. The next obvious upgrade is the wheels, which are alloy, but as it is, it’s a very light bike at under 11 kg.
A little heavy at 11.1kg but a solid bike.
24 lbs is not heavy for a mountain bike. Maybe for a $4K hard tail it is but that’s 3x what the OP wants to spend…
I recently broached a similar question. I ended up building the below bike for about $1350. Everything came off of ebay. I decided that since I’m a beginner I simply wouldn’t ride aggressively anywhere where a full suspension rig or dropper post would be required. I decided I wanted a 29er, 142x12 through axle out back, 100x15 through axle up front, tapered head tube, 100mm of travel, and as light as I could build it without spending crazy money.
Aluminum hardtail (Specialized Stumpjumper, used from a reputable seller)
100mm Rockshox Reba (new, takeoff)
Shimano 1x11, 32x11-40 (new)
XT8000 brakes (new)
Stans Crest/DT Swiss 240 29er wheelset (used from a reputable seller)
Cannondale Save2 seatpost (new)
Shimano tharsis handlebar and stem (used)
RaceFace NextSL (new)
18.5lbs size large
Sorry but I’m calling BS on this, or if not I want pics of the scale and then full specs to replicate it myself. There is no way you are under 19 lbs with a size large alloy frame, reba fork, and alloy wheels
A little heavy at 11.1kg but a solid bike.
24 lbs is not heavy for a mountain bike. Maybe for a $4K hard tail it is but that’s 3x what the OP wants to spend…
11.1 kg is heavy for a Serious racing hard tail MTB.
It also costs under $2k, which isn’t 3x $1.5k
I’ll post pics when I’m back I’m in Minneapolis right now. Wheel set was key. 240 straight pull hubs, 28 hole, bladed spokes (DT Nailhead?) total wheel set weight was crazy low. Also, the NextSL is a crazy light crank. 200g lighter than the lightest SRAM carbon crank.
Edit: if you look around you’ll notice the lion share of weight in wheels is from hubs and spokes, not the rims.
I recently broached a similar question. I ended up building the below bike for about $1350. Everything came off of ebay. I decided that since I’m a beginner I simply wouldn’t ride aggressively anywhere where a full suspension rig or dropper post would be required. I decided I wanted a 29er, 142x12 through axle out back, 100x15 through axle up front, tapered head tube, 100mm of travel, and as light as I could build it without spending crazy money.
Aluminum hardtail (Specialized Stumpjumper, used from a reputable seller)
100mm Rockshox Reba (new, takeoff)
Shimano 1x11, 32x11-40 (new)
XT8000 brakes (new)
Stans Crest/DT Swiss 240 29er wheelset (used from a reputable seller)
Cannondale Save2 seatpost (new)
Shimano tharsis handlebar and stem (used)
RaceFace NextSL (new)
18.5lbs size large
Sorry but I’m calling BS on this, or if not I want pics of the scale and then full specs to replicate it myself. There is no way you are under 19 lbs with a size large alloy frame, reba fork, and alloy wheels
I agree. That weight doesn’t sound right. I like the build though!
On to the bike recommendation:
Like some people said before 1500 wont get you very far. My recommendation is normally FS 29er as I think most people are faster on a 29er with the roll over ability and for xterras FS is a good idea as it’ll keep you a bit more fresh for the run. But in your case go for a hardtail 29er. My recommendation is to look for a used bike with a one-by drivetrain as it’ll save some weight and just make shifting easier.
I’ll post pics when I’m back I’m in Minneapolis right now. Wheel set was key. 240 straight pull hubs, 28 hole, bladed spokes (DT Nailhead?) total wheel set weight was crazy low. Also, the NextSL is a crazy light crank. 200g lighter than the lightest SRAM carbon crank.
Edit: if you look around you’ll notice the lion share of weight in wheels is from hubs and spokes, not the rims.
how much have you ridden this bike so far? i’d be curious about the wheels’ durability.
I only have about 10 hours on it. I’ve been traveling a lot for work and I’ve given up on bringing a bike with me. Mostly swim and run this year.
Those 10 hours have been on sandy/root filled Florida single track. I’m about 170lbs at the moment. Straightaways I ride pretty hard… turns I take like an old lady, lol. Thus far the wheels are fine but, again, with minimal use.
Check out Bikes Direct, they have a couple Ti 29ers below $2k with decent components. In general the reviews are pretty positive. Most LBSs in my area do not stock any decent hardtail bikes as everyone wants full suspension.
Specialized Camber 650b (entry level spec) is going for $1500 corporate sale afaik. The fork, shock and remaining spec isn’t something to get real excited about, but imo the Camber is a super fun chassis. Not a true xc bike like the Epic. It has a bit more travel putting it in the Trail category. The FSR will be ‘confidence inspiring’ (people love to say that) compared with a hard tail. And don’t believe folks that say a hard tail climbs better than a full suspension rig. That just isn’t true anymore.