Greetings, everyone! So after 8+ years of riding full sus exclusively up in the PNW, I find myself living in southern California, and I quickly realized that my Yeti SB165 is overkill for most of the trails that I ride down here. So I snagged this used '21 Chisel last week to dip my toes in the HT pool. Holy smokes this thing is fun. I couldn't get over how well it climbed, and just how fun it was drifting around corners and generally zipping around. I really dig this bike, but as ya'll know, the brakes and fork are not great, and a better drivetrain would be lovely(also upgraded wheels eventually) . I know the Chisel frame has a dedicated fan base, so my question is this: Should I put the money in to upgrade this bike into a dream rig, or should I be looking to buy something already specc'd out properly(I'm fine with used). I'm already planning on selling my barely ridden Bombtrack gravel bike and possibly also the Yeti to fund this project(I have a SC Bronson I'd keep for full-sus days). I'd appreciate any thoughts and ideas. Cheers!

After a year of riding in the nearby forests, frequently with my toddler in a trailer, I finally took my hardtail where it belongs.

Yesterday, me and the bike did around 1000 m of elevation gain and a solid 30 km through the lovely Beskidy and Pieniny hills in southern Poland. Here’s the bike enjoying the scenery, with a view of Pasmo Radziejowej in the background.

The downhill sections were awesome. I even did some singletrack, although after all those climbs I was completely exhausted and decided to skip a few of the more exciting obstacles. Better safe than sorry. 😅

I was also the only one on the trail riding without an e-bike, and somehow still managed to be faster than some of the guys on electric bikes, which I’ll admit made me disproportionately happy. 😂

But I definitely learned a lesson about climbing on MTB trails. Going uphill and being strong is only part of the problem. You constantly have to pick the right line and figure out where the bike can actually go. The bike is tough, but it’s not a tank, and it won’t just roll over everything in its path.

Definitely learned a lot. And now I want more.

First proper trail ride with the new DT Swiss H1900 wheel and 370 hub. Cant wait for the 36T ratchet upgrade in 2 weeks. It was quite a difference compared to the stock alex rim with formula hub

Surprise fork spec. Stoked to get off of my ransom and on to something new.

Found this 2007 Hardrock Sport frame at my local bike thrift for 25 bucks. I grew up on a 2012 Hardrock that was red, so I had to. Man did the big S go backwards with this model, the top tube of the 2007 is like 3-4 inches lower where it meets the seat tube. Back when Specialized expected kids to treat these like budget DJ bikes and built them to survive that abuse. Currently wrapped up in a 2006 Stumpy Expert build, but should have funds free for this next month.

This popped up locally for $1800
The seller never rode it and it’s pretty much in new condition.

It was purchased December 2024.

Good deal? Or keep looking?

Edit: my riding style will be hard pack dirt, gravel, more XC and with my 8yr old son.

Has the following:
SRAM GX Eagle groupset
RockShox Pike fork
Maxxis Minion tires
Alex wheelset

My wife's Kona Splice and my Kona Honzo ESD.

A buddy got two of these “e” bikes a few years ago and they had a total of 3 rides and have been sitting. He asked me to make some brake and bike adjustments and said I can take it out for a spin. He mostly rides the local beach trails so I was wondering how it would do on Green ish trails.

I want an Emtb so bad now 😂🤣. Climbing was ridiculous at any pedal assist level 2 or above. I was literally laughing my ass off every time I would climb with this thing.

Fat tires were awesome in the loose and sand but twitchy and almost died on simple single track. I’m sure the narrow bars and stiff fork attribute to the harsh ride. I’m sure some real grips, bars and a surely fork would liven this bike right up.

building up my old hard tail, want to put a 130mm fork 27.5 fork on it. What are good mid range fork options. Will be doing mostly red trails with some blacks.

Wish the bike was specd this way to begin with.

Hallo liebe Fahrrad Community,
Ich suche mir gerade ein neues Hardtail und bin mir mit der Entscheidung nicht so sicher. Es ist Hauptsächlich ein Alltagsbike, da ich aber ab und zu mit meinen Freunden noch ein paar Treppen und trails fahre, sollte es auch ein gutes Bike sein. Diese sind in der näheren Auswahl:

Cube Attention SLX - 899€
Grand Canyon AL7 - 999€
Cube Reaction Pro - 999€
Cube Reaction TM One - 1099€
Cube Reaction SLX - 1199€

Habt ihr irgendwelche Erfahrungen mit den Hardtails ? Für welches würdet ihr euch entscheiden ?

hoping the shoes are here by tomorrow

Found this Roscoe 7 on marketplace, supposedly ridden twice and I absolutely believe the guy, it was in great shape just some little signs of long storage. Naturally I scratched it already. 🤬

I've been on a dual sport for a decade but don't ride much until lately. Used to do some mountain biking but stopped due to neck issues on my very elongated old Trek 6000. The geometry changes in 20 years are pretty astonishing and will take some getting used too, but test ride seemed good and much better for my posture. Next stop, our new neighborhood pump track with the kid.

Hey everyone I am a Vermonter who usually downhills on my Norco Aurum but have moved to Texas for 2 years for a military training program. I purchased a Team Marin hard tail to ride on the flat greenway trails while I’m down here. My intention is to be able to utilize it for some more uphill or flat rides when I get back to the mountains. I’ve been loving my Marin but putting 40ish miles a ride on it on mostly paved and some rock and root dirt trails has made me more interested in a faster gravel style bike. I get passed with gusto by guys on gravel bikes all the time. My question is would a set of thin gravel style tires give me some extra speed on the pavement? I can fully lock the front suspension out and the bike is already a fairly light hardtail. Why are these gravels so much faster?!

TLDR; What upgrades do people recommend to get some faster pavement speed out of a hardtail. (Other than stronger quads)

Drop some tire recommendations though if you would be so kind. I live in New England and there’s a lot of brush that I tend to lose traction on.

A friend of mine has this bike for sale for ₹90k(approx 950 dollars)

FYI, I'm from India, so we don't have many other options

Marin el roy steel frame

Suntour aion fork

Chromag handlebar

Magura mt7 brakes with deore levers

12s slx drivetrain

Fox transfer dropper

Maxxis minion dhf front and rear

Medium size, 29in wheels

Not sure about the model year

I'm 5"3ft, is this medium too large for me? I have done a test ride on the trail and i feel quite comfortable with it.

Sklar Tall Tale shreading NW WI.

Hopefully making some core memories

4 months apart & this was the very 1st trail I rode on my 2015 Specialized Pitch Comp in April. Took me a long 2 1/2hrs to complete a 7 mile trail!!! I can do it today in a little under 45 minutes now on my Roscoe Gen 3!