hey guys phil from trail talk here and today we're going over my best value trail hardtails for 2021 under 1500 as well as five worthy mentions as well [Music] so like my other buyer's guides i'm not here to waste any of your time so the time for the first bike is up here and then the time stamps for all the bikes as well as links to those bikes in the description but if you want to stick around for around two minutes i'm gonna go over my criteria of what i really look for when i'm looking at these trail hardtails also if you're on a bit more of a budget i've got my buyers guys for my best value budget hardtails under 750 dollars in the description as well other than that if you could subscribe and smash that like button as well it would be greatly appreciated in my budget buyers guide i talked about a bit of the compromises that you might experience when buying a budget bike but when we're looking at these trail hardtails we're pretty much getting all the features of more expensive bikes and what i mean by this got a bit of a list here because there's a lot of things to go through it means you've got a tapered head tube hydraulic disc brakes air fork dropper post boost through axles front and rear one by drivetrain and around 120 to 140 millimeter travel fork up front and the trickle down effective geometry of more expensive bikes has definitely reached this point to where these bikes almost compete with the most expensive ones out there so you're getting longer reaches steeper seed angles and we're getting head angles sub 67 degrees mostly around that 66 to 65 degree mark unlike the more budget-oriented bikes i talked in my budget buyers guide these bikes are ready to hit the trails and handle some real abuse no square tapered bottom brackets or anything like that these things are ready to shred the trails so if you plan to really want to take up mountain biking hit the trails and don't want to be visiting the bike shop to get stuff fixed all the time or you just have a good trail hardtail these are the best bikes i could find that balance performance to price so when it comes to price that sweet spot where we start to see all these features i talked about on the better value bikes is fifteen hundred dollars and then in australian dollars that's 2100 australian dollars and then around 1200 british pounds but with a lot of bikes that we talk about there are some models in the lineup that are slightly cheaper so if you want a really great frame but you're on a budget want to upgrade later those bikes are definitely a great option so check out the whole range in the bikes that i'm talking about but for me that sweet spot is around that bike around the 1500 mark and that's the ones i'm going to be covering here so i'm going to be covering five bikes from around the world so there should be something in your country that you should be able to buy as well as five worthy mentions but this list was really tough so they're pretty much 10 bucks that i really recommend and as i said earlier all the links to all the bikes from the description as well as the timestamps as well so without further ado let's get into the first bike first up we have a bike that comes in a little bit under budget at 1799 australian dollars and 1 399 us dollars and that's the norco fluid ht1 you get a 470 millimeter reach on the size large as well as a trail ready 66.5 degree head angle short 430 millimeter chainstays and 74.5 degree seat angle as well as this you get a nice low standover and short seat tube too so all round pretty damn dialed the wheel size is also size specific with extra small to medium sized bikes coming in 27.5 and medium to extra large coming in 29. the spec is pretty good for the money considering it is a little bit under budget but there definitely be a few tweaks that i'd make to get it to the level of the slightly more better value bikes on this list but the great geo end frame is what really makes this bike stand out for the price starting with the fork you get a 120 millimeter x-fusion rc32 which is pretty comparable say to a rockshox recon which is pretty good compared to some of the other bikes here but not the best the brakes aren't the flashes either with the tectro hd m275s so i would definitely be upgrading these to some more trail ready brakes in the near future you also get a 130 millimeter drop transex dropper post which is great to see at this price but 150 millimeter drop on the bigger sizes would also be ideal too moving onto the wheels and you get 30 millimeter internal with tubeless ready rims which is good to see and they're wrapped with maxis arden tires which are fast rolling but it'd be nice to see something slightly grippier up front too onto the drivetrain and you get the great value for money 12 speed shimano dior drivetrain so that's new for 2021 with a wide 10 to 51 tooth range on the cassette to round it all off you get a short stem and wide bars and this bike is ready to shred some trails i think this is a great value package and the money is spent on the great frame which is where you really want it and it can really progress with you so if you plan on getting the bike and having it for a long time and upgrading it as you progress it might be the one for you next up we have the veda santiago vr and like the vedas nucleus in my budget buyer's guide this one has the best spec for the money coming in at 1 999 australian dollars 1299 u.s dollars and 1099 great british pounds the geometry might not be everyone's cup of tea but the spec is where it's at it comes in 27.5 and 29 inch models too so pick your poison there but let's dig a little bit into the geometry of the 29er it has a nice 66.5 degree head angle but the reach on the size large is 446 millimeters so the shortest on this list and the seat tube is slightly longer at 483 millimeters on that size large as i said and the seed angle is a bit slacker too at 73 degrees as well so it'll be a bit more tailored to someone looking for a more agile bike due to its more shorter nature compared to the other bikes on this list but it should be able to keep you out of trouble on most descents but as i said earlier the spec is where this bike really shines so up front you get the best value fork at this price point being the mazaki bomber z2 with a solid 140 millimeters of travel you also get the new shimano m5100 drivetrain so that's the 11 speed dior drive train with the 11 to 51 tooth cassette so very similar range to what the 12 speed dual offers but you don't need that micro spline freehub which is good you also get a great wheel and tire package with the wtb 30 millimeter internal width tubeless ready rims with a 2.6 inch soft magic merry up front and then a 2.6 inch speed grip knobby nick in the rear both in the snakeskin casing so proper trail ready tires here you also get a 150 millimeter drop dropper post on the size large and extra large and shimano m410 hydraulic brakes too to round it all off you get some wide nuke proof bars and a short 50 millimeter stem the spec really is a steel at this price so if you want the most spec for the money this is your bike and it's also primed for a frame swap if you want something more aggressive in the future next up let's take a look at a true bike shop brand and that's the brand new for 2021 giant fathom 2 29er and this is easily the best bike coming from the big three coming in at 1 899 australian dollars 1 300 us dollars and then 1249 great british pounds in recent times with the new trance x and the giant rain 29er giant has really upped their game with the geo of their bikes and being a bike manufacturer at their heart like polygon and merida they can leverage some pretty damn good prices so let's start with the geometry of the bike and they really nailed this so you get a slack 66 degree head angle steep 75 degree seat angle 435 millimeter chainstays and a roomy 470 millimeter reach on the size large this is very similar to the fluid from earlier but ever so slightly better for descending with that slightly slacker head angle the frame is made of giant super light alloy with three bottle cage mounts too so it's pretty damn light and give you plenty of options for your hydration and then also mounting some accessories too in terms of the spec you get a 130 millimeter travel sr sun tour radon 34 up front or a giant crest 34 so there must be some issues with supply chains so it's kind of a bit of a lucky dip here but either option is great at this price you get the ever reliable 12 speed shimano dior drivetrain so very popular sillier and it's definitely a bit better than sram sx that was seeing on these bikes last year onto the wheels and you get giants tubeless ready rims and then a dual compound maximus aggressor in the rear and dhf up front both in the xo casing which should get the job done well but i would upgrade to a 3c max tarot dhf up front once it wears out you also get a giant dropper post and house brand wide bars and shorts m2 the only real letdown is the tektro tdk143 brakes which lack a bit of power so this would be my first upgrade overall it's great to see a big brand like giant put a lot of thought and r d into a more trail oriented hardtail at a great price so good job here the second last bike we have is the merida big trail 500 coming in at 1 849 australian dollars and 1250 great british pounds unfortunately they aren't available in the us but our last bike is so definitely stick around the big trail has been freshly updated for 2021 built around 29 inch wheels and it looks like a great package starting with the geometry and reach sits right between the vetus and the two other bikes at 455 millimeters on the size large but you're getting a nice slack 65.5 degree head angle and a steep 75.5 degree seat angle so pretty damn good here the frame has a super low seat tube and stand over two and there's room for two water bottles as well as a mount for accessories too so it looks like they've really been listening to what the market wants in terms of all this stuff looking at the spec you get some big travels so you get a 140 millimeter rockshox recon up front which gets the job done you also get the very popular for this year's shimano dior m5100 11 speed drivetrain as i said you get that 11 to 51 tooth range which is great too you also get a long dropper 2 so 150 millimeter drop on medium to extra large bikes onto the wheels now and you get merida's 29 millimeter internal width tubeless ready rims racked in exo casing dual compound maxis dissector tires which should be nice and fast and give plenty of decent grip but as i said always like having that 3c max terra up front a slight downside is that you get the tektreo m275 brakes so this would be my first upgrade as i said along with that 3c max terra compound up front like the other bikes you get a short stem and wide bars rounding off a very impressive trail ready package what i do like about this bike is that you can get the frame on the big trail 200 for 1200 australian dollars which is a good platform to upgrade on but if you can afford a little bit more i think the top of the line 600 model is definitely the way to go and then you get the mazaki z2 fork up front so it's priced very well in australia not so much in the uk but that would be my pick if you can afford it so now for the last bike on this list and no surprises here it's the marin san quentin 2 coming in at 1 299 us dollars 1 899 australian dollars and 1245 great british pounds this one's built for those who want an aggressive 27.5 inch hardtail developed by matt jones you can really tell what the intentions of this bike are when you look into the geometry you get the slackers head angle out of all the bikes in this top five lists at 65 degrees a roomy 464 millimeter reach on the size large and then a steep 75 degree seat angle it also has the shortest chainstays on the list 2 at 425 millimeters so if you like to shred manual and have fun this is the one for you looking at the spec you get a 130 millimeter rockshox recon up front which is pretty good considering the bike is 200 under budget in terms of the drivetrain you get the 11 speed m5100 shimano dior for the derailleur and shifter and a sun race at an 11 to 52 tooth cassette so definitely no complaints there you also get a long dropper post on the medium to large so 150 millimeter transects dropper there you also get some aggressive tires too with the 2.6 inch v flow snap tires and they're on marin's 29 millimeter internal width tubeless ready rims to round it all off you get a nice solid cockpit too the only real downside like a lot of these bikes is the brakes with the shimano mt-201s which definitely do lack a little bit of bite so i definitely recommend upgrading the brakes if you really want to push the bike to its limits this bike is for someone who really likes to throw around their bike and do some more difficult descents and as always if you do live in australia and want to get the bike i do have an affiliate link for bicycles online who sell marin so if this buyer's guide did help you out it would be awesome if you could buy through that link in the description below so there you go there's my top five bikes for 2021 but before you go definitely stick around we've got five more worthy mentions and as i said this is pretty much a top 10 list anyway so any of these bikes are going to be great value the first bike is the white 529 v3 and this bike is an absolute beast with a 65 degree head angle and then a super long reach of 485 millimeters on the size large it comes with a rockshox recon d or 11 speed drivetrain so if you want an absolute 29 shredder this one's for you especially for our uk viewers out there then there's the rocky mountain growler 40 and like the fusion in my budget buyers guide this bike absolutely rips too this one's a little bit out of budget but you do get a super slack 64 degree head angle and 475 millimeter reach on the size large and great spec for the money too so if you live in the us and canada and want a hard towel to handle something beyond your regular trail hardtail this one's a great option as well next up we have the nuke proof scout 290 comp there's also the 275 if you want to get that one this one's a little bit out of budget too but the spec and geo is really good as well and if you're looking for something a couple of hundred more this one's definitely worth a look and it looks like it absolutely rips too the specialized fuse is a great option too if you want a bike shop brand it might not be quite as good as the fathom for the money but it's definitely up there and the frame is meant to be really nice too so you can't really go wrong here as well to round off the list anything from ragley bikes as well at the time of filming that 2021 bikes weren't released but they'll probably come out with several bikes worthy of being in this list so definitely keep an eye out when the 2021 bikes come out as i would definitely recommend these as well based on what they had last year i know a lot of you are going to ask about the trek roscoe and common cell meta ht but the spec the getting for the money and geometry isn't quite as good as the bikes mentioned here they're still great bikes but as i said the other 10 bikes here would definitely be my picks so there you go we've come to the end of my buyers guide for my best value trail oriented hardtails for 2021 this is going to be great for someone who really wants to start pushing it in mountain biking or someone who just loves a trailer hardtail again if you're on a bit more of a budget definitely check out the other models in these bikes lineups there's definitely some cheap ones that offer some great value too or check out my budget buyers guide as well there's some great options there around 750 us dollars there too these videos do take a little bit of time to research but i do love doing them every year so if you want to stick around and follow them every year definitely subscribe to the channel also drop a like and then leave a comment too did i miss any bikes out or let me know which one's your favorite and as always guys thanks for watching see ya