The industry reinvents the wheel almost every year. New standards, fatter tyres and one more sprocket on the cassette - if you believe the advertising slogans, biking with a previous year's model is seemingly impossible. Really? From the outside it seems so. But if you look at the entry-level hardtail species, you might think the opposite: little has changed in recent years. Nothing to be seen of the Boost standard, B-Plus tyres, and even the eleven-speed flame flickers tepidly in this category. Instead, beginners are presented with the same arguments year after year: "You can't go wrong with XT equipment, Mavic system wheels and the Rock Shox fork." This could have been a typical sales pitch from the last decade or even last week. Strong brands of add-on parts go hunting for customers, especially in the entry-level segment - but there's still a lot you can do wrong.
We put ten hardtails from 1299 to 1499 euros through our test lab and chased them over the trails. Loyal readers will be surprised. After all, in recent years we have always labelled 1000 euro hardtails as entry-level bikes. Times are getting tougher. Manufacturers have made good on their threat to increase prices due to the weak euro - by around 17 per cent compared to the previous year. For us, the fun of riding a bike is an important criterion, and for less money, cheap suspension forks and lead-heavy wheels often spoil the fun. Even in this price category, cheap forks are still being used, for example on the Poison and the Kross. However, the majority of the field effectively absorbs the shocks at the front. Anything over 1500 euros can already be described as a luxury item of the working class, right up to wickedly expensive race bikes. Creating a good high-end bike for € 8000 is no mean feat for Ghost, Cube and the like, but producing affordable riding fun in series is, which makes this test all the more exciting.
You can find these 10 entry-level hardtails in the test:
- Bulls Copperhead 3 RS (BIKE tip: test winner)
- Centurion Backfire Pro 800.29
- Cube LTD SL
- Drössiger HTA 29 3
- Ghost Tacana X 6 (BIKE Tip: Riding fun)
- Haibike Freed 7.20
- Kross Level B9
- Poison Zyankali 29 Shimano XT Team
- Radon ZR Race 29 7.0
- Stevens Sentiero
It's worth taking a closer look: All bikes in the test group proudly carry the XT rear derailleur on the frame, but only some have the damping Shadow Plus function, which keeps the chain securely and smoothly on the sprockets when descending. Even fewer derailleurs come from Shimano's latest generation of eleven-speed derailleurs. Five out of ten manufacturers fit old ten-speed drivetrains with XT rear derailleurs and a Deore/SLX mix in less visible places. Why are supposedly old components being used for window dressing? The 1499 euro price point is highly competitive, and a price increase for the end customer is virtually unthinkable. Every euro on these bikes is turned over twice before the specification list is sent to the production halls. You can hardly tell by looking at them, but the entry-level hardtails are the industry's top sellers. Cube claims to sell three quarters of all mountain bikes sold in the entry-level segment under 1500 euros. What the manufacturers save on the gears, they invest in high-quality tyres, for example. And so every bike in this test group has its Achilles heel. The Poles from Kross, for example, are the only ones in this price range to rely on an expensive carbon frame, but pay for this with the cheapest suspension fork and the weakest equipment. Ghost, on the other hand, saves on the groupset, but scores with high-quality Evolution tyres. In the catalogue you will find a purchase argument for every bike. Only the practical test shows which company really knows its trade.
Off into the countryside: It's foggy and slightly wet in the woods around Regensburg in Bavaria. Nevertheless, the test round brings the important findings to light. One of them: tyres are one of the most important components, and unfortunately this is where most companies cut corners. The test rides clearly show that on a hardtail, the tyres are largely responsible for comfort, grip and, above all, safety. It is not only the tread pattern of the tyres that is decisive, but much more their carcass structure. The cheapest Active Line tyres from Schwalbe, fitted to Cube and Kross, significantly reduce the fun of off-road riding and have no place on a sports bike. Especially as replacing the tyres in the shop will cost the customer dearly. A good tyre, such as those fitted as standard by Poison, Bulls and Ghost, will set you back 40 euros.
Once you have seen through the tricks and pitfalls of the manufacturers when it comes to equipment, the next topic comes rolling towards you. Bulls and Haibike are two bikes with 27.5-inch wheels among a horde of 29ers. It's clear why 80 per cent of the test field rolls on large wheels. In practice, the 29ers provide more confidence off-road and roll over obstacles more easily, which saves the rider a lot of work on the bike and often even crashes. The smaller 27.5 wheels, on the other hand, are a little more agile, easier to accelerate and steer more directly through the trail, but certainly require a little more riding skill, and not just on our test lap. Both systems have their charms. For beginners, however, we recommend the larger wheels despite the extra weight. Advanced riders will have no problems with the 27.5 mm wheels.
As is always the case for beginners, the more you familiarise yourself with the subject, the greater the confusion about the impending purchase. The test letters and graphics on the following pages should shed some light on the subject.
When the rooty ground sent small shocks through the rigid rear triangle into our spinal cord while testing these bikes, we were amazed at how much fun you can have with supposedly simple bikes without standard madness and despite the euro crisis. It's worth getting one. The bike will not be reinvented in this class in 2016 either.
CONCLUSION Ludwig Döhl, BIKE test author:
These bikes are affordable, relatively well equipped and can handle a lot. Not only beginners will find the right bike in this test group. Experienced bikers who want to buy an inexpensive alternative to an expensive Sunday bike as a second bike will also find what they are looking for here. Although the entry-level model is a little more expensive at 1500 euros, you get a real piece of sports equipment. Buy cheaper, buy twice - so they say. The Ghost Tacana performs best off-road. Bulls once again takes the test victory with a flawless performance.
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