I’m stuck picking between two awesome mountain bikes, but unfortunately can’t really test ride them on a trail. I’ve been riding a Santa Cruz Solo C that I bought used back in 2018 so I’m trying to make a big upgrade.
The two bikes are the Mondraker Raze carbon with axs electronic group set and the Santa Cruz Hightower with the sram eagle 90.
I liked the feel of both bikes riding around the neighborhood, but the Hightower felt a little more stable. The mondraker was fun in a slightly more playful way. Really wish I could try both on the trail before pulling the trigger.
Santa Cruz suspension felt a little more beefy,with the fox float x rear shock. Can’t remember what the mondraker had but it was a slightly smaller one.
Overall my style of riding is fairly mixed but more geared towards cross country style rides. However I’d like my new bike to be a little more comfortable on descents than my current set up which is built out for cross country.
What do you guys think I should go with? Both are the same price.
by thesourman300
3 Comments
As someone who now rides a Hightower 4, that’s the way I’d go.
Just got back from a Western slope of Colorado/Moab trip that included The Whole Enchilada. It ate everything I threw at it, including rediculous tech that I’d never ridden before and gave me all the confidence I needed to clear it.
Came from an upgraded Commencal Meta v4, and while the Meta is a great bike, the VPP suspension on the HT is amazing. It also just rails downhill and probably punches above the “all mountain/trail” branding to borderline enduro when you point it downhill.
I’ll likely never be able to ride it to that level it can handle but it’s bad ass for everything.
Sounds like the Hightower is the way to go.
I’d pick the santa cruz cuz i dont mess with batteries and its got maven while the mondraker had some code/guide (cant rlly tell) and if the price is in US i’d say its pretty pricey for the suspension you’re getting