I recently got into mountain biking, I did my research while hunting for a bike at a reasonable price. My budget was up to $700 which I know is nothing for a mountain bike by today’s standards. Ultimately, I wanted what is considered a hardcore hardtail. I ended up with this giant talon 2 because my local bike shop had it on Labor Day weekend for a crazy deal. This bike retails for $730. However, on that Saturday it was marked down to 599.00, I absolutely love this color and immediately and wanted to take it home. The main reasons were it comes stock with tektro hydraulic brakes. A 1×9 drivetrain with a smaller 30t chainring. Again, I understand a nine speed is considered terrible by today’s standards but I was just looking to get into mountain biking, and this seemed like a great deal. I really like this bike, however, now that I’ve gotten more into the sport of mountain biking, I’ve done a lot of research and come to the conclusion that the best deal on a hardcore hardtail currently, is the ragley Marley 1.0. that bike retails on chain reaction for $1, 039.00, it comes with a race face ride crank set, Shimano Dior group set, SRAM hydraulic brakes. Marzocchi bomber V2 fork with 130 mm of travel. Again, after doing research, I found that it shares a lot of its parts with the fox float 32. Also, the geometry of the bike is perfect for me. I guess my question for all of you is, if I like My Giants color, and I would be interested in upgrading it. Would it be worth it to upgrade? Or Should I sell it and use that money to get the Marley 1.0. Also the last thing is and this is a big one. The giant doesn’t have a tapered headtube so upgrading the fork would be an issue. Again, I did my research and found out that wolftooth FSA and Cane Creek make headset attachments to convert your head tube to tapered. I just don’t know if this would be worth it instead of selling my giant and putting that money towards the Marley. Please let me know your opinion.
Thank you
by Theagle86
5 Comments
Honestly it’s up to you – which sounds more like a bitch, wrenching on your bike or selling it?
I have a giant talon 2 and I’ve swapped basically everything but my drivetrain. I’ve bought all my parts on sale and the total I’ve spent is near that Marley, maybe a little more.
But, I really enjoy working on my bike. I didn’t think I would at first, but they are simple machines and there’s a YouTube guide for everything. I’ve gone from 0 know how and a stock talon, to being able to fix almost anything… And my bike is “custom”. I love it.
I didn’t get any kind of adapter for my fork, so I was limited in options, but I was still able to switch from the heavy pos stock fork to a decent 120mm air fork. It’s still an entry level fork for an entry level bike, but it was cheap and it’s a massive improvement – I couldn’t be happier.
You have buyer’s remorse. It’s quite common, I’ve had it too. Ignore that shit, and go out and have fun with your bike. That is a plenty good bike for anyone.
On the other hand, if you feel the brakes are not good enough, or the fork is bottoming out, or you find yourself shifting up and down constantly during a climb, because none of the gears seem to be right, then by all means, upgrade your bike.
IMO That Marley for 1100 sounds like a crazy good deal though. If you’re talking about [this bike](https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/p/ragley-marley-1-0-hardtail-bike-dark-blue), I’d go for that in a heartbeat if I was in the market for a new entry-level bike. Not only is the bomber v2 is a great entry-level air fork, but purchased separate, that one part is already the cost difference of the two bikes. That’s not even including all the other better parts you’d be getting. Deore 1×11 and M6100 brakes is *plenty* enough for most people. Those Nukeproof wheels are great too. If you want to upgrade in the future, that Ragley’s going to be a better platform to start from than the Talon since it’s boost thru-axle and has a tapered headtube. CRC is selling this thing at a loss for sure. Oh my god, it even has a dropper post.
Basically, that Ragley is the bike that you would try to end up with after upgrading your current bike. Personally, I would sell that Talon to recoup some cash and have a hell of an upgrade all at once at a price better than upgrading piecewise. If the price is right, the geometry is perfect for you and the parts are what actually get you down the mountain, do you really want to let something as functionally inconsequential as color guide your decision?
Ride it and you’ll find what you’ll want to improve. Be it brakes, forks, tyres or gears. Then go from there.
Maybe a dropper post, I would have taken that kick stand off imo but she looks good to ride only thing you might want is rear suspension but I have the same ride and it’s a fun bike. Would I take it to my local downhill track no but good for local trails. I usually rent a dh bike when needed.