Are expensive Bike upgrades worth it? High Low Finale!

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BIKES
Grey Polygon Siskiu T6 - bikesonline-us...
Blue/Yellow Polygon Siskiu T7 - bikesonline-us...
Parts Seen in the video (affiliate link):
HIGH BIKE
High Bike suspension kit - www.worldwidec...
Red Maven Ultimate Brakes - collabs.shop/o... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Carbon Bars - collabs.shop/3... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Thick Grips - collabs.shop/t... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
Wireless Dropper Rockshox Reverb AXS - collabs.shop/a... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Aluminum Pedals - collabs.shop/r... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp EDC Threadless - collabs.shop/0... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
Wireless GX AXS groupset - collabs.shop/3... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
AXS Pod Remote - collabs.shop/z... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
Carbon Crankbrothers wheels - bit.ly/Crankbr...
LOW BIKE
Rear Shock (Fox Float X) - collabs.shop/m... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
SRAM DB8 Brakes - collabs.shop/w... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Aluminum Bars - collabs.shop/u... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
Renthal Stem - collabs.shop/t... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Stem - collabs.shop/o... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Thick Grips - collabs.shop/t... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Dropper Lever/Remote - collabs.shop/8... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
OneUp Composite Pedals - collabs.shop/u... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
GX Complete Groupset - collabs.shop/p... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
Hunt Trail Wide aluminum wheels - bit.ly/HuntAlu...
BOTH BIKES
SRAM HS2 Rotors - collabs.shop/h...
Specialized Tires - click.linksyne...
Tools:
SRAM Mineral Oil Bleed Kit - collabs.shop/z... - Code "SagaMTB2024" for 10% off
Shock pump - bikesonline-us...
Cassette Lockring Tool - amzn.to/3WQZOnT
Electric Ratchet - amzn.to/3UPZXZ4
Bike Repair stand with scale in arm - amzn.to/3ioCsXR
Breaker bar - amzn.to/3YuKoGB
Camera Equipment -
DJI Osmo Action 4 - amzn.to/3MD1xds
DJI Mic - amzn.to/40CpRSK
DJI Mini 4 Pro Drone - amzn.to/49tOrsS
Sony Alpha 7S III Camera - amzn.to/49z1ida
Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II Lens - amzn.to/3MDGdEW
My Riding Gear:
Smith White helmet - smithoptics.px...
Smith Pink Helmet - smithoptics.px...
Smith Riding Glasses - smithoptics.px...
Giro DND gloves - amzn.to/3UTjyZD
Chad's Party Shirts - partyshirtinte...
Disclaimer: The links above may be affiliate links and earn me a commission.

[@tydontdy3459]

This series was a huge step up from the original. Thanks for your hard work and time

[@brendensweetman2172]

“We’re both 5’9”” wow what a coincidence!

[@advocatusdiaboli9909]

No way, they are both of same height. Evan whishes, but Chad is clearly taller!!

[@doncrescas]

​@@advocatusdiaboli9909Chad wears heel lifts

[@Ramadeolivo22]

@@advocatusdiaboli9909aren’t them the same guy? Bc I just found out that they are two separate people

[@foofy4494]

I'd love to see a comparison of the expensive bike with a bike with only the most effective upgrades.

[@kentao4]

Exactly. Bottom of the barrel vs top everything isn’t a fair comparison. I do like how he did individual comparisons though. This series is a lot of work but to your point, worth it upgrades vs top and another video with worth it upgrades vs bottom would be 2 nice videos

[@tracymcmanus550]

I wouldn’t say that the low bike upgrades were bottom of the barrel. XO drive train, Lyrik Select+ and Fox float suspension are all mid range and fully capable. I run the Hunt wheels and absolutely love them. They have taken a pounding and held up great. The only cheap out was the brakes

[@EvanLownds]

First of all, this was great. Well done, informative, thorough, professional, dedicated, unbiased, super impressive stuff! I was definitely rooting for Low Bike! One upgrade comparison idea I'd love to see would be putting a cheaper bike that has been upgraded against a stock bike that has the same total cost. ($1500 bike + $2000 upgrades vs $3500 complete bike). Could be a really interesting video!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

I might be able to do that. I have the top spec T9 and I was going to add that bike in my tests for this video, but the injury made it so I couldn't

[@EvanLownds]

@@EvansMTBSaga that would be amazing! I’ve always figured it’s better bang for buck to upgrade, but with prices coming down it may be a close contest. The positive with building is you get to really choose what you spend money on, and based off this series you’ve got all the info on best upgrade ROI!

[@garrettgriffin9613]

Evan risking his thumbs for the content, gotta respect the hustle

[@EvansMTBSaga]

👍👍👍👍🤣🤣

[@thatoldme1234]

​@@EvansMTBSagaYour thumbs good again or what

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Nope 😞 I'm still not able to ride and it's been over a week. Trying to keep the brace on hoping it heals

[@mattkock]

Great finale to the series. I can't believe you don't wear at least knee pads at Leatherwood. I'm just too old not to anymore.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

I thought about it for sure. But I stuck to just DH2 and figured that was tame and controlled. Luckily my knees barely got scraped when I crashed haha

[@Kyeasmith]

The thing about buying expensive parts is they tend to not just be a lot better but they tend to last a lot longer with better warranty on them

[@marklouieadame]

Its actually the same ur just paying for warranty

[@legionofful]

Yea if you buy Amazon knock offs, but all these parts are from legitimate companies, same warranties and quality. Minus the carbon wheels, they should have a better warranty

[@SergejGrabun]

I know comments help creators so I leave one :) Appreciate all the time spent on this. Really enjoy watching your videos and tests. I was always a man who buys mid tier stuff as I do not believe in high end stuff giving much of gains. This series just proves it bang on.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thanks Sergej! I had everything planned for this series months back. I expected high bike to be better, I had even written a script for the finale thinking that High Bike would win. Man I was surprised.

[@letour32rr]

Loved this series. Loving my Polygon Siskiu D7 that’s been smartly upgraded and it’s beating my PR’s previously set using my Specialized Epic.

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

So much work went into this series and I loved it.... great job!!👍

[@AdventureRich]

Dude gave it that Hawk Tuah 😳

[@GimlraK]

and look where it got him 🙃🙃

[@KostasGkinis]

I didn't expect that to be honest 😭

[@biggussconnus]

Nice to see all the bikes and components, but also nice seeing your journey over the years. You obviously love MTB and living the Bentonville dream

[@AndyMedders]

Super exciting to watch the finale! Sorry to see the crash, but glad you were able to push through.

[@numbers7905]

Great series and glad that you’re not hurt too badly. I think the point of this series is that thoughtful upgrades can make a big difference. Even the stuff you put on the “low” bike was pretty solid.

[@32DH32]

Hi, great series! Greatings from Slovakia (EU).

[@NaZ-rs1dd]

I had exactly the same crash the other week and ended up a lot worse... 🤕 Thanks for your efforts, it makes a difference

[@jules5037]

This series was both enjoyable AND useful for many of us. Thanks gor this huge work !!!

[@breesej]

Thanks for finishing out the season, and it's nice to see your brakes up the correct way (right hand = front)

[@alexstrong20]

Loved this series, Evan!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thanks Alex!! It was tough to make and now I'll have to be off the bike for a few weeks to heal my thumb

[@jasperbyerley5292]

The amount of work he puts into these videos is truly amazing

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thanks jasper!

[@ezralerch]

I honestly hate to see the lack of views and subscribers you have. Your videos are always such high quality with clearly so much effort put into them. You are easily my favorite MTB youtuber and I always look forward to your videos. Love your work man.🫶🫶🫶

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Me too man. Idk what's going on. The last 3 episodes really dropped off

[@ezralerch]

@@EvansMTBSaga Keep up the great work and I know that you’ll get ur big break.

[@tomahoks]

168000 as of now, how about that.

[@jeremymyers8105]

Awesome conclusion and showcasing whst Polygon's are capable of!

[@jasonoldham7278]

A comment and a new subscriber….loved this series. I did a couple upgrades this season on my Rocky instinct and even with all the industry discounts this summer I couldn’t justify going on a reckless spending spree. I went al wheels with rekons and a lyric select fork and couldn’t be happier. For my local trails switching from the stock dhf/dhr to the rekons has been a game changer and really opened up my riding. The bonus is I’ve now got a set of wheels for the bike park days.

[@willlange9978]

Evan this series was remarkably well done. I’ve been watching since you hit me with “How much is your bike?” This summary of data vs parts was well thought out and fun to watch. Nice job. See you with my Zerode on Dragon Scales!

[@parolesdelego]

Man I really enjoyed this season, I've been following for a long time and I've been enjoying your work a lot! You have come a long way along your "saga" and I am looking forward to more content from you! I hope your thumb gets better soon, it's amazing that you still did your run even after being hurt! Cheers!

[@TrekkinMTB]

Evan, I am from Florida and ride primarily hardtails. I've never been to anything like Bentonville or nothing like that but I can say that watching your videos makes me want to go shred some stuff that will probably end up being overwhelming. Love your videos man love watching what you do keep up the good work. You're out here motivating people❤❤❤

[@starshihtzupuppy3409]

Congratulations on this season ender Evans, I really enjoyed watching this since I have always been a believer of the Low bike, more power to your channel cheers!

[@theshedMTB]

So I really like the way you did the highbike/low bike this year. It really made it more interesting to see at the end how much everything made a difference but then all along you could see each individual part what kind of difference it made. So I’m gonna say good job. I really enjoyed it!

[@tomshigoka4386]

Evan you killed it on this series! Thank you for all the rad videos 🤙

[@cormac8613]

the quality of your content can't be understated. thanks for all the info

[@A42sre]

Wow, great video! The shots of you and chat together were amazing

[@CCW230]

Thanks Evan! I've really enjoyed this series. Hi-Low season 1 made me subscribe to this channel. And this season is even more awesome. Great quality stuff! Hopefully Chad will join you for new Hi-Low adventures somewhere in the future. Hope you recover soon!

[@noahgott2906]

Just binged the last year or so of videos, great stuff man, taught me a lot and looking forward to getting back on the trail!

[@andye9026]

Best KZbin video concept and very well executed. Love this!

[@JerryR390]

Man the amount of effort, dedication, humor. Such a nice series, thank you man!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thanks Jerry!!

[@mtblife745]

I loved this series, it was so fun to watch!!

[@digitalwells]

Incredible way to end this series. Awesome to see so much data, riding, and NWA in all these videos.

[@LuisSegura-e7j]

Loved this series especially since I ride a polygon d7 and I’ve always felt like this bike is sooo fast stock and wondered what it would be like with some tasteful upgrades. I think I know which direction I wanna go with upgrades I appreciate this series so much!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

D7 always felt fast to me! The T7 not so much. I have a whole playlist on my channel where I upgraded a D7, but it's older videos so lower quality 🤣

[@jelke997]

Dude u are the Man.. just exposing the realwrold situation with extreme priced bike parts, loved every episode.. hello from Croatia

[@jjonesmtb]

Your editing skills have gotten so good man!

[@nickbrinckerhoff6320]

Evan this entire series was incredibly entertaining and well done. I really appreciate all the hard work you put into every aspect of it, down to every last detail. Your content quality, and ability to connect with us is unmatched. I truly believe you will have millions of subscribers someday soon! Heal up quick 💪

[@mikebynum5215]

Thanks for putting so much effort into this series!

[@rocketcrusher979]

I had pretty much the same crash am month or to ago and just 2 weeks ago I crashed and broke my thumb. Love the content dude! Keep up the work!

[@TwowheeledadventureVT]

You are looking FAST out there, definitely huge improvements from when you started your channel! Nice work and great work on your video, the editing is on point.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thank you! Took me a while to figure out how to translate my BMX skills to a mountain bike

[@mikej1348]

That was an awesome comparison. It really gives me ideas of what the best value for future upgrades. You really put it on the line riding down injured. You probably did it on adrenaline alone. Talk about amazing dedication👍. It looks like you pushed out on your line into some soft stuff. Get better soon👍

[@ExplainwithShaun]

This deserves more views!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Agreed! Views have been dismal compared to season 1

[@btjones65]

Really well done series and really surprising. I’ve always used parts that I thought were budget friendly and felt like they improved my bike. It’s kinda cool to know I’m not completely nuts.

[@rickhoras7797]

What a fun and finely produced video!!!

[@austinsp00l24]

Really enjoyed the series. Great to see thoughtful upgrades on lo bike instead of cheap garbage for laughs like I've seen on other hi/lo shows.

[@athishmarutharaj6001]

Loved the series, absolute blast!

[@jrockthecasbah]

This type of cost to performance comparison is what I also see all the time with audio video equipment. Your mtb riding skills have improved a lot compared to when you first started the channel. You were hauling ass. Nice job!

[@francoinvisser4058]

That was a great series! Well done on the hard work - really paid off. Quality of the content, filming editing and even the little motion FX was next level. This should be on Netflix - would rather watch this on TV than most of the other junk on there. I recently did a similar test (actually a bike designer), and tried cheap vs factory level suspension on a downcountry platform. The cheaper suspension was faster, but the more expensive stuff felt substantially better. I think it is because the plusher suspension is not as responsive pogo-sticking you out of corners and ricochet-ing off rocks like the cheaper alternatives. So my nerves were shot on the cheaper stuff, but my times were better.

[@davelier9572]

Cool series and interesting results. Thanks for putting all of this together!

[@alexnovakovsky3t]

I feel your pain. Thumbs up for going again with injured thumbs :)

[@Jusdin057]

Great series dude 🤘, I would love to see you ride these trails on an Enduro bike. they look amazing.

[@ShreddySteve]

Great season! You really managed to make me forget there's only one of you at times.😂 I appreciate the commitment to the bit!

[@FL-ym6hm]

Even though I’ve been out of mountain biking for over 20yrs, really enjoyed this video. 👍🏼

[@Randog777]

Thanks so much for the video series, you really did a great job. Been fun to watch you progress so much since the beginning videos, both in video skill and riding skill.

[@abhishekjohnmasih]

This series is so entertaining and informative. Thanks for all the effort you put in your videos.

[@idrisdemons]

Another really insightful video, thanks Evan. Really shows you have to ge careful picking upgrades and starting with a frame that suits your trails and style too.

[@genisis53]

Great series! Thanks for all the hard work

[@Co-SS]

so your first subsecond time was cause you could not slow down due to bad brakes and about crashed. Nice, we love the dedication to testing :)

[@joshuaeller7732]

Great Stuff Evan! Thanks for a very cool series and I'm already looking forward to the next thing you drop! Take care of that thumb!

[@BlackFlag94]

Love the longer finale video!!! Videography getting better as always. I'm definitely guilty of buying what I want and not what I need

[@swestcod]

High low was fantastic as always….thanks for the videos. My son and I come down to Bentonville from kc several times a year hope to see you out sometime.

[@vtecbrown]

Keep doing it your way Evan! I have a D7 SE and love that you do work with polygon. Thank you for the great content

[@AdrenalineIsLife]

Well done! 👏👏Just goes to show. You don't need all high end parts. Just a few good ones!

[@kennygraves489]

Cool to binge the series as i was looking for info on the t6.

[@Truth_Spoken]

Heck yeah! Made my day seeing this in my feed. Great job on the series 🤘

[@ericsolnitzky795]

very interesting. I have a 2024 Siskiu T7 and plan on in incrementally upgrading so I will be using this video series to help me determine what to upgrade. thanks

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Dang that's perfect for you then! A fork would be a great start, as the stock rear shock is pretty good (I didn't use it for the whole season)

[@robertmoore119]

This series does have a cool comparison. Two controls, Same tires, Same rider. That helps alot with the comparisons. In my opinion, cost does not necessarily equal better. What it does come down too is rider confidence. You did say, the HI bike does feel more luxurious. That does help with confidence. Confidence can equate to speed. That said, your low bike times were right on. The low bike times were sometimes faster. That goes to show, that without spending alot, you can make a good bike better. Stock to Low bike, Low bike is probably world's different. On the last low bike run, if you look close, the front tire got slightly off line. You went from groove to leaves and dust. That was the reason for washout. I think it's worth mentioning, upgrading to metallic pads does increase braking power. But if it was literally before those runs without a proper bed in, you were better off sticking with what they had.

[@notree666]

Always a great series. We need more .

[@fletcherluders415]

Another great part price comparison and hope the thumbs start to feel better soon!

[@PuffinPass]

Great series and interesting results. An idea for the next series is to take a series of MTB classes then use the high/low bikes and see what kind of improvement overall you see on each of them for time, jump and tech performance.

[@RadioReprised]

Polygon deserves respect!.......Bang for the Buck Rules!

[@CoachLo3]

Great series! I’m hoping to see some more hardtail stuff from you come out! Loved that series too! Roscoe needs a second chance!

[@qsmoothy]

Awesome vid I appreciate all the work that went into this series you earned a sub!

[@RoutineEspresso]

Love the Jones Meadow track in the background! Nice touch and great comparisons man

[@TechyTinkerer1981]

It shows how amazing the platform of the sisku is

[@mcdonaldsdemolisher]

Loved the series man. Hope your thumb heals up well

[@jbarryclkrec]

Great series! Thanks for the time and effort!

[@kez2252]

Great video, and overall series dude 🤘

[@marcogutierrez4279]

Awesome series!! Would love to see some bike brand competition for next hi/lo.

[@mitch_smith]

Great series as always. Need a bang for your buck comparison, kind of like you did here on cost per second improvement.

[@aakivaan2238]

This series is just amazing, definetly gonna watch it again many times. Keep up the amazing work.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

I'm gonna post a full season compilation pretty soon. Likely an extended cut

[@aakivaan2238]

Let's goo 🎉

[@JS-kj9fr]

Great series! Looking forward to coming back to Bentonville this fall to test out my own upgrades! Made me reconsider some of the future purchases I was planning on making.

[@andyrogers747]

Enjoyed this series chap, nice work 👏 biking has now become just like golf where we’re looking to tech to gain an advantage or fix our issues instead of practicing, and working on our form. Such is life 🤷

[@aznvinsanity]

This series is really fun and interesting to watch. But perhaps including power meters and heart rates can help the data out to help us gather more info before making purchases.

[@cornish_boy6235]

Been waiting all week for this!

[@kingandycoc4172]

Super interesting results and just shows that shinny pennies aren’t always worth picking up. Definitely changing my mindset going forward on what I’ll be buying.

[@jacobklueber9913]

Love all the work you put into the series. Im really curious on your nutrition plan for doing so many hard efforts in a row on top of the work for filming

[@daviddawson4091]

Good job on the series once again. Great concept and execution, congratulations. How about a materials comparison? Aluminium vs carbon vs titanium or perhaps manufacturing techniques; additive vs subtractive?

[@joelb8920]

I've been upgrading my 2021 vitus mythique vr as I've watched your channel progress, bought mine a couple months after you bought yours. Definitely putting some of these upgrades onto my to-do list to make it a better climber! Thanks for these high/low series' and showing us how to work on our own bikes, and if you're ever in Michigan you gotta check out copper harbor and Marquette NTN South trails!

[@rrolleman4879]

Something doesn't seem right to me regarding the time difference in Evan's wheel options. I can tell you that upgrading to carbon wheels has absolutely improved my times on trails significantly.

[@joelb8920]

@@rrolleman4879 yeah I noticed the same, I don't have carbon wheels but it seems like a pretty large jump for such a (to me) minor change/weight reduction

[@rrolleman4879]

@@joelb8920 The weight reduction and ride quality improvement is very significant. Any weight reduction at the wheels is going to be quite noticeable, much more compared to elsewhere on your bike. And the ride quality is amazing. You get slingshotted out of corners. The only reason I would shy away from carbon hoops is if you are in chattery rocky terrain and your suspension setup/tire choice is unforgiving.

[@joelb8920]

@@rrolleman4879 thanks for the insight, I've never ridden carbon wheels so I really have nothing to compare it to besides the 29" WTB aluminum wheels that came on the bike from the factory

[@Buffalomm1]

Great series and I always enjoy your channel

[@DesertLifeRC]

Fantastic work @EvansMTBSaga !!! Have been watching your videos for quite some time now & you just keep making everything better and better! Next “Hi / Lo” challenge, do something with multiple categories of bikes. (Enduro, Trail, XC) on various trails there in Bentonville and see how you do! Or come out to Las Vegas, and I’ll hop on your Polygon and you can try out my ‘23 Enduro w/ all the goodies. See what you think!

[@eXaviar]

Awesome work, dude!!! Keep it up 😀 Your content ideas are superb!

[@VanPelt408]

I truly enjoy your content and editing. Keep up the great work!

[@ThatNinja1]

Love the channel, just make content you wanna make, I'm sure your true supporter's will support that.

[@TheDustyDutchman]

Great series, you put a ton of work into it and it shows. Also I didn't think I would hear "synergistically" and "hawk tuah" in the same video but somehow you pulled it off lol

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thanks man! Chad is very eclectic

[@magnate2372]

Fantastic video, Evan (and Chad)! Good on you for toughing it out after that fall. I had a similar one and ended up tearing my UCL. Hopefully that’s not the case for you. Keep up the hard work!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thanks Nate! I think I got the opposite side, the RCL. Did you get surgery? How long was recovery?

[@magnate2372]

@@EvansMTBSaga Yes. Dr described it as the same surgery Drew Brees had. I didn’t ride on the trails for 2 months. Lots of PT, 3 times a week.