Plus Hardtail Grouptest | Mountain Bike Rider

Norco Fluid HT1 vs Merida Big Trail 500 vs Trek Roscoe 9 vs Sonder Transmitter | Click here to subscribe: www.youtube.co...
There is a reason tractors have massive tyres. Without any other form of suspension the tyres are both the springsand dampers. So we've gathered four of the latest models together for this month's grouptest.
All four bikes are around 1.300 quid, all of them boast single-ring drivetrains and clutch derailleurs, and all of them run either 120 or 130mm travel forks.
Four bikes we've picked for this test are:
- Norco Fluid HT1
- Merida Big Trail 500
- Trek Roscoe 9
- Sonder Transmitter
More at:
MBR: www.mbr.co.uk/
Facebook: / mbrmagazine
Twitter: / mbrmagazine
Google +: plus.google.co...

[@diese1rikan1]

I think it's time for another plus size hardtail group test

[@Dogboy73]

Can't believe how similar the Norco Fluid is to Norco's Torrent. It's almost the same frame with a different spec. Loving my Torrent 7.1. Bloody awesome. Thought I'd miss full suspension but I can't say I have. Just have to be a bit more mindful of my riding, which I think has turned out to be a good thing. Plus no rear shock service to worry about. Welcome back to hardtail ;-)

[@piciu256]

A hardtail is a good thing, aspecially when you jump on a FS later, yes jumping is a bit different (have to preload both front and rear) but if you mind the rear end with full suspension you can totally shred ;)

[@rhettmorgan6708]

Salsa has had their Timberjack for a couple of years now and it compares very well against any of these bikes.

[@LifebyBertie]

Great vid. guys!!! A couple of bikes that come to mind for a proper test are the new Orange P7 29-er, Stanton Slackline, Ragley BigWig 29-er and the NS Eccentric Cromo 29-er cause I own one! So that would be an all out steel bike test that I would love to see!!!

[@tomsharpe8181]

rocketman4633 and the commencal meta am hot chromo

[@jtkyber]

RSD Middle Child!

[@PARAF.19]

There is one bike missing, guys... Dartmoor HORNET

[@MBRmagazine]

Mac!ek PARAF good call, we will try and get one in. 👍

[@Marc28031984]

The hornet is an awesome bike..even the primal is a very good one.

[@shanemb3]

Please head-to-head Whyte 900 series, Bird Zero Am Boost 2018, Guerrilla Gravity Pedalhead, Specialized Fuse 6fattie, and Santa Cruz Chameleon.

[@mazditzo]

nice another winner bike which isn't available in the rest of the world

[@AlexvanRensburg]

You know they'll ship one to you anywhere right? Mine came halfway around the world.

[@dirtbikejohnny]

Had mine shipped from the U.K. To Chicago last summer. Alpkit was awesome and I even had it setup tubeless. Shipped in a week ready to rip. Nothing in the price range competes!

[@truantray]

Pretty close to a Marin San Quentin.

[@shaahirjoules3908]

No cannondale :(

[@DB-sd3cw]

@@shaahirjoules3908 cannondale is ass

[@robertobeltrone4713]

I have the Big Trail 800 27.5 plus with Maxxis DH 2.6 in front and Maxxis Forekaster 2.6 behind, pure fun! I had three bikes 29, two front and one full 29 ... for me the 27.5 plus hardtail is the best! Have a good fun

[@earlgrey1492]

The Vitus Sentier VR+ at £999 would have been a good bike to compare.

[@JRGVirals]

Got my 2018 Roscoe 7 brand new at the trek store on sale for only $550! Can't wait to ride it!

[@mitchellconant9336]

How the hell did you manage that? Friggin sweet 🤙

[@JRGVirals]

Mitchell Conant the trek store wanted to get rid of it so they could stock up on the 2020 model so they gave me a discount of 50% off!

[@Havebikewillride]

I have a carbon transmitter, review is spot on it's a great bike! No bias here ;)

[@Berserker26]

BIG HONZO!!!

[@RonRonRoamer]

My answer. Santa Cruz Chameleon with Reserve wheels. The rest is history. 💥

[@jamiehill5849]

I was suprised not to see the Orbea Laufey. After the review of their Rallon and reconfig of all the other bikes I thought this would have appeared in this shoot out.

[@SvensonGus]

Wow! Great fun for Sonder. Would love if you tried their new full suspension Evol.

[@MBRmagazine]

Gustav Svenson we’ll try and get one in 👍

[@brettneuberger6466]

Great Review. Love to see a comparative review of the 2018 Vitus Sentier VRS+.

[@Sphoxros]

You should have tested a Dartmoor Hornet for this test, seriously one of the best hard tails I have ever ridden :O, I am now in the middle of building my own I was so impressed lolz.

[@th_js]

Love this channel

[@rockinginafreeworld3256]

2018 whyte 905. The best hardtail yet.

[@justinsebastian2007]

Best Bike I ever Have!

[@hughsnyder891]

I’d like a trek stache 7 . Or an aluminum Kona Honzo 29er . Or possibly an Ibis hardtail trail bike . They make an affordable carbon frame that’s definitely worth checking out 😊

[@IsraelMagalit]

For some reason, I felt right from the beginning that this was going to be an Alpkit advertisement

[@mikieson]

I have a 2017 GT Pantera Comp 27.5+..LOVE IT!!

[@jasonmays2135]

would love to see you do the trek stache 5 2018 and see how you think it compares

[@hpkiunzy]

Chromag here ! The bestest

[@obi-wankenobi9871]

0:05 As everyone know, tractors have no suspension...

[@marcusreby4807]

when are you doing a hardtail of the year test?

[@MBRmagazine]

It will be around May/June this year.

[@tougenomikado]

why not test a Norco Torrent HT? I have one... its dope!

[@tougenomikado]

Jon Thomas Bike is soo sick, i just have the HT2 ... in hindsight i think i should have got the HT1 because a few of my components are in need of upgrading already. Go for it... you will love it!

[@pknark]

Just bought a fluid HT 2 last week, loving it so far, gonna have to get those maxxis wheels

[@davesnothereman81]

I second this motion... please test the Norco Torrent HT1

[@Rockerrobin]

Time and time again in never fails the best bikes are not available or only purchasable from an online store meaning massive shipping costs

[@GeoAnaGR]

Great video! Can you test the Commencal Meta AM HT?

[@tomsharpe8181]

Still no commencal’s, kona’s, dartmoor’s, bird’s. They have amazing value for money. Way better geometry and are actual proper hardtails. Why can’t you test actual hardtail for once?

[@vertiqa]

lol so are these fake hardtails then

[@DePisceEpiscopi]

And what do you think about NS bikes? Are they worth the money?

[@sbr7018]

‘Actual Hardtails’ fuck ofc

[@CHRISTRINH4490]

Great video, but why did you not consider the Santa Cruz Chameleon?

[@MBRmagazine]

The simple reason is, the entry-level Chameleon is around 20% more expensive than this quartet.

[@firstbornmiddle]

Ok, could we not have a premium hardtails group test including the Chameleon, stif Morf, Stanton Slackline or Switch back, Pace RC127+, Transmitter carbon, the new Cotic soul or new BFE, Transition Throttle or Vanquish? Please??

[@michaelregan427]

Great review thanks guys

[@bisangaceng1388]

You must try ENTIAT TR8 from Polygon. Monster here in INDONESIA!

[@mijaiscares8580]

The specialized fuse comp 6 fattie don´t fit in this test?

[@laneiaandjonthomas9296]

Orbea Loki/Laufey would be nice to see a test on

[@yourmtblocal5163]

Can you test the 2018 orange p7 29!?

[@coldseamonster]

Not happy with the selection. It's like "let's test a Roscoe over the Stache" . But that's the very beginning, these bikes are just annoyingly poorly specced. From the Recon to the Suntour , couldn't think of a more underwhelming pair of forks. Would love to see some better plus hardtails. I appreciate the effort though. thanks

[@jamespostle6894]

Have you ridden any of these bikes?

[@kingrat738]

No dropper!? -2 straight out the box

[@chrisar2252]

Hi, I'm planning to get a £1000 cycle scheme bike and this was interesting, I figure there are a lot of other people with the £1000 limit so maybe a similar review at that level would be good. I've got a cube cross pro with 622x44 tyres and 60mm suspension and wanted to get a proper mountain bike, but rather than getting a standard 29inch bike with a bit better suspension, tyres etc I fancied something more different. At £1000 that a bossnut eve, Norco Fluid HT2 or Trek Roscoe 8. With a mix of gravel trails and dirt tracks there'll be times when the tracks are quite muddy, will the plus tyres perform badly enough on mud to be a problem? Might check out the Sonder as I thinks it's reduced to £999

[@MBRmagazine]

Don't worry, we cater for the £500-£1000 price points with our hardtail of the year test, which will be live in about 8 weeks.

[@jtaraiza2480]

Santa Cruz Chameleon?

[@kylestyle2092]

Yes! They missed that one :-(

[@conman1395]

Way too expensive for what it is

[@conman1395]

Can get 99% of the same thing from a Salsa Timberjack

[@jtaraiza2480]

theconman1395 yeah you’re right, you could get a salsa at a better price...but then its not a Santa Cruz ;)

[@bushcraftinthegarden9525]

nice video as always

[@lastname1386]

do the trek Stache 7

[@tonyparkin3379]

No dropper on the transmitter is poor. Especially with the cost saving elsewhere

[@lakishaweaks9784]

I thought the bike of the year was Vitus nucleus VR. & Vitus sentier

[@sebi_palgino8875]

what do you guys think of the new transmitter with the 150 fork?

[@Austin-ly6xn]

Commencal meta AM HT

[@eddiejefferies3659]

Last years model sale price Giant XCT Advanced Plus one for me, and no Genesis Tarn 20 in the test, which a pretty poor show.

[@mateuszzwolinski5472]

Try NS Bikes Djambo next time :)

[@leebridgwater]

Very interesting, thank you.

[@tradermonk9403]

Please test the NS Eccentric.

[@mrryanrogers1]

Test the Kona Big honzo DL.

[@amandapeine6745]

Scott Scale Plus

[@MBRmagazine]

The Scale Plus won this test last year - there's a video about it on the channel if you do a search.

[@Marc28031984]

Nukeproof Scout... anyone?

[@angusreark811]

polygon entiat and the marin san quentin

[@pmaui]

No santa cruz chameleon 2018? :(

[@MBRmagazine]

The cheapest Chameleon model is over 20% more expensive, so it didn't fit in this test.

[@pmaui]

Awww. But can do the test or something with Chameleon plus or 29er? :)

[@wiggyt.3398]

big honzo for the win

[@robertsmuggles6871]

Anyone know where I can get a set of full length mudguards for a plus size bike? I have full length ETC guards on my 26"x2" bike & they work superbly. But my tyres get bogged down in winter mud & I was thinking a fatter 3" tyre will roll over better. But this will be useless if I get covered in mud; I like to go out 2-3 times a week and never get any mud on my clothes with old style mudguards- cannot live without them !

[@mazescopak405]

Crud Race Pac 29er Guard Set. I use these in Felt dd70 with 4.8 Jumbo Jims and stay dry.

[@miikkaviitanen6569]

Whyte 905 2018 😎

[@farmermike9262]

Is than an American channel doing this type of analysis

[@davidquiroz2792]

And boost 141?

[@pastafarifsm2438]

orbea laufey test?

[@arben0906]

Where is the whyte 905?

[@TonyFernandezjkdjedi]

A video they left the Whyte out so another bike wins.. :D

[@tahntalus]

Can you ride a plus bike on the rosd?

[@rardrian9250]

where is dartmoor hornet!?

[@elisamakela6766]

Orbea Laufey?????

[@evandrozzz]

Trek X-Caliber 8 2018 ??

[@julioramirez5381]

Trek roscoe 9

[@emmanuelguevarra6823]

dartmoor hornet for review please

[@raymondsalazar2585]

best

[@benrankin9437]

What about the commencial meta ht am

[@yojomojo6262]

Can you do a video of similar bike costing no more than £300

[@MBRmagazine]

We'll try and cover some £300 hardtails at some point this year, but it's unlikely you'll get one with 2.8in tyres for this price unfortunately.

[@yojomojo6262]

£80 for a bike tyre!!!! Since when and why???

[@chrisharding5783]

Decent

[@chochodead2650]

Polygon entiat tr6

[@giorrico]

No dropper on Sonder???

[@MBRmagazine]

No, that's one of the compromises you make to get the better fork.

[@christiandawson5031]

Rip

[@dyingangelo]

the norco cost 2,200 canadian. fml

[@dwhyte3392]

"murdered out".....no just no

[@MBRmagazine]

We know, we hate it too! It was somewhat tongue-in-cheek!

[@thefpvlife7785]

Great review but gay tunes bro. I couldn't mute it to listen to you talk.

[@willblackburn2414]

First comment

[@whowanger]

This review is bullshit. I watched this review after I bought my merida big trail 500 and thought fuck it I'll buy some pikes for it after this shit review. Talked to my local bike guy and he told me to run it and see how it goes. Gave it a good push on some down hill today and didnt notice any knocking at all anywhere. This review on the merida big trail 500 is misinformed. Just check all the reviews on the suntour aion fork. I use to think these guys had good information and experience and now I know they dont... also I've been riding hard trails for over 25 years so I know what shit suspension is like.

[@MBRmagazine]

Have you considered that either a) you got lucky and your fork doesn't have the problem, b) Suntour has subsequently fixed the problem since we tested the bike?

[@whowanger]

@@MBRmagazine no. Why would I consider that? My bike was the exact same one you tested. I also checked other reviews on the same fork and they were all positive. One said they would be hard to notice the difference between this fork and pikes or 34's. So all I'm saying is this fork is alot better than your review suggests

[@keyjimmy1]

Boring