Best Hardtail Mountain Bikes 2022
Marin Bobcat Trail 3 Hardtail Bike
Marin’s brand name comes from the northern California county that was the location for the genesis of the mountain bike back in the late 1970s, and so it embodies that legacy. Marin has always featured classic designs and stately paint schemes and graphics on its bikes, and the Bobcat Trail 3 is no exception. A solid – but lightweight – aluminum frame with modern trail geometry makes the Bobcat Trail 3 an excellent choice for the up-and-coming off-roader who is piling on the singletrack miles, or for an experienced veteran who wants to upgrade to the latest geometry and component specs while still leaving something in the travel fund for weekend adventures.
The Bobcat Trail 3 hardtail mtb features Marin’s Series 2 aluminum frame with double-butted tubing and internal cable routing, an SR Suntour XCM HLO fork with 120mm travel and hydraulic lockout, and Tektro hydraulic disc brakes. The Marin Bobcat Trail 3 Mountain Bike comes in both 27.5 and 29-inch wheel sizes, depending on the frame size, and it has a fast-rolling, nimble ride with both maneuverability and comfort, but the skinnier tires and more flexible front fork make it a better choice for all-day epic rides on the trail. If pushing it on the downhills is more your style, look at upgrading to wider tires and perhaps a more stout front fork. Overall this is one of the best mountain bikes under $1,00o.
Sizes: Small, Medium
Price: $819.00
Marin Eldridge Grade 1 Hardtail Bike
The Eldridge Grade is an iconic model from Marin’s line-up that hearkens back to the roots of mountain biking. It’s been one of Marin’s offerings for thirty years and has stood the test of time. There’s good reason for that: The Marin Eldridge Grade 1 is a stable and predictable ride that does everything the rider asks it to do pretty darn well. Marin’s modern geometry aluminum frameset is the base for fun days of trail adventures.
The Shimano Altus 2×9 drivetrain, 27.5-inch wheels, and SR Suntour XCM HLO fork w/ hydraulic lockout are suitable component choices for this entry-level hardtail mountain bike that comes at a reasonable, affordable price. As with the Bobcat Trail 3, if you’re looking to bomb down descents or drop your riding partners, there are more suitable choices. But for the mountain biker learning the twists and turns, uphills, and downhills of the local trail networks, there are few better bikes to learn the ropes with than the Marin Eldridge Grade 1 Mountain Bike. The Marin Eldridge Grade 1 is one of the best beginner hardtail mountain bikes with a price that’s easy to jump into.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large
Price: $799.00
Diamondback Hook Hardtail Bike
The Diamondback Hook Mountain Bike is a good gateway to the sport of mountain biking, and it has a solid frame that can be upgraded as your skills grow. The 6061 aluminum frame has pretty aggressive geometry and the wide 2.35 inch tires (on 27.5 inch whels) combine with the frame geometry to make the Hook a pretty competent descender. The SR Suntour XCM front suspension fork with120mm Travel is par for the course on bikes at this price point, and it performs reliably well.
The 1×8 SRAM drivetrain offers simplicity, but a lower range of gears than other bikes we’re looking at here, and we’d like to see hydraulic disc brakes instead of the Tektro mechanical disc brakes with 160mm rotors spec’d on the Hook. Still, for an aggressive, stable and fast descending bike, the Hook might well be your best bet.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large
Price: $815.00
Diamondback Line
With the Diamondback Line 27.5, the rider gets less. Less weight, that is, which is a good thing! The Line’s aluminum frameset is slightly lighter than the one for its sibling, the Hook, but it shares the same geometry that combine with the wide bars and thick tires to make this bike a wicked descender.
The Diamondback Line Mountain Bike can confidently go down trails that many riders would only attempt on full suspension bikes. A slightly stouter and stiffer front suspension fork from SR Suntour, an extra gear on the SRAM 1×9 drivetrain and hydraulic disc brakes from Tektro all add to the many charms of this affordable bike that punches above its weight.
Small, Medium, Large, XL
Price: $900.00
Orbea Alma Hardtail Bike
The Orbea name may not be familiar to many mountain bikers, but the Spanish brand has been producing bikes since 1930 in Mallabia in the Basque Country, nestled in the Pyrenees Mountains. Orbea’s road racing and carbon production pedigree have translated well to the mountain bike scene, and the Alma is a race ready steed that you can wheel up to the start line with.
The Alma comes with Orbea’s technologically advanced carbon OMX frame that resists flex at the bottom bracket and translates power at the pedals into forward motion. The OMX frame comes in versions for 26, 27.5 or 29” wheels, which will optimally fit a wide range of riders, and customers can spec and customize their own bikes through their local dealer or right at Orbea’s website. The only drawback to the OMX carbon frame is a slightly lower bottom bracket height, but any clearance issues here are made up by a more stable and predictable ride with the Orbea Alma Mountain Bike.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, XL
Price: $2,499
Niner Air 9 RDO
As its name implies, the Niner Air 9 RDO is a featherweight carbon framed mountain bike ready for competition. But perhaps its most endearing feature is its stately looks – sweeping curves of perfectly laid up carbon matched by understated graphics and bold but classy paint colors will all combine to turn heads. And don’t let its good looks fool you – the Air 9 RDO is a serious tool for off road adventures courtesy of the RDO carbon frame, built with rigid internal molds that provide more compaction of the carbon sheets during construction.
This all translates into speed on the trails for the 29-inch wheeled bike, matched only by the comfort for long adventures that only carbon provides so well. You can purchase the Air 9 RDO as a frameset only, or customized with your selection of parts through your local dealer. A winner of this award many years in a row, easily one of the best mountain bikes under $2,000 you can buy.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, XL
Price: $1,800
Rocky Mountain Growler 20
The Growler 20 is Canadian company Rocky Mountain’s aluminum frame hardtail offering with an intelligently selected complement of components that makes for a performance-oriented ride that won’t break your budget. The Growler 20 is built with 29-inch wheels with a Suntour XCM front suspension fork, and a high-performance 1×10 Shimano Deore drivetrain.
The frame geometry makes for a bike that tracks confidently down steep descents despite the lack of rear suspension. The price you pay for saving money is extra weight going uphill – the Rocky Mountain Growler 20 Bike is not the lightest horse in the stable, but as its name seems to hint at, it may be the most fun to ride.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, XL
Price: $1,399.00
Giant Talon 2 29”
When Giant bikes first came on to the scene thirty some years ago, they represented a real bargain in large part due to the fact that they didn’t spend much on marketing, instead pouring resources into product development. Nowadays, the Taiwanese manufacturer is a well known leader in the bike industry, but the Giant Talon 2 29er still represents great value for the money.
Giant’s proven ALUXX aluminum frame is paired with an ensemble of components from lesser-known but still high quality brands: Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, a Microshift Advent 1×9 drivetrain, and Kenda Booster 2.2 inch tires. The result is a bike that sings on the singletrack, whether going uphill or down. When you add in the manufacturer’s warranty and an extensive dealer network, its tough to find a better bike for the money than the Giant Talon 2 Mountain Bike.
Sizes: XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL
Price: $750.00
Salsa Rangefinder Advent X 29”
The Salsa Rangefinder Advent X 29er is meant for recreational and non-competitive mountain bikers who still need a reliable and performance-oriented bike. The Advent X features a dependable, workhorse 6061 aluminum tubed frameset, a 120 mm suspension fork, and wide 29×2.6 inch tires. The result is a stable and predictable ride on a bike that can do everything pretty well.
The Advent X’s namesake is the Microshift Advent X drivetrain that includes a rear 10-speed cassette of 11-48 teeth combined with a front FSA 30 tooth crankset. The range of gears this combination provides should prove suitable for both singletrack sojourns and quick dashes across campus to class.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large
Price: $1,099
Specialized Rockhopper Comp
The Specialized Stumpjumper and Rockhopper model names are synonymous with that most American of inventions, the mountain bike. Indeed, the California-based brand was one of the pioneers in the development of the mountain bike, and they were certainly the leaders in bringing the virtues of the mountain bike to a growing and appreciative pool of consumers.
The Rockhopper might be the poorer cousin of the top-of-the-line Stumpjumper, but it shares the family legacy of innovation and smart design that ranges across the Specialized model lineup. The Rockhopper Comp features the Specialized A1 premium butted aluminum alloy frame shared by all of the Rockhopper model siblings that has a zero-stack head tube, internal cable routing, 135x9mm forged dropouts, and a replaceable alloy derailleur hanger.
The bike build includes the reliable Microshift Advent X drivetrain and SRAM Level hydraulic disc brakes. Two things really set the Rockhopper Comp apart from the crowd: the first is a nice variety of really attractive paint schemes, and perhaps most important is the commitment to getting riders onto a properly fitted bike that Specialized displays. To that end, the Rockhopper Comp comes with 27.5 inch wheels for the smaller sizes (XS to M), and 29 inch wheels for the L and XL sizes. The component choices also reflect the size of the rider using the bike, which is rare in these days of one size fits all manufacturing and marketing.
Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL
Price: $1,000
Niner Air 9 RDO (2-Star)
Big wheels and even bigger upgrades, Niner’s flagship hardtail is a featherweight rocketship designed to impress competition veterans and trail enthusiasts alike.
If you can splash the extra cash, Niner’s ultimate, race-ready, 5-star setup uses a 100mm FOX 32 Float Factory fork with remote lockout and DT Swiss XRC 1200 carbon wheels. The X01 Eagle AXS wireless drivetrain keeps you in motion while you’re crossing difficult terrain and the Air 9 RDO’s upgraded carbon body is lightweight but rigid where it matters, helping you transfer your energy through the bike and keeping things comfortable on long cross country journeys.
The Air 9 RDO is snappy in the corners, quick to accelerate and nimble down the track. On top of that, it just looks beautiful thanks to the sweeping curves and timeless paint color options. Maxed out, this hardtail is one of the pricier models on this list, but you can get yourself a 2-star variant which starts at just over $3000 and will still give you a lot of the Air 9 RDO’s best features for a fraction of the price.
There’s a reason this hardtail has made the list before… it’s just that good, and at whichever price point you decide, you can rest assured you’ll be riding off on easily one of the best mountain bikes on the market today.
Sizes: XS, Small, Medium, Large, XL
Price: $8,799.00
That Niner is aluminum. No such thing as a 2K carbon bike.
Great representations. I like to buy one 27.5 xsmall frame . Im 5feet 2 inches tall