I’ve heard this recently in reference to the used market, but it seems like everything I have found is ridiculously overpriced. In fact, I can generally find a new bike for a similar price.
I would love to purchase a used hardtail XC race rig, but I am routinely discouraged. Do you have any recommendations for sources of good deals for something like this?
Do not buy a hardtail. Virtually no one uses a hardtail because it’s just an inferior platform compared to a modern day full suspension. Aside from very specific situations. What is your budget?
Oh, this wouldn’t be for Leadville. This is more for local purposes. Plenty of trails/races around me that are well-suited for hardtails.
I’ve been looking for the lightest XC hardtail for $2500 or less. Tight budget constraints at the moment, so looking for the best deal. I’m coming up empty so far.
You can definitely buy a used light FS XC bike for that around here on marketplace or craigslist. I sold my 2017 spark RC for right around that about 6 months ago. I’m not sure what the used HT market is like, but unless you are looking for something very old, a HT is pretty rare these days. At the high end, 90%+ of the new XC bikes being sold are FS. So, very limited supply. I’d still be surprised that you can’t find one if you are patient, but it doesn’t surprise me they are hard to find. It’s still early spring, I’d give it a few months.
And maybe consider new if you are in a hurry. Easy to buy a nice hardtail for around $2500 unless you are looking for high end everything. A little above your budget, but you can get a new Epic comp HT for $2700 right now.
Great input, thanks a bunch. That makes a lot of sense,
used HT inventory is not what it used to be given the demand of FS. I will keep watching the market, but I might just save up a bit more for a new one like you mentioned.
There’s still a little bit of COVID lag in pricing but I just sold my Blur TR for $2.1k for reference on Pinkbike. People who want to sell their bikes and are in tune with the used market will price it reasonably. FB Marketplace is really the only other place I’d go to look…buycycle is…uh… not great.
XC hardtails are a bit of a niche segment…they’re not as common as a trail/enduro bikes so there’s just less stock there. On the bright side, XC HT geo hasn’t changed much either so something from 2017 will be just fine if that’s your preference. I’ll echo going for a modern FS…they may not feel faster but they are on most tracks. Even relatively smooth courses.
A quick look at new HT’s, it looks like it’s hard to spend much more than $2500. That specialized Epic is $2700 (and that’s their highest XC spec) and the top of the line Trek XC HT is only $2500. You can’t even spend $2500 with Canyon if you wanted to. None of these are high end builds. HT’s are such a niche market that it’s it’s probably not worth building/stocking high end HT’s. I’m sure some brands still have high end HT builds, but I’d bet most of the HT fans these days are just buying frames and building them up. I see HT’s moving toward single speed territory. Both can be really fun and will likely always have a following, but very niche.