New hardtail 29er - Rockhopper vs Fathom opinions?
Discussion
After hardly riding in the last few years I've decided (A) To get back into it again, and (B) That my 11 year old Kona Kula Deluxe (XC 26er) needs a freshen up but really is too small for me anyway at 16" frame even with a longer seatpost (for reference I'm 176cm and currently ~105kg aiming to get back to 90ish), and I should just replace it with a new bike. But being 11 years since I last bought one, my knowledge is a bit out of date.
I've never had a full sus bike and I don't think I ride anything rough enough to justify the extra cost, so planning to stay with hard tail. It will see everything from road rides and gravel to singletrack trails, but probably not too much tricky technical riding unless my tastes change - I've always preferred fast flowing singletrack over picking my way through nasty rockeries or bombing drop-offs. So 29er seems the go over 27.5 or 27.5+ for me.
I'm in a small town in rural NZ, only one proper bike shop in town and I know the owner so I'd like to spend my money with them instead of a big chain store an hour or two away. With their stock that more or less limits my main options to Specialized and Giant. Thought about second hand but I'm not really sharp enough on bike mechanicals to check everything I need to avoid lemons, plus I kinda just feel like a shiny new one.
Preamble aside, the most likely choices look to be the Specialized Rockhopper Pro or the Giant Fathom 2 (at a similar price). Outside options being the Rockhopper Expert (cheaper than Pro) or the Fathom 1 (quite a bit more expensive, but not out of the question). The decision may just come down to one fitting me better when I try them, but doing some research in the meantime.
I've read up on the spec of both and theoretical effect of geometry differences, but that's obviously no substitute for experience of how they ride in the real world - what say you PH MTB'ers, owned or ridden one or both to give some feedback?
I've never had a full sus bike and I don't think I ride anything rough enough to justify the extra cost, so planning to stay with hard tail. It will see everything from road rides and gravel to singletrack trails, but probably not too much tricky technical riding unless my tastes change - I've always preferred fast flowing singletrack over picking my way through nasty rockeries or bombing drop-offs. So 29er seems the go over 27.5 or 27.5+ for me.
I'm in a small town in rural NZ, only one proper bike shop in town and I know the owner so I'd like to spend my money with them instead of a big chain store an hour or two away. With their stock that more or less limits my main options to Specialized and Giant. Thought about second hand but I'm not really sharp enough on bike mechanicals to check everything I need to avoid lemons, plus I kinda just feel like a shiny new one.
Preamble aside, the most likely choices look to be the Specialized Rockhopper Pro or the Giant Fathom 2 (at a similar price). Outside options being the Rockhopper Expert (cheaper than Pro) or the Fathom 1 (quite a bit more expensive, but not out of the question). The decision may just come down to one fitting me better when I try them, but doing some research in the meantime.
I've read up on the spec of both and theoretical effect of geometry differences, but that's obviously no substitute for experience of how they ride in the real world - what say you PH MTB'ers, owned or ridden one or both to give some feedback?
Edited by GravelBen on Saturday 16th February 01:32
After 4 years as a roadie, I thought I’d reinvigorate my riding by buying a hard tail.
My last MTB was a 2007 Orange P7 (26er)
I went with this....
It was a pre-Christmas bargain, bought for 60% of list price.
The combination of 29er wheels and slack geometry make it fly up hill and down the other side.
1x10 gearing keeps things simple and I’ve yet to run out of gears despite living in N Wales.
I can’t comment on the two models you’ve selected, but the step change in bikes between 2007 & 2019 is massive and I wouldn’t hesitate changing....
My last MTB was a 2007 Orange P7 (26er)
I went with this....
It was a pre-Christmas bargain, bought for 60% of list price.
The combination of 29er wheels and slack geometry make it fly up hill and down the other side.
1x10 gearing keeps things simple and I’ve yet to run out of gears despite living in N Wales.
I can’t comment on the two models you’ve selected, but the step change in bikes between 2007 & 2019 is massive and I wouldn’t hesitate changing....
S1KRR said:
Fatom 2 is a 27.5 isn't it?
(Which personally I prefer)
Looks like they make 27.5 and 29 versions, but they only sell the 29 in NZ.(Which personally I prefer)
A mate who rides steeper, rougher and more often than me is suggesting a Specialized Fuse 27.5+, designed a bit more for the rough stuff. I think he's suggesting what he likes that suits his riding though, more than what would suit mine. Much heavier than the other options and I think the extra drag on the road would make me regret going for the plus size.
Edited by GravelBen on Saturday 16th February 20:56
I’ve got an old 26 that I’ve used abroad for a few years and a 29er that I use in the UK, both hardtails. I find the 29er much easier to ride in all honesty. I borrowed a friends 27.5 and didn’t feel as comfortable downhill, or on the flat, but it was easier for the climbs.
Unless you’re an expert I’d suggest that either bike will probably be better than you and equally impressive to ride.
Unless you’re an expert I’d suggest that either bike will probably be better than you and equally impressive to ride.
wobert said:
The combination of 29er wheels and slack geometry make it fly up hill and down the other side.
1x10 gearing keeps things simple and I’ve yet to run out of gears despite living in N Wales.
I can’t comment on the two models you’ve selected, but the step change in bikes between 2007 & 2019 is massive and I wouldn’t hesitate changing....
Cheers, yours looks a nice bike 1x10 gearing keeps things simple and I’ve yet to run out of gears despite living in N Wales.
I can’t comment on the two models you’ve selected, but the step change in bikes between 2007 & 2019 is massive and I wouldn’t hesitate changing....
. Yesterdays ride confirmed the change will be sooner rather than later as the old one is more knackered than I realised (to the point of being unsafe) - rear brake pretty much shot and the fork is super soggy, almost bottoming out braking downhill and making funny pinging noises. That made a green rated trail feel a bit more interesting than it should... 
Not much point paying to sort those out on an old bike that doesn't fit me right and I doubt I'd even get the repair cost back from selling it, so I think I'll just retire it.Bike geometry has been quite interesting to read up on, despite being an XC race bike my old Kona apparently has a 67.8° head angle which was probably considered pretty slack 10 years ago. I realise you can't directly compare head angle between different wheel sizes and different fork offsets etc though, as I understand it the 'trail' figure is a better comparison?
The Fathom looks to be a fair bit slacker than the Rockhopper - 69° HA / 101mm trail cf 69.8° HA / 82mm trail. The Fuse is 67.5°, but the same 101mm trail as the Fathom.
Weight-wise from what I've found online (why don't manufacturers quote weights themselves to make it easy?) its Fathom 2 12.4kg, Rockhopper Pro 12.9kg, Fuse 13.9kg, compared to the old Kona at 12.6kg so I guess modern design and construction has helped save some weight to balance out the bigger heavier wheels etc.
The Fathom and Fuse both come with a dropper post (I've only had a 5 min ride with a mates one but that sold me on the idea), Rockhopper is dropper compatible but not included. Fathom has the lowest standover height which I like.
Running gear, brakes and fork the Rockhopper Pro seems a bit better spec than the other two. Fuse is the only one without internal cable routing, but I don't know if that really matters much.
All things considered the theoretical comparison puts the Fathom at the top of the list for me, just have to get myself to the bike shop when its open and arrange some test rides.
Excuse the rambling, maybe the comparison will be useful to someone else making a similar decision
Edited by GravelBen on Sunday 17th February 01:42
macushla said:
I’ve got an old 26 that I’ve used abroad for a few years and a 29er that I use in the UK, both hardtails. I find the 29er much easier to ride in all honesty. I borrowed a friends 27.5 and didn’t feel as comfortable downhill, or on the flat, but it was easier for the climbs.
Unless you’re an expert I’d suggest that either bike will probably be better than you and equally impressive to ride.
Thats a fair point, I've been riding on and off ever since I was a kid but definitely no expert!Unless you’re an expert I’d suggest that either bike will probably be better than you and equally impressive to ride.
GravelBen said:
Thats a fair point, I've been riding on and off ever since I was a kid but definitely no expert!
It was more of an observation based on my recent experience. We’re similar weight, although I’m a few inches taller than you based on what you’ve said. I’ve been at it seriously now for about four months and whilst I’ve tried different sized wheels and can tell the difference, I genuinely can’t feel much difference between bikes of the same size. I am a bit hamfisted though, so don’t just take my word for it 
Update time - bloke at the bike shop (who I know well enough to respect his thoughts) steered me pretty firmly away from the Fathom 2 - he's not a fan of the Suntour fork, doesn't think the 1x10 has a wide enough range for the local trails (he should know, he built half of them), and isn't at all keen on Tektro brakes. He'll order one in if I really want it but is hesitant about the risk of having to sell a bike he isn't enthusiastic about if I try it and don't like it.
Based on that, if I go with a Fathom I'd be stepping from NZ$1700 for the F2 up to around $2500 for the F1 which is a quite a jump - but does get SLX 1x11, Shimano MT400 brakes and a better (but still Suntour) fork with more adjustability. So thats an option.
Apparently some new price deals on Rockhoppers are coming from the distributor soon, so I'll see how those stack up.
His other idea was doubling the budget for a full-sus Trance 29er and "having some real fun" on rougher trails - but for me just getting back into MTB after a break (and not sure how seriously I'll be riding) I don't think its worth that investment at this stage. If I get to the point in future where I find a hard-tail is holding me back from things I want to ride then I can re-assess.
Thanks for the advice so far, much appreciated.
Based on that, if I go with a Fathom I'd be stepping from NZ$1700 for the F2 up to around $2500 for the F1 which is a quite a jump - but does get SLX 1x11, Shimano MT400 brakes and a better (but still Suntour) fork with more adjustability. So thats an option.
Apparently some new price deals on Rockhoppers are coming from the distributor soon, so I'll see how those stack up.
His other idea was doubling the budget
for a full-sus Trance 29er and "having some real fun" on rougher trails - but for me just getting back into MTB after a break (and not sure how seriously I'll be riding) I don't think its worth that investment at this stage. If I get to the point in future where I find a hard-tail is holding me back from things I want to ride then I can re-assess.Thanks for the advice so far, much appreciated.
Well after all that hardtail talk I'm now seriously considering some budget creep for a sharp deal the naughty man at the bike shop is offering on a full sus Specialized Epic Comp (alloy not carbon version).
The sale price isn't excessively more than a Fathom 1, its a good spec and lighter than the hardtails I was looking at, and from a few reviews etc it looks pretty well suited to my riding.
I've also been in touch with a few mates I used to ride with and probably will get back out with again, most of them have migrated to FS now and reckoned I won't regret the change.
Going to test-ride the Rockhopper and Epic this week to make up my mind.
The sale price isn't excessively more than a Fathom 1, its a good spec and lighter than the hardtails I was looking at, and from a few reviews etc it looks pretty well suited to my riding.
I've also been in touch with a few mates I used to ride with and probably will get back out with again, most of them have migrated to FS now and reckoned I won't regret the change.
Going to test-ride the Rockhopper and Epic this week to make up my mind.
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