With aluminum I think build quality is largely resolved - it's a well understood technology and unless you are a big dude or really pushing the bike, you probably don't have to worry about safety. It's really hard to say whether it's the right bike for you but I would suggest you make sure that the style of the bike and geometry work for your riding style and trails and focus on getting the best bike fit you can (whether through a local shop or even just youtube videos). All that said, I would trust whatever TandemBear says over me.

You trust me? Thanks, but I'm not even sure I trust me!!!

Seriously, thanks for the vote of confidence. I must say the sport sure offers some exciting bikes to ride these days. Man, oh man! I was commenting on a YouTube site about how I wished today's bikes were available when I was riding Moab in my 20's. Epic bikes for the gnar!!! Road bikes too. The equivalent of my Cal team road bike is ten pounds lighter today. That's HALF the weight! And when racing at a high level, weight is pretty important, as power-to-weight is a critical metric. Talk about amazing jumps in lightweight technology, thanks to carbon.

I think the aluminum Polygon will probably serve you well, Burritos. Enjoy. Feel free to update us with a review once you've gotten a few rock gardens under your belt!

Happy Trails!

Update on the sub $2k mountain bike. Compared to what I had, the ride with the dropper post makes going down hill a totally different experience. Steep uphills are easier with the new gearing and bigger tires. I have flashbacks to when I BMX'd as a small kid with low center of gravity. Steep downhills that I felt iffy on now seem comfortable. It's aluminum so not light 14.5 kg(med), but I've only taken it out twice and PR'd trails that I've been doing for 2 decades. Could be new bike placebo effect, but for those who are willing to buy online, I'd give polygon a look.

Great to hear, I'm definitely looking at that $2,500 level for the suspension upgrade. With the amount of riding I do I just am having a hard time justifying even that much and want to stay under $3k out the door.

burritos said:

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Damn. I have a 2003 dual suspension gary fisher sugar 2+. Went biking with a new partner. I noticed that he had a 1 ring crankshaft. I learned that a 2 ring crankshaft is already obsolete as I am still biking with my 3 ring crankshaft with 26.5 inch wheels. Still managed to climb up steep inclines that he pushed, but for the most part he was crushing me up hills on his yeti. Then I had a realization that metaphorically I have a flip phone while everyone else is tooling around on their 5th or 6th iteration of smartphone.

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I have that same bike. Nice selection!