$598 Hyper Carbon X 29er Carbon Fiber Mountain Bike from Walmart 

Schwinn is really beating hyper down these days.

For $600 it should have hydraulics and sr suntour forks like my $500 giant talon 3 has those stock

Nah, I'm not paying 600 for a frame. That's what this is

Kev has really helped me to develop a sense for what a good Walmart bike is and that’s the whole reason I started RU-vid because of him.

Bro you have been such an inspiration that I started getting my friends bikes and fixing them for cheap with cheap but good parts thanks bro 👋🏼👌🏼🐐

This is the cheapest expensive bike I have ever seen.

I always get excited with these and go “wow, only $600”. Then I remember that the price is in USD, and I convert it to AUD and I go “oh no, almost $1000 for that”.

Great review as always mate! I don't personally see this bike as a wise investment. Maybe $100 less expensive based on component level and it becomes a good value. I purchased the 2016 Raleigh Tokul 1 in early 2017; and it was spec'd with much better components and geo at $550. It's a far reach for me to view this as a solid purchase for even light trail riding at it's price point. Thanks for the review and as always looking forward to more in the future. Cheers!

That geo is wacky because of the fork. More than likely this is an open mold frame that was engineered by the Asian frame manufacturer as a 120mm bike. You get roughly a .5degree for every 10mm of fork travel change +/-. So if this frame was set up for a modern 120mm fork you would see an HT angle of 68degree and that would put it at a "typical" trail headtube angle.

Just like there is a point of diminishing returns on high end bikes this proves that there is also a point of diminishing returns on big box bikes.

Seems for that price your paying for the frame.

There are CF frames on ebay and Amazon for $400ish, and for another $400ish you can complete the bike with decent parts to make it a reasonably worthy bike. Great review Kev!

I’m 6’1” 208 lbs and I found this bike small due to the 17” frame, the small brake handles that only hold 2.5 of my fingers, and the pedals that aren’t wide enough for my shoes. I really wanted to like this bike because it’s carbon and I would have happily paid the $600 if it had other components as fitting as the $248 Schwinn Boundary that I ended up buying. On the Boundary I can fit 3 fingers on the brake lever, the pedals fit my shoes without looking to make sure I place them perfectly, the frame is 19” instead of 17”, and the handle bars are wider. When I slowed down to make a tight turn around a corner isle in the store, this bike felt difficult to balance, I had to shake the handle bars back and forth to stop from falling. On the Boundary I could slow almost to a stop and keep my balance with the wheel turned either direction. On paper I wanted this carbon bike, but test driving made the $248 Shwinn nicer regardless of price.

In Alaska, MTB's are sold out everywhere. I got this at my local Wal-Mart. The wheels were dirty, and a yellow tag said $300. Someone used it once and said it was too tall for him. They were putting it on display as I was walking out. This bike was priced at $670. Yeah. I'm happy

This is my 13th time watching this because no other RU-vidr will review it

I was at Walmart the other day and almost all of the bikes were sold...except this one. I love the look of the matte black and green and the fact that it is a 17" bike. I can't get over the headtube angle though. I was on Hyper Mountain Bike's gram account and saw some very amazing designs they have been working on. If those bikes come to market soon, they will blow the competition out of the water. I have feeling they might be coming soon because of the Hydroform being discontinued. Keep up what you are doing Kev and stay healthy.

Would love to see your upgrades for this. Looked around for a carbon fiber frame bike and couldn't even find a used one for under a $1,000.

Enjoying the Axum I picked up on Good Friday, largely thanks to your review. If I ever buy a 2nd bike, it won't be this Hyper Carbon X.

The Hyper E Ride 29er has the same head tube! It is 1.5 internal compatible!

Another great video Mr KevCentral, the Walmart near my location sells the 26" Carbon X for $298.00 and the 29" for $498.00. My problem with the 29" X is that the front wheel is too close to the pedals on my test ride in Walmart. Again great video and stay safe you and your family.

Since the bike shops are closed this is great time to work on mechanic skills, RU-vid tutorials are how I learned, especially with derailers and learning about the limit screws that will stop from chain drops.

I just finished. My X R Pro upgrade 1x8 setup, carbon bar and seatpost , DNM shock, Bolany 120 mm travel fork,external BB, ,stock brakes,stock wheels but continental Race tires(tubed) Weight : 32.4 lbs. Could easily go down to 31-ish lbs., but no need to. What do you think?

UPDATES? I'm really waiting... to see what this thing can do...Thanks Kev!!!

I just bought this bike. It’s worth a shot. Im gonna do some uprades and see how it goes.

I might order one of these and do a rigid front fork swap (and larger front cog) to turn it into an all road / gravel bike - 71deg head tube angle and clearance for 29x2.1ish is pretty similar to the Salsa Warbird and other off road road bikes currently.

The Schwinns you reviewed recently seem much more appealing than this one. I was hoping for a much better spec on this. I'd either throw some mods at a Schwinn or go entry LBS bike for $650. I appreciate the honest review.

Thanks for the review. I would of expected better at. $600. The bike falls into muy budget bracket but for that price i think you can find other better equipped bikes. But i really like your honest review. Hopefully i can get my first mountain bike soon.

If you do a bunch of upgrades on this bike, you should look into the box 4 prime nine groupset. Its cheep 150$ and 11-46

I like a 70-71 degree head tube for a trail bike. Slacker just handles too slow. Thanks for the review...great job.

thanks for the review, I have one comment and one question. I just bought one from Walmart it was 498 plus tax, and your right some of the components are a little desirable, but the geometry compared to my Giant is so much better for me, my question is can I up grade the components, like hydraulic brakes. and rear derailleur? all in all it serves my purpose just fine thanks again

I feel like they spent everything on the frame to make it carbon. At that price you are well into an entry level/budget model bike from a local bike shop, that’s not even talking about sales. To be honest, even when I’m shopping for high-end bikes I don’t really bother with carbon. you get more for your money with alloy and don’t gain anything with CF other than bragging points and maybe a pound off the scales.

Great review as usual. I just don't see myself spending that kind of money for a bike equipped with the same components that you can get on a bike that's way cheaper.

I think you forgot to mention, and it looks like it. The dropouts are changeable and can be changed to accomodate thru axle hubs

I was expecting so much more for this bike the carbon x had me so hyped so when I heard the 29 was coming out I was hoping it would be much better than the older model

for 600 dollars idk if id be loving that fork

I’m still looking forward to that new Al comp stage 2 with the new tapered head you should put some downhill fox forks just to see how sick the al comp would look lol

If you ever get your hands on a Polygon Siskiu D5 I would love to see a review. I know you did the d7 but I want to see the differences. Thank you👍🏼

I just got my 2007 fuel ex 7. Besides some problems with the back suspension it’s amazing. I bought it off my dads girlfriend for $250 and it’s so worth it. Also great review!! Please keep making more videos!!

31 lbs is impressive for the a big box bike. It can easily be a 28 -26 lb bike by swapping out the garbage steel handle bars, fork, wheels, square taper bottom bracket and crank set, and setup the tires tubeless with the new wheel set and cassette vs free wheel. Too bad the geometry is suspect.

Did you see the 27.5 model? Hyper Carbon X Sinister 27.5”. Interested in hearing a review on this one.

I've noticed that this has interchangeble rear dropouts... This means that, in theory, you could find dropouts that match the frame and go with a thru axle, which is totally worth it for the extra stiffness...

Yep, one thing you can count on with a big box bike, they're going to skimp out and give you a chain that's a couple links shorter than it needs to be in order to work properly.

Its great looking & quiet but for that price I would just have to grab a trek

For $598 there should be a choice of frame sizes. I'm 6'3" , so the 17" frame is too small. I also agree that the steeper head tube angle on a 2020 model year bike seems like a weird choice.

Thanks for your look at this bike, Kev, and my thought would be this seems like more than most Walmart customers would pay for a bike at Walmart. I can imagine a lot of parents getting some form of sticker shock at the price--"Six-hundred dollars, no way!" And it would seem that a low weight would be its selling point--"Wow, feel how light it is"--but that suspension fork adds a bit of heft, no? Maybe a carbon fork and a cassette would be the way to go. But I don't really know this segment of the mountain bike market and perhaps there are enough riders who will buy this for the frame and upgrade as funds permit. And I'll be watching to see what you do with it, Kev.

Set of drop bars, skinnier tires, and we might have a decent gravel bike with that geometry and platform.

I clicked on this video so hard I HOPPED IN MY CHAIR

I just bought this bike and I'm looking forward to seeing what type of upgrades you've done to it. Maybe I can get a few good ideas from your video since I'm a beginner MT biker, I could definitely use some guidance. Thanx and keep up your amazing work! Best of luck with everything 🙌💪

So...before and after finding this channel I went to Walmart and Target and took a look at bikes. I realized quickly that quality stuff will not be in Walmart. I found better quality in Target, but even at that it wasn't great, so I went to a bike shop.

For this price range. Would the trek marlin 5 or even 6 be better

Some people are complaining about having to put money into the bike to make it a good bike. Some people buy 5k bikes and still put money to customize it. For a beginner light trail and light rough terrain this bike is good. This is the best value bike I have seen from big box so far. I tried looking for used but people ask way to much for 10 years old bike which may have issues.

Despite the huge Shimano logo on the frame, the only Shimano component I see I this one is the one trigger shifter. I would prefer to spend my $600 at a LBS where I will get free tuneups for life.

Finally got a bike you are upgrading! Yes! I'm looking at shaving weight with a 29er air fork and probably giving it a mullet and possibly a 10 or 11 gearing if it will fit. Also hoping to go tubeless if I can find some rims and wheels.

I would 100% buy this as a frame just to experiment. But unfortunately the price for the whole bike is prohibitive to me considering I don't think that I would keep any of the parts that come on it. I find it interesting that the drop outs are bolted on which might be handy if you want to convert to something like a 10x135mm thru-axle and I'm not too concerned about the HT angle or stack height considering I would probably try to make this into a cheap XC putting a slammed Stem on it and frankly I don't know that i would trust it to do anything beyond XC riding.

Here in the Philippines you can buy a 29" carbon fiber bike with SRAM SX drivetrain, Shimano hydraulic brakeset and airfork w/ remote lockout for $600 with at least 5 years warranty.

Things I like about this bike: 1x drive train, carbon frame, internal cable routing, disc brakes, shifter, derailer. Things I don’t like: mechanical brakes instead of hydraulic, fork, pedals. Is it worth the price? In my opinion No. although it has a lot of good stuff, it clearly lacks with their choice of fork and brakes, pedals could be easily replaced. At a sub $500 price point then it might be worth it but at $600 and some change I don’t feel like it’s a good enough value for the price

Kev. I'm confused. Is the 9 speed really a 14 to 42 freewheel? In the explorer videos you mentioned it as 11 to 42. I've never heard of a freewheel with such a small cog or that many speeds. I think it's truly hiding a cassette body under there and that's important for upgrading but also general reliability. The bearings on a freewheel hub are placed inwards on the drive side to accommodate a freewheel. This puts a lot of stress on the rear axle. I hate a bent axle. For me personally it's a more important difference than threaded/threadless stem and steerer tube design.

Off subject from the video, but... I just ordered a Canyon Neuron AL 7.0 SL this past Wednesday. Getting pretty pumped waiting for it to get delivered. Until it gets here, I just wanted to thank you for your videos. Like I stated in past comments, it all started for me with your Boundary video. Upgrading from the Boundary to the Trek Marlin 7 last spring, and now a full suspension bike! Keep on keeping on!

So hyper carbon and axum are the same price . So which one 🤔 would you buy???????

Don't forget for some of us us Biking is our only form of transportation and we cant stay of them during lockdown, which kinda works since i got a shiny new cargo trailer for groceries since the only grocery store near me is 5 miles away. Anny chance this Carbon X will get an upgrade run like the other?

Kev great video. I'm thinking of buy one. Is this a Large or Medium Frame? I know that you said 17" frame on a 29 wheel set but I'm 5'7" and really don't know much on this. Thanks

Kev, for the same ballpark price, I would rather have the electric bicycle that you reviewed.

My gravel bike has a 71degree HTA in a medium size. On a carbon mtb bike that is a bit high. 69 degree with a slack fork is the min I can accept for a mtb. You could always for a slacker fork or go for those headsets that slacken the headtube by 1-1.5 degrees.

I'm new here to your channel. Bike channels in gen. I haven't bought a new bike since I got a fuji Roubaix in 05 to maybe 07. Commuter? I have several bikes that I will ride. My dad's first bike a 1950s Firestone, crazy heavy steel but super cool and never gettingrid of it. A Dutch union that I got in Amsterdam. My Roubaix. A 90s or 80s mongoose bought off of a homeless guy for 9$ with tons of upgrades. Some other bike i can't remember what that was a 600$ in the 80s that now only gets ridden at burning man. That mongoose is what I ride to work now and also why I want to get a new bike. I ride about 12 mi each way half dirt half paved road. I'm running slicks on the mongoose, rear saddle bags, fenders, the whole commuter 9. I was gonna get a cannondale scalpel and got talked out of it. Now I'm thinking about this, 29er. I dont do trails, I just commute and want to mix it up between this and a dual sport motorcycle. I think the upright feel would be great for commuting. Do you think I could get racks and bags on this hardtail? I don't usually carry much but when I do its nice to not have it on your back. I would even put fenders on this if possible. I just want to get to where I am going kinda dry and clean. Weather other than wind doesn't change my decisions to ride. Wind means motorcycle. What do you think solid washboard road commuter?

I can get a chinese carbon frame for around $250, I still think the Boundary is the best bike for the money.

great video and breakdown. can you post the bike specs that Hyper sent to you, please?

Incidentally, Hyper also make some serious bikes and frames, similar to Diamondback's business model. They have the know-how on building a decent bike, so... In any case, it's a nice development to see companies like this listening to the consumers, but I think this year Schwinn were more attentive to the consumer base and their experience obviously helped a lot. We won't be seeing this kind of thing from huffy or the like, but as these two race for the best bike per dollar, the other companies might follow along upon seeing the sales stats make a rapid shift in favour of more modern specs.

I wouldn't worry about the head tube angle, slack head tubes make for terrible handling on single-track and climbs

Walmart up here in Ontario Canada doesn t sell it in store, but they sell it on line for $719 plus $ 100 shipping to an area store. To much for us up here.

What's the point of having a carbon frame if the components are trash? I'd rather settle for a alloy frame with decent components.

Wait. Did you say 31lbs for a medium carbon hardtail bike? Are the components made of iron? Interested in the frame's weight.

Hey kev Are you planning to do a strip down on this as well like the 26? Am curious on the weight difference and quality difference of the carbon. Its a great looking frame though I agree for this price we should see some upgrades somewhere over the explorers

I get that this is a Big Box bike, but a carbon hardtail 1x at 31lbs? My FS Aluminum Enduro weighs 33lbs. I feel like there could be much more had for $600. Especially on the used market, sure you might not get a carbon frame, but youll get SERVICEABLE components, that are adjustable. Not just piles of steel loaded onto a carbon frame.

A step up from the explorers, but kind of a let down :( Plus, what's up with that head angle & narrow bars? Could the head angle be a concern about the carbons strength? Finally, what's the savings of forgoing a NW chainring when you have to install a guide?

Love your reviews, especially your opinion after riding it & how it handles. Thank you greatly for making these videos. What do you think of the Specialized Rockhopper Sport (same price as this Hyper) or the Comp at $150 more or the Trek X-Caliber 7 at just over $1,000? Looking for my 11 year old son 4' 10 right now (12 end of December) & he fits the Men's Small Bikes. Thanks.

This is definitely nice! I never liked the original carbon X. It was released at a time when 26 in hardtails were dead. I figured they were just rebranded frames from another manufacturer, who is probably selling them for pennies on the dollar because there's no demand for 26in hardtails. But a 29er hardtail is legit.

So the drawings didn't show the head tube size? Would like to know if it is capable of using a tapered steer tube.

Hey Kev, just checking on a couple of upgrades you made on your bikes using the IXF mtb crank set and the bolany front suspension fork. Thinking of upgrading both of my bikes and need to keep the cost down. Thanks for any update . Tony C

I currently have the radrover which is a great bike but it is real heavy. Out of all the bikes you have reviewed which would you recommend to convert over to a mid drive ebike? I am 6’1 265 pounds. I was thinking about something for dual purpose, road and light trails when I camp.

I ride a Evil 😈 and somehow I still enjoy these kind of video. Big fan of this channel. Great and honest reviews.

What's a good bike to buy thats a reasonable price but is really good on the trails and inclines?? Please help

If it can take a tapered fork, couldn't you put a longer one to slacken the geometry, This bike if upgraded correctly could be a serious bike

Getting 3 paychecks this month, so will be buying this at end of the month, and maybe it will be available again, since it's been sold out. Not too concern with some of the components. The bar will be replaced. Found a nice chinese alloy bar that i liked and it's on all my bikes. Brakes, stem, will be gone. Already have a couple existing forks in-house. And thinking of move it to 27.5 anyways.

other than the frame looks cheap i would expect suntour xcm on the low end for 600+ bike also a freewheel? and 630mil bars? at that price you could buy a GT panterra which is a local bike shop bike with 27.5+ wheels/tires a suntour xcm shimano altus shifting and the backing of a well known brand and a bike shop experience. i think other than the frame its a rip off

Check the inside for a glass fiber layer. Usually cheap carbon has glass fiber on the inside

Obtained this bike for 20$ , yes twenty, from a guy who gets all the "defects" from local big box stores.. only defect I could find was where it appears the crank has rubbed on the carbon frame more then once. Looking at the video it appears you have the same gouges on the frame directly behind the crank (9 o'clock position looking at crank from chain side). Any idea how this happens? Slipping the chain ? Can't quite find an issue tbh. Thanks for any feedback

I would put slick road tires on it, upgrade the front crank to a 42t ring. And use it as a city bomber. It's pretty much set up for that already.

KeV best $400 mountain bike for a beginner that wants to have trail fun?! Quarantine is getting us all crazy

I love the videos you inspired me to upgrade my bike I really appreciate what you do !

To stop the chain coming off with quick shifting its typically as simple as adjusting the limit screws on the rear mech which you could easily do yourself. Even my clutch shimano xt set can mess up like that

What’s the cheapest carbon fiber frame you can get to build up? I think as a builder frame, so long as it holds up, it’s a decent deal.

my current mtb is a big box bike that i got for 500 usd in 2016 shimano deore drivetrain (3x9 the cranks are shimano but i dont think they are part of the deore groupset) sunringle inferno 27 wheelset neco headset and bb shwalbe rapid rob front and rear and a suntour xcm as my fork tektro hydraulic brakes and a alloy frame mostly been use for commute to school and back and riding on farm roads and ive been very happy with it already had to replace the bb when my mechanic inspected the bb some of the balls were dropping out wich tells me neco bbs are probably cup and cone style bearings

So, I'm wondering why BBS bikes are all still equipped with freewheels instead of freehubs. They're exploring modern materials and some components, but they're still sticking with crappy ol' freewheels; even increasing the number of gears on them. Seems like they could up their game fairly economically, considering how many bikes they manufacture.

Slammed stem and 120mm fork should get the position better. What is the A-C (axle to crown) on the original fork and how high is the bottom bracket without load on the bike?

I thought about buying this just for the Carbon Frame to merge with my 2020 Schwinn Boundary to cut down the weight but the Carbon headset is not tapered, the tapered look is just cosmetic though it will still add strength to the frame.

That park looks fun. Hell in Utah you have to pedal up a damn mountain to do trails. What do you do with all these beginner bikes?

What would you recommend for a rider who’s 6 foot 8 inches tall. Not trying to spend a whole lot of money

I'd also love to hear how the bike performs with a fork upgrade. It is down to $498 and for my older son I could upgrade the parts as needed.

They are down in the 450 range now, if you can find them in stock. There's some other sellers out there besides walmart carrying them

What do you think of the Marin bobcat? I want to buy one but don’t know if it works be a good starter mountain bike. Any advice?