I just steered my cousin twards buying this rig... The value and upgradeability (if thats not a word it is now) put it at the top of my recommendations. I dig the videos man...i have subscribed.
I had an xtrada 5, ended up getting stolen but after a lot of searching I ended up coming back to polygon for the xtrada 7 with the 2021 model on sale I really could not find a better deal. Just like Kyle I am seriously impressed with how good the rear hub and overall 12speed deore drivetrain is. It's also so rare to get full Shimano as well. Imo this brand is a bit of diamond in the rough, I can't imagine it will stay that way for long though.
Sorry your bike got stolen, but sounds like you ended up with a better bike in the long run! The 2021 model is currently $919 which is an insane bargain. I hope Polygon finds a way to keep their prices reasonable while everyone else's are going up. If they can do that, then they will pretty much dominate....like Godzilla!
Bro my xtrada 5 too gor stolen since then i have not been to riding. Its exactly a year now. Iam also thinking of getting new one but polygon seems more budget friendly among other competitors.
Cool t-shirt! The Acura NSX was my dream car during the 90s. It's iconic status was further elevated when it appeared as Valerie Malone's car (played by Tiffany Amber Thiessen) on Beverly Hills 90210. T-shirt aside, thanks for your thorough and entertaining review of the Xtrada 7!
This is a really great review! I just sold my Marlin and I'm in the market for a new bike, and it seems that the X7 hits all the marks that I'm looking for. I was originally budgeting for something a few hundred dollars more, but then I came across the Polygon and I'm super impressed with it. Thanks again for the solid review.
i built up a small xtrada 5 for my daughter. she loves it. it has an epixon on it set at 130. i also converted it to 1x and installed a ks dropper. pretty sweet. i wish you could buy these frame only. i’d build one for myself
New bike buyer here ... complete novice approximate 32 in inseam 6 ft 235 looking to purchase an REI co-op bike as a local REI store claims giant makes their bikes out of Washington State via Taiwan ? and simply rebrans them for REI. However THIS video has completely changed my focus on REI co-op branded hard tail in the $750 range give or take. Would prefer the slightly thinner tires to accommodate flat road terrain and Beach footpaths here South eastern Florida . Also I think we're getting confused between bikes online and bikes direct each of which are on opposite sides of the country and I can almost promise you that we would require assistance with assembly and fine-tuning. All information is welcome.
I had been considering my first mountain bike it's less than half the price of either the Specialized Chisel and Fuse Comp. Decathlon sadly has no suitable Rockrider offerings that are in similar spec to the Xtrada 7 available in my area.
I am stuck choosing between this Xtrada 7 and the new 2022 Giant Fathom 2. Which one would be light, nible, fun to wheelie and bunny hop flowly trails and small jumps in your opinion. Thanks!!
Ha ha, 'have an old XCR on my hardtail, and it's quite capable and I have done most everything on the warning sticker it says not to do 🤣 (and mine is a coil!)
You need to move here Dan! I pedaled from my apartment after work the other day to slaughter pen, and rode for two hours on so many fun trails. Surreal after living so far from any dirt in SA. This video was also filmed in one morning since every feature I could possibly need to film is all around. Hope to see you soon man! Weather should be getting better soon (although it snowed today).
Great review! I'm currently deciding on this bike as well as the Canyon Stoic 2 which is $100 more. Which one do you think is better for the price? I'll be mostly doing light flow trail riding as well as some trial.
Thanks! The Xtrada is gonna be a bit lighter and easier to pedal around/most likely faster. The Stoic is going to be better as you get into steeper downhills, jumps, drops etc...but won't just pedal around as well. Stoic also uses a boost fork which is nice if you ever go to upgrade the wheels. Stoic also uses a 30.9mm seat tube diameter, so you can run any length dropper you want whereas the Xtrada is limited in sizes. Boils down to if you prefer pedaling around more and going fast while doing so...go with Xtrada. Wanna learn to ride more aggressively...go with Stoic. Hope that clears it up a little!
Thanks for the review. Considering this bike along with a few others for my 12yo daughter. Seems like a good value with the plan to add a dropper but might have to upgrade the fork (we’re in CO)
great review, I am also gonna purchase xtrada7. was confused with marlin vs Xtrada. I also recently moved to Bentonville, looking for a group to join and enjoy riding trails. Hope we can meet on a trail someday
Looks like a sweet bike. On sale now for 850. I have a question about the sizing. Did you find it to be appropriate sizing or a bit small? I usually ride a Giant Trance size large, but the polygon seems quite a bit smaller. Great content!
I did add one right after filming this video. It's a wonderful addition to this bike. Strongly recommend adding one! I went with the PNW Rainier Gen 3 in a 125mm travel.
@@CobraKyle Yeah.. I would be most interested in wheels ands tires.... I think I am going to just throw on some Racing Ralph TLE's and get rid of those WTC clunkers. They need all the help they can get
@@groovymoon I've never actually used Schwallbe's, but I'd love to give them a try. My favorite light weight tire combo is the Kenda Regolith in front and Kenda Booster out back. Kenda's are fairly affordable too, so that may be my main reason lol. In the video coming out tomorrow, I'm using Bontrager XR4 Tires on the bike now. Another pretty solid tire.
Does the xtrada 7 have the routings for an internal dropper? Great video, i look forward to more. I have been debating getting one of these bikes as it would suite my ride style and by a huge step up from my current bike.
i used a 10inch metal file to sand the first bottle cage mount inside the seat tube, so that i can slam the dropper post more, i also got the PNW rainer gen 3 if any of this helps
im looking for somewhere to go thats "warm" and great mtb riding this winter for all of dec-march. is bentonville good and trails always open even if its light snow dusting?
I've been researching xc mtbs around the $1000 price point. Have you ever heard of or ridden the Canyon Grand Canyon 7? At $1,049, it looks better on paper than Xtrada 7, especially since most people complain of the lack of dropper for Xtrada 7. I haven't looked at the geometry yet, but looks like the bike I might be getting, have to look into deeper though. I've looked at Giant Talon 1, Trek Marlin 7 & 8, gen 2 & gen 3, and Polygon Xtrada 6 & 7. The Grand Canyon 7 seems to trump all, on paper, at first glance. Any feedback on that would be much appreciated!
Is this available in anything other than the girlish white on neon purple? It looks like more aimed at very young women. Why can't they offer even ONE more color option?
I'm 6' tall with a 32" inseam. The reach number looked better to me on the XL, and it fits me quite nicely! At 6'1, you'll feel less cramped on an XL in my opinion.
I think this is a solid choice for a new rider. I've never ridden in your region, so can't really comment on how it would be specifically there, but this bike has nice geometry and decent parts to learn the sport.
Hey Kyle, I know your time with the Growler 40 was cut short due to a crank falling off. I know the Growler has a dropper and boost front wheel but, if you can, how would you compare these two bikes?
I really loved the Growler! It's intent is a bit more downhill focused, but it wasn't a chore to pedal that bike around like the more aggressive hardtails (El Roy, Honzo ESD, etc...). The Xtrada is still going to be a slightly quicker bike when pedaling and weigh a bit less, but if you want to ride a bit harder, then the Growler is an excellent choice! I also bought that Lizard Skin wrap many many years ago at a shop that was going out of business. I think it was like a buck so I just bought it. I'm pretty sure it's a large, but not 100% sure.
Hey Kyle, are you experiencing your chain seeming to be sticking at the bottom of the ring as it leave the ring? I’m not sure these KMC chains are perfect for this drive train? Thinking about picking up a Shimano Deore M6100 12 speed chain and see if it works better. I feel with the extra friction and noise the KMC is making, I can see it wearing out the cassette and ring faster. Just curious to see if you’ve noticed anything.
I didn't have any issues shifting luckily, but in all my upgrades I noticed it was a KMC chain. I've always heard shimano drivetrains play nice with shimano chains, so I went ahead and bought a deore chain while I had the bike apart. Some may argue that it won't wear your parts faster to use a different chain, but I decided to play it safe since it's a relatively cheap component.
@@CobraKyle thanks, that confirms my suspicions. It just felt too sloppy coming off the ring and through some of the gears. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad but something felt a little off. That drivetrain should be smoother . I’ll try and pick up a Shamino chain tomorrow in Tyler when we go hit Lindsay Park! We did a short 11 mile ride last Sunday around Lady Bird lake in Austin. I could really hear and feel what was going on in those smooth Austin hills. Just finished installing a KS 120mm dropper. Seems pretty nice for the money.
@@CobraKyle well, got in my Deore chain and went to install it yesterday evening. On closer inspection of the cassette all the way around, the 8th cog from the smallest was bent nearly a 1/4” on one spot. That could be why I’ve had some rough shifting in the middle gears! Crazy because the bike has not been wrecked once and I have only ridden county roads and lite trail. I’m 50 years old. My days of sending it are long past. I just ride for fun and exercise these days. Things don’t heal like thy use to! I have reached out to bikesonline as of yesterday. Hopefully they will get back with me today. I know shifting on heavy load can do this but that hasn’t been done and I’m the only one who has ridden this bike. I’ll save the Shamino chain until I get the cassette issue fixed.
I just ordered the Wolf Tooth Performance headset last night for it. I was disappointed when I took the fork off and found a ball bearing headset. FSA makes some nice headsets that are a bit more affordable than Wolf Tooth. The purple headset from Wolf Tooth just spoke to me!
This or the pinnacle kapur 3? I'm thinking about the pinnacle because of the rockshox fork but I need help same price well.. pinnacle is from 900 to 600 and xtrada was 900 to 599
Hi Cobra Kyle, you chose the XL size. Just wondering what your specs are (height), I’m 6’? Just wondering what pros/cons would be to sizing up? Also, I’m a Clydesdale at 250lbs. Wonder what your thoughts are durability wise between the Xtrada 7 and some of the other hard tails in this price range? Seems like the Xtrada beats them all as an all arounder, but the Canyon Stoic 2, RM Growler, and Vitus Sentier VR are more aggressive. Just trying to make the best decision based on my specs. Thanks
Hello! I'm 6' tall as well with a 32" inseam. The Xtrada geo is a bit shorter than similar bikes in the reach figure. I almost always ride a size large because I like a reach between 470-480mm. The XL Xtrada has a reach of 470mm so went with that size. I'm not certain about any weight limits on this bike, but if you plan on riding somewhat aggressively, then I think the Stoic or Growler may be better suited for that. My friend rode the growler when I had it last year, and he was in the 250 pound range, and I know he really enjoyed it. I haven't ridden the stoic, but the frame looks pretty burly! Xtrada is a bit more XC focused, so if you want an efficient pedaling bike and don't plan to ride it super hard, I think it will hold up. Wanna hit drops/jumps? I'd go with one of the others you mentioned. Hope this helps!
Hey, you said that you went for the XL size. Can you say how tall you are? I'm looking into it as well and I'm right between L and XL for my 1,86m. I'm usually sizing down on my other bikes, but this one looks really short in L just from the numbers.
Hello! I'm 6' tall with a 32" inseam. I based the XL size for me off the reach numbers. The Xtrada is sized a bit smaller than some other bikes as I almost always ride a large, and the XL Xtrada feels quite nice to me.
@@CobraKyle thanks for the reply. Probably going in the XL direction then, too. Was bit hesitant because the long seat tube makes fitting a dropper harder, but since this is supposed to be kind of my gravel bike for longer tours through the woods maybe a nice carbon seat post would even be a better upgrade here.
On the Xtrada 7 you get front and rear thru axles. The front is a non boost axle however, so it's a 15x100. The two lower Xtrada models (5 and 6) have quick release.
It went together easily in less than an hour. ru-vid.comUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L Make sure the front fork is forward or the pedals will hit the front tire. Tires are both a little soft so it needs air before I ride it. The rear wheel didn't come with a clamp regular bolts hold it on. The front had the clamp. No scratches out of box. Rims are a little off with a slight wobble. They could have spent more time with the spoke tool fixing the run out. So far out of the box I'm happy with it. I did replace the pedals with a nice aftermarket set. After riding it a bit my A$$ is a bit sore so I ordered another seat. Overall I'm nearly 60 and didn't ride a bike in 30 years. I like my new 29" Schwinn. It will be used for casual rides with my friend.
I like your content, but you should consider changing your forced speaking cadence and phrasing. It is a bit dated like guys that used to tech reviews. Just be yourself, you actually have some good bits of humor.
It's listed as an XC bike on Polygon's website. I'd say it's in this new breed of XC bikes that would have been called trail bikes 3-5 years ago. Whatever we wanna call it...it's just a rad bike!
Yo, I'm looking for a bike that is decent all around for like a 1 hour bike on gravel and then like a 10 minute ride commute to a coffee shop. Nothing crazy. Will this be ok for all of that??
