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As winter turns to spring and Mountain Biking seas son is right around the corner, many people are looking to get into the sport and purchase their first bike.
Trek Roscoe 7
The Trek Roscoe 7 is a mid-fat trial hardtail with 27.5+ wheels and plus-sized tires, a plush suspension fork, and a wide range drivetrain with gears to spear.
The aluminum frame has good protection for a hardtail.
The Trek Roscoe 7 has a parallel seat, 65-degree head tube angle, space for 2 water bottles, semi-internal cabling and comes in multiple sizes so each rider can find one that fits them perfectly.
Is the trek Roscoe 7 a cross country bike?
So, what does that mean for the new riders? This makes the Trek Roscoe 7 stable for beginners to get their footing in the sport and experiment with both cross country and trial riding.
For the more experienced rider, this bike has the capability to handle the more extreme trails and the chain stay lengths is short of 430 mm, which delivers a playful handling.
The breaks are the one aspect that could use some upgrading; however, beginner riders won’t find this as much of an issue.
Trek Roscoe 7 Alternatives
How does the Trek Roscoe 7 stand up to some competitors? Depending on your budget or experience level, there are a few contenders out there:
Vitus Neculas 29 VRS-
The Vitus Neculas 29 VRS is built from lightweight and strong aluminum, has a threaded bottom bracket and externally routed gear and brake cables for easy maintenance. Although no dropper post, there’s a cable port on the top of the down tube if you want to add one later, which allows this bike to grow with the rider.
With a stiff frame and good tires, this bike is better suited for surface trails compared to natural terrain.
Cannondale Trail SE 4
The Cannondale Trail SE4, however, has a frame and feature components that allows this bike designed for low-impact trials, gravel roads, and leisure rides to adapt to more intense trials.
The selling point of this bike is its adaptability to future upgrades: the tapered head tube makes the fame compatible with almost all modern forks, and has both front and rear boots axles that give the rider plenty of flexibility to upgrade down the road; has a Boost axle spacing and a 1x drivetrain and dropper post compatibility; if you upgrade the fork, you wont need to change the front wheel to match.
Merida Big Trail 500
The Merida may not be the first bike to come to mind when looking for a hardtail, but its capability and details make it a good option for those with a tight budget.
The aluminum frame with double-butted tubes and real axle spacing on 29in wheels has a tapered-steerer fork allowing for upgrades.
However, the geometry stands out most on this bike- unlike modern bikes that are moving towards longer, more stable geometry, the Merida has a shorter frame that varies in thickness- something to keep in mind when shopping.
Spealised Fuse 27.5 (2021)
This bike is a real competitor – The frame is compatible with 29er hoops, too, but has a 10mm longer head tube than the Fuse 29 and a bottom bracket (BB) height optimized for the smaller wheels.
Features include a Boost rear axle, threaded BB and two bottle mounts. Cables are routed internally from the head tube to BB.
The former is compatible with a tapered-steerer fork, adding more upgradability.
This is a premium-feeing bike that is best suited for trial centers. And for all that, the price point is not much higher than the Trek Roscoe 7.
Final Thoughts
After looking at some competitors, there are not many beginner bikes in the same range that out-preform the Trek Roscoe 7.
While the brakes and dropper posts are the bikes biggest flaws, those can be upgraded over time.
Furthermore, the Roscoe’s new geometry should keep it relevant for a while. This bike can grow with you as a rider as you transition from beginner to more experienced mountain biker.
And the adaptability means this bike can handle trails as well as cross country.
One last comment for the beginners looking to purchase a new bike, whether it be the Trek Rosco 7 or an alternative: the pandemic is still having an affect on the supply chain for bikes. This is resulting in a shortage and months of backorders for mountain bikes all over the country. When ordering your bike, be prepared to wait months for it to become available.
Robert is a passionate outdoorsman who spends most of is time outside in nature. He regularly goes on hikes with his solid black German shepherd (her name’s Mara), spends time camping in his new Airstream Basecamp 20x, and much more.