Our Best Mountain Bikes Under R90 000

by | Jan 2, 2023 | Buyer's Guide, Bike, Gear, Reviews & First Looks, Sports

We take a look at some of the top Mountain Bike offerings on the South African market in the sub R90 000 price category.

Finding a bike that gets you real value for money was quite tricky in the sub R60 000 range but we managed to scope out a few great options. Now moving the cap up to R90 000, we’re starting to see some of those “dream bikes” appearing. While this price bracket used to score you the top of the range components just a few years ago, that is no longer the case.

At under R90 000 you’ll still need to be quite discerning to find the bike that gets you appropriate bang for your buck. You’re spending proper money and should be getting proper performance in return.

These Are Our Best Mountain Bikes For Less Than R90000
In the R61000-R90000 price bracket, we are starting to see some dream bikes with world class levels of performance. (c) Trek

If you take a look at the bikes below you’ll find a whole lot of performance on tap from XCO to Enduro. If money is no object you could definitely go way out of this price range but beyond here the performance gains for increased spend do become much less significant.

If you rather want to go second hand with the budget you could pick up a real racing machine that hasn’t lost too much of it’s shine. Be sure to check out our second hand mountain bike buyer’s guide here to make sure check all the right things.

Alright! Let’s take a look at our top 5 mountain bike finds in the R90K to R61K price range.

Cannondale Scalpel Carbon 3

Price: R89 995

Hardtail or Full Sus: Full Sus

Material: Carbon

Description: The Cannondale Scalpel is a world up level race weapon. The Carbon 3 model has the silky smooth 100mm Lefty up front and a lively 100mm of rear travel to complement it. It is hard to find a carbon framed bike with matching carbon wheels under 90K and that is true for the scalpel as well. Of the XC and marathon bikes that we looked at, you’ll find a great value in the Scalpel Carbon 3!

Cannondale'S Scalpel Is A Race Winning Mountain Bike
The race bred Cannondale Scalpel (c) Cannnondale

Trek Top Fuel 9.7

Price: R80 000

Hardtail or Full Sus: Full Sus

Material: Carbon

Description: We mentioned the lower specced of the Top Fuel 5 in our Sub R45k group and have it here again. Trek has a really great lineup of bikes at the moment with excellently designed frames and well thought out specs. For an efficiency oriented trail bike with a carbon frame, the top fuel 9.7 is a great buy.

Trek'S Top Fuel Is A Highly Efficient Mountain Bike
A highly efficient trail blazing machine, the Trek Top Fuel (c) Trek

Specialized Stumpjumper Comp

Price: R90 000

Hardtail or Full Sus: Full Sus

Material: Carbon

Description: Another bike that featured in our Sub R45k bracket and now re-appears here in carbon clothing. The Stumpie is the quintessential trail bike and the Comp model has all you could need for a good time out on the trails! Fox Performance suspension, great tires, and a workhorse SLX groupset. 130mm rear – 140mm front travel.

Specialized Stump Jumper Is A Great Mountain Bike
Specialized’s Stumpjumper is the quintessential trail bike. (c) Specialized

Giant Trance X 29 1

Price: R72 790

Hardtail or Full Sus: Full Sus

Material: Alloy

Description: Like what the Stumpjumper has to offer but not keen on the Carbon frame? Save yourself a chunk of cash and get the same suspension, and groupset on the Giant Trance X 29 1 with a touch more travel (135/150mm – rear/front) to boot! The Trance X is a playful trail bike that is big on traction for railing corners.

The Giant Trance X Is A Great Aluminium Trail Mountain Bike For Less Than R75000
A well specced alloy workhorse, the Giant Trance X is a trail bike ready for action. (c) Giant

Trek Slash 8

Price: R75 000

Hardtail or Full Sus: Full Sus

Material: Alloy

Description: Yup another Trek, this one covering the Enduro category. The Slash has been highly acclaimed as a brilliantly refined enduro bike. 160mm of rear travel and 170mm up front delivered by RockShox, in-frame storage and great frame protection, superbly balanced geometry and an efficient pedalling platform for those big climbs! Tough to beat at that price point.

Trek Slash 8 Is A Great Enduro Mountain Bike For Less Than R80000
If enduro is your thing, the Slash 8 from Trek is one of the most well rounded packages on the market. (c) Trek

At 90K for a mountain bike it isn’t too likely you’ll be wanting to spend more on upgrading parts but if that is your plan, you can check out where to spend on component upgrades and where to save your cash here!

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