I am an experienced bicyclist who bought this bike to try out a 1X fat tire drop-bar MTB. I plan to do the GDMBR in 2024 on it. I purchased the mid-tier bike positioned between the Radar Expert and the Radar X Pro for two reasons: 1) the Radar Expert has a different frame w/different geometry and vastly fewer mount ruling it out, and the Pro is spec'ed with 23mm inner wheel diameters while this one is 25mm (which is more suitable for wider tires). Is it up to the rigors of a 3000 mi offroad trail? Time will tell.

The Good: It is a really good value, especially on sale at 20% off for the Holidays. It is an attractive bike, and can fit up to 2.4" (some say 2.5 ") tires making it suitable for off-road adventures. It has a good amount of mounts for bikepacking.

The Not So Good: I gave it 4 stars, and would select 3.5 stars if that option was available. The lesser star rating is due to a manufacturing defect that really should not have made it past QC. One of the rack mount holes was drilled off-center (see left rack mounting hole in the picture). I had to bend the rack stay to accommodate this. Not a big deal, but it makes me wonder if there are other defects that I might discover later. Additionally, the rear brake line runs half-way between the rear tire and the chain stay (frame). I will zip tie it under. Again no big deal, but why was it designed this way? A muddy day might rip the brake line or at least cause more drag on the rear wheel.

It is OK as delivered for casual mixed use, but for serious bikepacking several tweaks are needed. First, the "reach" (seat to bars) is way too long, and the "stack" (height of the bars) is too low. I put on a much shorter and higher stem, and may also go with a stem extender. Additionally, it does not have even close to a low enough gear to climb hills, especially when carrying a load. I have an 11-46 cassette OTW to replace the 11-42, and a 34T ring to replace the 38T (SRAM says 11-42 is max, but several YOUTube videos confirm that an 11-46 will work fine with only tweaking of the B-screw). The down side to my new gearing is that I will top out at 24MPH. Fortunately I don't care much about top speed.

One thing I found curious... There is only a 3-pack mount on only one of the seat stays. Why not both? I would have to give up running a rack to use the 3-pack mount, and I would want two of them if I were to do that.

Despite the defect and the changes that I need to do, I still think this bike for the price-point is the best option to run 29" wide tubeless tires on a budget. Any bike is going to need stuff done to it for serious bikepacking. This bike is a good introduction into that realm.