Great video, thanks for your review. Fingers crossed waiting for notice from bikesonline that it's back in stock so I can pull the trigger. My finalists were the T8 and the Norco Fluid. T8 won hands down. Keep sharing your rides. Thanks
Thanks for doing this bike review on a trail that I will actually be riding my new bike on. I live in MN. I'm down to this bike or the Marin Rift Zone 2. Any experience with the Rift Zone?
I do not have any experience with the Rift Zone, but I know about the bike. It is a 29 inch wheel and 125mm travel rear with 130mm up front. This fits in a category called down country and not quite trail, which the Siskiu T8 fits in. So if you plan to ride a lot of Minnesota trails the Rift Zone is fine. Although doing big drops, like the one at Monarch, isn't what the bike is designed for. So if you ride aggressive stuff I would recommend going into at least the trail bike category with 130 or 140 on the rear and 150 up front.
Your Siskiu T8 videos come at a great time as I'm away from my own T8 for about 10 days and I'm missing it. I'm not seeing that it's out of stock. Question: Is your Rustler carbon fiber? The Rustler Deore is currently on sale for $2559. It's Deore spec'd with a Rockshox 35 Silver TK and an RS Deluxe Select + and it's 35 lbs.Objectively, perhaps 34+ pounds is heavy but subjectively, comparing the T8 to other bikes with a lower component spec and a higher price, it seems competitive in the weight category. Love the vids! p.s. I agree about the grips. I have a pair of my favorite grips -purchased with the expectation of swapping out the T8's immediately but they're currently sitting on the shelf.
The Aluminum Rustler at $2559 is much lower spec than this bike and with Rockshox 35 forks and so on, it makes sense that it is heavier. For an SLX bike with Fox suspension, the T8 is about a pound or two heavier than other bikes. I am starting to think the weight is more or less in the wheels. I am going to toss my carbon wheels on it and see how it rides now that I have gotten the initial reviews done with it stock.
@@ShadLife That makes sense about the weight. However, the Fuel EX 8 is 34.51lbs for the medium frame, is slightly better spec's but lists for $4100. I think whats interesting about the whole thing is that spending less (on something like a Polygon) doesn't mean a sacrifice in component performance or durability. Another question for you: price aside, at what point would skill and ability outpace the T8? Thanks!
I do think many riders/companies don't care about weight as much as I do. It's been a trend lately. But a trail bike is technically supposed to be one step above an XC, or I guess now down country, bike. I do think if we go back just a few years, trail bikes are becoming yesterday's Enduro bikes. So does this explain why down country bikes now exist? Many riders do want a lighter and yet very capable bike. So to me a 34 pound bike feels pretty heavy and not as agile and easy to ride all trails with. My carbon Rustler actually feels like a great all around bike that I could easily ride 25 - 30 miles or more on and yet still shred when the shredding gets good. That is the purpose of a trail bike, or at least it used to be. So in the video I mentioned that the Siskiu T8 feels more like an enduro bike than a trail bike. As for skill level, I think the Siskiu T8 would definitely work great for a more advanced rider. It might lack the suspension settings they want, but aside from that the bike doesn't really have any limitations beyond the amount of travel. So to answer your question more accurately, I would label it as a lesser travel enduro bike that is plenty capable of handling any skill level.
@@ShadLife Yeah, when I started riding, weight was everything. Titanium this and that. These days I'm less concerned as I'm not competing, extra weight probably provides a better work out (or at least I tell myself) and I'm not sure if a pound or two is worth a thousand dollars. I am surprised that the T8 doesn't feel sluggish to me, even when climbing. Thanks Shad!
It's definitely not an XC bike. In the video, even though it doesn't have the travel of an enduro bike I said it rides more like an enduro bike. It depends on what you mean by long uphill days. If you are doing uphill rides so you can go do downhill runs, great. If you are doing more of a point to point longer ride with a lot of climbing, it's definitely going to be a lot of work.
How does it pedal? I'm in Houston and don't want something that pedals like a dog. Have you had the issue where the shifter cable gets pulled in to the frame?
This was a year ago. I tested this bike for a short period and no longer have it. It pedaled okay and better than I expected it to. But it's not a super snappy bike or climber.
Love it! Thank you for filming this 5 months ago...hehe
The T8 is insanely spec'd for the price. Damn good bike that is underrated
Nice riding! Thanks for creating this video!
Thanks so much! Mine gets here tomorrow ❤
Updates at Monarch are so fun nice video!
Great video, thanks for your review. Fingers crossed waiting for notice from bikesonline that it's back in stock so I can pull the trigger. My finalists were the T8 and the Norco Fluid. T8 won hands down. Keep sharing your rides. Thanks
First thing I changed was the pads and rotors.. made a huge difference in braking performance.
what did you get if i may ask?
@@boblarsen7984 I replaced the resin only rotors with Shimano XT and the brake pads with Zee/Saint metallic pads.
I can’t wait I’m saving up to buy one
Great video! Yes, awesome bike for the price! I've just got mine!
Enjoy!
man this park looks like a ton of fun
Nice! I was waiting for this one. I gotta get out there soon.
Nice mate, you shred that thing. Awesome. Probably grabbing one of these tomorrow for $1000 USD. Worth a try i reckon..hi from NZ
It's a great bike, especially for $1k!
There seems to still be an issue with supply chain. Some bikes and not just polygon will ship with parts not on the spec sheet
I recently bought my wife one and liked it so much that I bought myself another. Only mod so far is the saddle
Thanks for doing this bike review on a trail that I will actually be riding my new bike on. I live in MN.
I'm down to this bike or the Marin Rift Zone 2.
Any experience with the Rift Zone?
I do not have any experience with the Rift Zone, but I know about the bike. It is a 29 inch wheel and 125mm travel rear with 130mm up front. This fits in a category called down country and not quite trail, which the Siskiu T8 fits in.
So if you plan to ride a lot of Minnesota trails the Rift Zone is fine. Although doing big drops, like the one at Monarch, isn't what the bike is designed for. So if you ride aggressive stuff I would recommend going into at least the trail bike category with 130 or 140 on the rear and 150 up front.
I’ll just warn you, the rear shock tends to loose quite a lot of air every few rides.
@@Lucas_mtb69 That shouldn't happen so if it does you have a defective shock.
@@ShadLife I’ve found that a lot of people have had this issue. It’s not very noticeable but still something to keep in mind.
it's back in stock
Wow! It is and it's still $1999!! Crazy!
Your Siskiu T8 videos come at a great time as I'm away from my own T8 for about 10 days and I'm missing it. I'm not seeing that it's out of stock. Question: Is your Rustler carbon fiber? The Rustler Deore is currently on sale for $2559. It's Deore spec'd with a Rockshox 35 Silver TK and an RS Deluxe Select + and it's 35 lbs.Objectively, perhaps 34+ pounds is heavy but subjectively, comparing the T8 to other bikes with a lower component spec and a higher price, it seems competitive in the weight category.
Love the vids!
p.s. I agree about the grips. I have a pair of my favorite grips -purchased with the expectation of swapping out the T8's immediately but they're currently sitting on the shelf.
Yes, my Rustler is Carbon and upgraded with all XT components.Except right now I am trying out GX AXS electronic shifting on it. Not much is stock.
The Aluminum Rustler at $2559 is much lower spec than this bike and with Rockshox 35 forks and so on, it makes sense that it is heavier. For an SLX bike with Fox suspension, the T8 is about a pound or two heavier than other bikes. I am starting to think the weight is more or less in the wheels. I am going to toss my carbon wheels on it and see how it rides now that I have gotten the initial reviews done with it stock.
@@ShadLife That makes sense about the weight. However, the Fuel EX 8 is 34.51lbs for the medium frame, is slightly better spec's but lists for $4100. I think whats interesting about the whole thing is that spending less (on something like a Polygon) doesn't mean a sacrifice in component performance or durability. Another question for you: price aside, at what point would skill and ability outpace the T8?
Thanks!
I do think many riders/companies don't care about weight as much as I do. It's been a trend lately. But a trail bike is technically supposed to be one step above an XC, or I guess now down country, bike.
I do think if we go back just a few years, trail bikes are becoming yesterday's Enduro bikes. So does this explain why down country bikes now exist?
Many riders do want a lighter and yet very capable bike. So to me a 34 pound bike feels pretty heavy and not as agile and easy to ride all trails with. My carbon Rustler actually feels like a great all around bike that I could easily ride 25 - 30 miles or more on and yet still shred when the shredding gets good. That is the purpose of a trail bike, or at least it used to be.
So in the video I mentioned that the Siskiu T8 feels more like an enduro bike than a trail bike.
As for skill level, I think the Siskiu T8 would definitely work great for a more advanced rider. It might lack the suspension settings they want, but aside from that the bike doesn't really have any limitations beyond the amount of travel. So to answer your question more accurately, I would label it as a lesser travel enduro bike that is plenty capable of handling any skill level.
@@ShadLife Yeah, when I started riding, weight was everything. Titanium this and that. These days I'm less concerned as I'm not competing, extra weight probably provides a better work out (or at least I tell myself) and I'm not sure if a pound or two is worth a thousand dollars. I am surprised that the T8 doesn't feel sluggish to me, even when climbing.
Thanks Shad!
Wow, your T8 come with SLX cassette and crankset, mine come with crap Sunrace cassette and m410 crankset...
I think it depends what size you get
The 2024 still has a sunrace 52 tooth but it's a solid cassett. Slx groupset
Little pro-tip for those jumps that are a little short...pre-load the suspension and scrub the top of the lip.
Just ordered one today my bike I got from offer up decided to die today 😢
Thought's on using this bike for long uphill day's? Do you think its too heavy?
It's definitely not an XC bike. In the video, even though it doesn't have the travel of an enduro bike I said it rides more like an enduro bike. It depends on what you mean by long uphill days. If you are doing uphill rides so you can go do downhill runs, great. If you are doing more of a point to point longer ride with a lot of climbing, it's definitely going to be a lot of work.
How does it pedal? I'm in Houston and don't want something that pedals like a dog.
Have you had the issue where the shifter cable gets pulled in to the frame?
This was a year ago. I tested this bike for a short period and no longer have it.
It pedaled okay and better than I expected it to. But it's not a super snappy bike or climber.
Hey, dude I noticed you're running a size small. If you don't mind how tall are you? And how does the bike feel compared to your height?
I am 5' 7" tall with a 30" inseam. The bike felt spot on size wise for me.
Are the pads possibly contaminated? I’d take them out and hit them and the rotors with some Brake Kleen.
The bike is brand new and the bed in process should make the brakes bite better.
I just got the bike in for review last week.
First
Aw, aren't you a special little tiger.
@@jimwing.2178 thank you for noticing