Thinking about getting a trail friendly (i.e. suspension, trail geo, wide rims etc.) hardtail for year round riding but with plenty of mounts for Spring/Summer bikepacking trips.

What bikes should be on my shortlist?

Got these so far…

Bombtrack Cale
Marin Pine Mountain
Sonder Frontier
Salsa Timberjack
Merida Big.Trail
Surly Karate Monkey
Cotic Solaris Max
Brother Cycles Big Bro

Any others I should consider?

Kona must have something and I didn’t realise that the Big Bro could be set up with suspension forks

Do you need to limit yourself to something with mounts? Presumably on that sort of bike, in the summer, you're not going to be carrying much kit, so a bar bag, seat pack, and maybe some small bags (possibly a rucksack if necessary) would do? You're not going to want fork cages on a suspension fork (I assume).

TBH it's not something I'd consider much anyway - bikepacking bags tend to strap on anywhere. I do have a rigid bike with quite a few mounts, including on the fork, and having options for bottles is useful, but it doesn't seem a big deal to me.

As above, I'd buy the bike I liked and work my luggage round it.

As you've got the Solarismax on the list, then an alternative is the Santa Cruz Chameleon.

Given the current state of the bike market, I'd recommend going for whatever's in stock.

Landslide wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 10:58 am Given the current state of the bike market, I'd recommend going for whatever's in stock.

^^^^ This.
On a serious note, as an owner of a bike with lots of mounts that I hardly ever use (even when bikepacking) I'd echo the sentiments of those who say pick the one that you fancy most or that will ride the best. The Sonder Signal ST would be on my shortlist (especially if funds are restricted).

Same here - bottle cage is mounted to the bike and that's it. Everything else is strapped/bodged as required.

If you're buying a bike for bikepacking I'd be much more interested in finding something with the right geometry - comfort vs how much climbing are you likely to be doing vs how much will you want to let loose on the descents etc.

Pipedream Sirius S5.

In Reverse wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:29 pm comfort vs how much climbing are you likely to be doing vs how much will you want to let loose on the descents etc.

Misconception.

Can't say more, off for a ride on a comfy bike that climbs really well and descends superb.

Not everyone is as capable a rider as you Gian

edit to say "vs" is probably the wrong way of phrasing it in my post, but there are bikes that are clearly aimed for different bits of the Venn diagram covering those three variables. If you find one in the sweet spot for you then happy days

In Reverse wrote: ↑Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:50 pm Not everyone is as capable a rider as you Gian

edit to say "vs" is probably the wrong way of phrasing it in my post, but there are bikes that are clearly aimed for different bits of the Venn diagram covering those three variables. If you find one in the sweet spot for you then happy days

I imagine a beginner can profit even more from a well balanced geometry..?

Yeah, the versus part... well, bikes like the Kona Honzo or Kona Unit can bridge the mentioned variables very well.

I've not ridden the Pipedream Sirius S5, but from what the numbers indicate (and the fanstastic experience I have from another Pipedream frame), I like to think it balances comfort, climbing and decending on all sorts of terrain really well too.
This may not be my last recommendation of the Sirius for a do it all hardtail frame

I've got a Kona unit.
Jury's out. It's a bit odd, can't quite put my finger on why just yet as I've not ride it loads. Likely I'm just not used to the steep seatpost.

Heavy too, tho lighter and nicer finished than the last surly I had. Which rode fine but was very stiff.