Both Trek and Specialized have recently released new budget minded XC race bikes. These bikes are hardtails than retail for under $2000 (with the exception of the Procaliber 8). All of these bikes would make a great choice as your first race bike. Today we’re going to take a look at the spec sheets and try to determine, on paper at least, which bike is the best value. Check out the table at the bottom to compare all of the specs for yourself! Analysis Both the Specialized and the Trek are 29ers in most sizes. The Trek does come with the option of 27.5 wheels in its smallest size. 29ers are the standard for XC racing today, so anything else would be unexpected. In regards to the frames themselves the Specialized features a D’Aluisio Smartweld M5 welded frame. While those welds may be fancy the Trek arguably has more tricks up it’s sleeve in regards to frame construction with its IsoSpeed decoupler that allows the seattube to rotate independently from the toptube.  This feature, borrowed …