hi all,
I appreciate this is a fairly emotive and personal one but... what do people think the best hardcore hardtail is??
a few requirements:
- needs to be a complete bike, not frame only
- needs to be slack, light and jump well but yet still has to be a true all rounder
- i'm not convinced by steel as a frame material!
- needs to be between £1k and £1.5k
I currently run a Genesis Core 2011 and love it but i'm looking for a change...
Orange crush always gets great reviews.
i'm not convinced by steel as a frame material!
I'd give it a go before you rule it out! Awesome material for hardtails.
that was originally my first choice but the 2011 MY got pretty average reviews and at a glance the 2012 is unchanged??
I've had a Crush for a few years now, it's a decent bike. I took the bash guard off and put a 44t on the front I also put faster tyres on (racing ralph's at the moment). With those 'mods' it really is a good all-rounder. I have used it to commute, training rides, 60k tarmac charity ride, lots and lots of trail riding, etc. It will take on any terrain and never feels out of it's depth (unlike the rider!)
Oh and it's an Orange! 
oh also, mate of mine has had a Cove Stiffe and has a Cotic BFe, both good bikes, tough as well.
Orange Crush looks **** to be fair. Just looks like an XC bike with a slacker head angle and really long chainstays.
Looks can be deceptive! lol
It's no xc bike believe me.
On the plus side they've stopped peddling the Crush with 117s, now it's had a mighty upgrade to 119s 
So no longer completely inappropriate, but still ridiculously stingy on a £1500 taiwan-framed bike. Such a cynical bit of speccing, "What's the cheapest thing we can find with Mavic stickers on?"
I'd suggest you take a look at On One.
oranges biggest downfall..............ace frames, shyte components.
Can't see any problem with Taiwan made frames.
Carbon 456 looks good for £1,499, wonder where On One frames are made?
Can't see any problem with Taiwan made frames.Carbon 456 looks good for £1,499, wonder where On One frames are made?
Taiwan and China. They make good frames. They also dont rip you off with a shit spec on a £1500 bike.
Marin Rocky ridge's used to get good reviews, not that i've ridden one mind you, for me a hardtail shouldn't have any more than 100mm of travel.
I think what northwind was getting at was that considering how good value the taiwanese frames tend to be, the speccing of the Orange is anything but.
Obviously there's nothing wrong with taiwanese frames, I never said there was 
But it's part of the package, which all adds up to terrible value.
you start off good, and then restrict us...
needs to be between £1k and £1.5k
456Ti
No I really did wonder where On One frames were made. Although I did think it would probably be Taiwan 
- needs to be a complete bike, not frame only
- needs to be slack, light and jump well but yet still has to be a true all rounder
- i'm not convinced by steel as a frame material!
- needs to be between £1k and £1.5k
I currently run a Genesis Core 2011 and love it but i'm looking for a change...
Just reading through your requirements, I was immediately thinking Genesis Core! Probably best all round off the peg machine for what you describe in that price range to be quite honest. No point in changing just for the sake of it.
That said is there anything you specifically don't like about your current bike, or would change/improve? That might help more constructively with recommending different machines if you're still determined to change the bike.
I paid £860 for my 08 Crush when it was new. I didn't think I got a bad deal when I added the cost of all the components.
Although I do conceed Orange do seem a bit 'pricey' nowadays.
Either a Marin Rocky Ridge or Saracen Zen. I'd probably go for the zen if it was me, great bikes.
I currently run a Genesis Core 2011 and love it but i'm looking for a change...
If you love it, why change?
Im in a simular position and am looking into the Cotic soul build myself given its pretty much the best steel hardtail you can get without spending £1+ on frames.
But for jumps ect then you might want a BFe.
The carbon 456 is good frame but im pretty sure it isnt the best for doing jumps with.
SC Chameleon
Santa cruz chameleon?
We will be offering a full bike based around the Chumba HX1 frame for £1500
Chumba HX1 frame
Fox float 140mm RL qr9
Full shimano 2012 group set
MT 65 wheelset Disc tubeless C/lock
Truvativ bar, stem and post
Maxxis tyres
Chumba HX1 by srbwilson, on Flickr]null[/url]
Ive just upgraded from a genesis core 30 to a ragley blue pig. Yes its a steel frame but ive found it more comfy than the alluminum frame on the core 30. The PIG is a great frame, im running it with 140mm fox float upfront and its so sweet
Nick
Slightly less obvious choice but how about the Voodoo Wanga for £1000?
A couple of weeks ago there was 20% too making it a steal for £800 with Revs,mostly XT 10 speed drivetrain,Elixir Rs,decent Maxxis Minion tyres,etc.Think you might be able to sign up for offers if you subscribe via the Voodoo website.
Most decent bike shops will be able to put together a decent spec custom build for £1000-£1500, so no need to limit yourself to an off the peg bike/OEM components.
I had a Marin Rocky Ridge and loved the ride of it, big long forks and fat tyres for the jumpy descendy stuff, but a good position and plenty of gears for long distance XC (it was even race worthy, or at least I was passing folk on much racier bikes).
Got fed up fixing it though, the model year I bought had good forks (Fox Vanillas) but lousy brakes, crap hubs and a BB that lasted all of six months....
Whyte 905 replaced it, probably a little XC compared to what you're after but still fast and fun.
That Chumba ^ looks ace for the money.
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