I've agreed to buy a mates Handjob as he needs the money and i fancy a hardtail to go alongside my 5.

I'm just wondering on what sort of builds people are running?

His bike is currently specced with Fox Talas forks (QR), Hope M4's and Hubs, and various Race Face bits.

The brakes will go as i don't need want 4 pots on it especially with a 200mm front rotor!

I've havn't ridden a hardtail for 4 years but feel as though my 5 is way too much for local singletrack etc.

Don't have a pic handy but the build is
RS Recons 100mm (would like to change to some 120mm Reba bolt thrus)
Mix of deore / XT
LX brakes
Hope ProII with Mavic 719s.

Its great on singletrack and there's not much I'd change on it

Pic is a bit out of date as it has Crosstrail wheels and Avid brakes now.
Thinking of changing the forks to 120mm as they are a tad long. Lovely bike though.

Again, don't have a piccie to hand but here's the spec;

ETA: It's a 15.5-inch / small frame and I'm 5'8" and 15-Stone.

100mm Reba forks
50mm Thomson stem
Race Face Deus XC riser bars
Race Face Deus Chainset
Avid Juicy Carbon brakes 160/140mm
Sram X-9 Gripshift
Shimano SLX front mech
Sram X-0 rear mech
Thomson seatpost
SDG Ti Fly saddle
Hope XC hubs
Mavic XC717 rims

No idea how much it weighs but it's noticeably lighter than my 30lb Hustler.

Rides brilliantly, a real trail and singletrack missile – even with 'just' 100mm up front. Can take upto a 130mm fork but I think 100mm is the sweet spot. I'd like to try it with some rigid forks sometime – well when I get a spare £100.

It's a 17.5" frame and I'm 5'7
140mm Floats
70mm Thomson stem
Race Face Deus Chainset
Formula K18s
Element bars
X9 shifters
XT front, X0 rear
Sram X-0 rear mech
Charge spoon Ti
ProII front, DT 240S rear on 719s

now with wind down Pikes, 160mm rear rotor, Rampages, i'd really like some 20mm Revelations in wind down n black but Pikes were cheapish, bolt through forks are great!

RJ

Thought the longest fork you could have in a handjob was 130mm ?

Nice bike qwerty. My Hustler, Stiffee and G-Spot are matt green. My Handjob is white and I wondered what it would look like in matt green.

Nice bikes chaps….can't wait to get mine.

Having spent 4 out of 5 years of MTB on a full-sus i think my technique will have to change abit! But's thats kind of the point of getting one. Guess i feel like i'm getting abit bored of the magic carpet ride full-sus offers, i just don't need it for my local riding or smoother trails elsewhere.

Just need to decide on sticking with flat pedals or go with SPD's, which i use i on my road bike?????

Go on then. Superb bike.

Beerbelly, in theory you'd be right. I've even got the wee spacer things to drop them down to 120 or 130, but every time I point it down a hill I think "Nah, I'll just leave 'em". Climbs in an entirely acceptable manner too.

Ooh, I've just seen the white one …

In its final guise it was running an 80mm Titec stem, Titec El Norte 690mm bars, a mix of Deore, XT, XTR and Hope, with a few other nice naughty bits here and there.

If building again I'd put on a shorter stem and change the forks – the Minutes are plush when moving, but it takes quite a thump to get through the SPV.

Actually, if I was building it again I'd get a bigger size – I'm 6ft and this came up a little on the short side, hence it's now a frame one wash and a polish away from ebay, so if you fancy a 17.5" 2007 HJ frame, make me an offer! 😉

Not to put you off, but this is what could happen if you use 140mm forks http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/agrrrrr-ive-broke-another-frame-o

Mine, owned for 2.5years now. With Hope XC/Mavic 717, XT chainset, Juicy 7 and Fox F120 RL the bike weighs (allegedly) under 25lbs… It can't be much more than a pound heavier than that! Upgrading soon to QR15 F120s, Saint/XT brakes and DT Swiss 5.1d's. I've been using an 80mm stem for all the time I've owned it, but think a 90mm would be more comfy. And I'm 5'11" and ride the 17.5" (rj must have freaky long legs!)

Glad to see i've chosen well…

Deluded….that looks identical to one i've seen many a time in my LBS, and always drooled over. It just looks right!

You wouldn't be Bristol based by chance?

My mates not sure what size it is though!…could be a 17.5 or 19.5.

At 5'10" a 17.5 would be fine but 19.5 too big or not?????

Oh well, its stupid cheap so we'll see.

I like plenty of seatpost (oo-er missus) and I think the 19.5" wouldn't have allowed me to drop the saddle enough.

They're a bit too pricey for me, but they do look lovely. Has anyone built up one of the nice new 2010 green ones?

I think they look fab!

I'm a tadge over 5'10" and the medium is fine for me. Can imagine it'd be small for a 6 footer though.

Blue frame looks good DezB.

I want an Orange one!

nickegg,

I am Bristol based. You must have seen my bike, was it at Phills in Clevedon? There can be only one. 😉

Deluded – I know Phil well, been my LBS for 4 years although not so local now as the new BadAssBikes shop is technically more local!Nice bike BTW.

Zaskar – Mine/Mates is bright Orange BTW 😀

Got the bike at last…..

Spec is: 17.5 frame (Nivacrom tubing),
Fox TALAS RL (95-130mm),
Hope Mono M4 brakes,
XT cranks, front mech and cassette,
Sram X9 rear mech and shifters,
Race Face Deus XC seatpost, stem, grips and headset,
Bontrager carbon bar,
Hope Pro 2 front/XC rear hubs and Mavic XC717 rims,
Specialized Resolution 2.3 tyres and Alias saddle.

Got my first proper ride on it tomorrow at Brechfa so can't wait to try it out.

Before It died

Dead

Oh here you go (again!)

Nickegg,

Nice. Untold pleasure awaits!

All the best.

Thanks Deluded….maybe i'll bump into you sometime.

Nickegg,

I ride with a couple of other lads up Ashton Court, Mendips, Cwm Carn, Afan etc and over Tickenham Ridge (Cadbury Camp) etc.

Wednesdays we go on a night ride.

Got to get over a shoulder injury but after that I'm gonna step it up this year (need to lose a few pounds for projected 2010 wedding!). If you wanna go for a ride-out feel free to Email me, address in profile.

All the best.

nickegg – Member

Thanks Deluded….maybe i'll bump into you sometime.

Check your downtube if you do…

Sorry????

nickegg – Member

Thanks Deluded….maybe i'll bump into you sometime.

nickegg – Member

Sorry????

You will be if you fold your new downtube…

Just returned from my first ride and i'm well impressed!

We didn't bother with Brechfa and did the Penhyyd trail at Afan instead. I couldn't believe how well it climbs!! I didn't know what to expect having only ridden a hardtail for my first year of riding.

I found myself popping and jumping off any little roots/bumps etc and generally just flying along! It's just so much bloody good fun.

I guess i've just led a sheltered full-sus life up until now!

17.5" frame, I'm 5'10.5"

Reba Races @ 115mm
RaceFace Deus XC finishing kit
RaceFace Evolve XC Crankset
Shimano SLX/LX gears & brakes
Mavic Cross Ride Wheelset

Cracking bike, brilliant on woody single track, seems to suit forks at around 115mm best IMHO, I swapped a set of U-turn revs for the Reba Races and it's a much better bike for it.

Can't get photos uploaded on this site so here is a link to my Cove Handjob, was thinking of selling it but not sure now tho…think i may love it too much, got an Orange 5 pro aswell mind you which is just superb in every situation. Anyway im whittering, click the link (ignore the water bottle and holder, i just use it for quick blasts round the local area) http://www.moredirt.co.uk/ratebike.php?id=16382

Nick,

Excellent. New you would enjoy it. The HJ is built for 'Hidden Valley' on the Penhydd.

All the best.

1981miked….Don't sell it!….unless you have to of course.

I'm only 1 ride into my ownership of mine but i absolutly love it (so far!). I bought mine to ride my local wooded singletrack but found it great fun at Afan today.

I love my Orange 5 Pro too but it's overkill for nearly all my local riding and i think it'll be fun to switch between the two.

Steve_b77…i experimented with my forks throughout the whole ride and will continue to do so but i too felt i found a happy medium somewhere around the 115-120mm travel setting, 130mm felt odd. Some more fiddling to do i suspect.

Larry – I enjoyed Hidden Valley so much i did it twice and made my wife take several photos too!

Yeah they definitely suit a light fork at around 115 – 120mm, can never figure out why people put Pikes etc on them, they're not really the bike for that.

Mines an older frame, but in fairness I've had a couple of years off mountain biking, so while it is a (?) 2003 frame, and was only built in 2004, it's only had about 3 years use in that time. Note the canti-bosses on the seat stays.
Build is mostly XT drivetrain, Manitou Black forks (100/120mm travel), Easton bars & stem, Synchros post, Flite saddle. Formula B4 brakes, 180/140mm discs. I'm a bigger rider but still find the 19" bike maybe a touch too big, however I'm just a trail rider, so it does the job well. Regarding fork travel, the older frames are meant to run 100mm max, which I did used to run, but seeing as it is well out of warranty I've started running 120mm, and it rides better with the longer travel – mostly because the fork is working better on the longer setting, running at the same air pressure as i had in it when it was on 100mm.