Ok singletrack,

I have the girlfriends 140mm revelations to build a 1×10/singlespeed around, not decided which yet… I’m just having trouble deciding what frame to go for!

Have thought about an on-one 456, dirt cheap but are they good and well made? An inbred maybe if they don’t do 456 anymore and just do the 456 evo (looks awful slack for uphill…)?

Other thoughts- cove handjob, identiti AKA, cotic soul, kinesis maxlight AK3, orange p7… basically what would you go for?

Before you ask what it’s going to be used for, well, everything! I live in glencoe so steep, rocky and rugged kinlochleven trails are the usual diet, the devils staircase is a nip out the front door but i want something I can ride uphill too… … plenty of varied scottish riding including cairngorm epics and north-west adventures. I ride a stumpjumper at the moment and want a simple hardtail to save the stumpy from getting such a hammering through the winter but also just miss my old hardtail!

Any suggestions or thoughts welcome!?!

tt.

Not ridden one yet, but I’m saving up for a cotic soul to go with my 140 revs. They get very good reviews on here, and well, I just like the look of them!

Cotic Soul does it for me big time.

In the same boat…saving for a Soul (but with shorter forks).

“don’t do 456 anymore and just do the 456 evo “
In steel yes

For 140mm forkability with 456 (not evo) geometry there is the 456 carbon for not much more. There was a thread on here the other day of people saying how they went from a 456 to a 456carbon and most reckoned the ride was much better iirc
The headtube will take an angle adjust h/set to make it 456evo angles if you wished in future

How much do you want to spend?

Budget, sadly not enough for a cove hummer!

£300-500.

Most decent frames seem to be in the £300-500 range for aluminium or steel, except on-one who are way under… I guess part of my question is is that just because it’s direct sales or is there something else? Am i getting more for the cotic/cove/identiti etc frame in terms of quality and is it worth the difference?

I’m vetoing carbon btw, too many rocks up here to break it on!

tt.

I love my Santa Cruz chameleon, and its got an eccentric BB so can be run geared or single speed easily.

Sobre Spam, or Sobre Off if you want something more gnarly

buy a used 456 ?

I quite like mine with adjustable forks !

I think building a light bike would be quite important so she can lift it over fences etc when needed. For that reason I wouldn’t bother with steel and the associated weight and rust issues. On One import cheap frames from the far east before putting their badge on them hence the price; they just happen to have got a cult following on this website and hence their constant brand-pushing.

Of those you mention the Kinesis would be my choice though I can’t see an AK3 model? Try:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=65382

Kinesis frames are very well built and nicely finished.

Well the problem I see is that you want to use an 140mm fork. That will put you in the “hardcarosih” part of the hardtail familly. If you could get it lowered at 120mm, you could use a sobre mutli, that weight 2.1 kg in medium and is rustproof treated the same way bromptons and cars are.

HTH

I guess part of my question is is that just because it’s direct sales or is there something else?

Well would ovalised headtube be something else?

Rust issues, LOL.

In the real world, how many owners of steel frames are suffering these rust issues?

I’ve been selling steel frames for 8 or 9 years now. Nobody has returned one citing rust issues.

Meanwhile, back on topic, with a budget of £300-£500, you’ll be able to get pretty much any steel or alloy frame you like, Tubbytwo.

Hands up everyone who’s broken a C456 on rocks?

Not me anyway. And I have broken the odd frame over the years.

At On-one, we design frames here, have them manufactured in Taiwan, painted, the badges put on there, some assembled into complete bikes.
We don’t “import frames and put our badge on”.

In the real world, how many owners of steel frames are suffering these rust issues?

Well mine broke mainly du to the inside being rust… But I find this to be part of a frame life.

was the tube significantly thinned or was it just orange ?

It was very rusty, like with some dust powder in the inside. But I am not complaning about it 😉