Hello work collegue is looking for a hardcore hardtail, all day rides NW, Lakes, Settle and Peaks/Trail centres like Gisburn and so on, he is 6ft Mid life crisis man and currently rides a trance 4 old blue one. I have suggested a Dialled bikes PA as it will do all he wants and has a bit of spring in the steel, he thinks in no order

Dialled Alpine
Ragley Blue Pig
On One 456.

Any views on what sizing for him and what owners/peoples experiences are?

All great bikes, 456 cheapest though, that should be all the incentive he needs.

(Sorry for the jack, did you flog your titus hicksville?)

I can only speak for the Alpine

Really good bike, especially when pointing down with a big fork.

But i'm sure the others are just as good.

Speak to Brant/Mike and they are usually very good at sizing questions

If you want a really hardcore hardtail you could buy my Orange Subzero frame! 🙂

Only got large/19" Prince Alberts in stock at the moment. But they're going cheap.

The new Reynolds 725 CEN compliant version due around Spring 2010.

swift I did sell the titus……thanks for asking.

sparking……sorry steel only!

Mike what would be best size in PA or alpine for him, I thought med?

The 456 is a favourite of mine.
Shouldn't just look at steel tho.
Check out the pace 305 or whyte 19.
Not so sure about the new crop of slack hardtails
for a jack of all trades bike. Best to try and get
a ride comparison.

If you can get him onto Ally instead of steel, the Pace is a great idea, i love my 303.

Pig, Pig, Pig
I`m a Pig convert

I am 6ft and an 18" is perfect imo

Not sure how "mid life" your mate is but I am in my ftys

I ride a Dialled Alpine. Im 5'8" and ride the 16" , so you would deffo need an 18" +?

Some say why "waste" an Alpine on trail riding. I dont think thats wasting it. Its a great trail bike and with my Pike 140mm forks seems to climb better than my old Cove Handjob. If you want long travel still with the right angles on a hardtail its the way to go. It does weigh 5 1/2 lbs for the frame but it certainly doesnt feel heavy at all when riding or climbing. Tyre clearance is great too. The top tube feels fairly long and it is very stable on the downhills.

I also use it on the 4X & Dual at Chicksands and it is spot on in terms of handling.

slight hijack but this might be a good place to ask.

what forks can you run on an OLD Prince Albert?

oh, and for what it's worth i've got an Alpine and find that it is a top bike. wind the forks in and you can tackle xc/normal riding easily, the only drawback being the relatively high BB.

it climbs well and descends like it's possessed on the right trails and very competently on slower technical trails.

anyway, the PA? forks?

cheers

J

Blazing Saddles in Hebden Bridge have an 18" Ragley Ti that he could try. Same geometry as the Blue Pig.

http://www.blazingsaddles.co.uk/

Had an MK1 PA first batch I think, ran a Magura 125mm fork and then a maz Z1….does that help

I'm going to ruin everything by saying it has to be an Evil Sovereign. And I've not even ridden any of the 3 suggested. I want to have babies with my Sov and it's not even built.

sam you dirty bugger.
going all black/gold aren't you? it'll be sweet. like chocolate and sex!

you going to laggan next sunday btw?

Hicksville, if your mate is around 6ft he can opt for a medium/17" frame (as an all rounder including jumps and drops) or a large/19" frame (if he keeps his wheels on the ground).

Alpin, all Prince Alberts seem to work with between 120mm to 140mm of fork travel.

Fortunateson09 – Member

I'm going to ruin everything by saying it has to be an Evil Sovereign. And I've not even ridden any of the 3 suggested. I want to have babies with my Sov and it's not even built.

why suggest something that you haven't even ridden?

@hicksville, how much travel do z1's have? can i run lyriks (U-turn) on a PA?

Alpin, if I recall correctly, those old 130mm Z1s were about 20-25mm longer than the equivalent travel RS and Fox models at the time.

Back in 2004 when the first Prince Albert came out, I think the most popular fork for them were the Fox 130mm Vanillas and a 120mm Marzocchi (I can picture the fork but I can't remember the name of it). Nowadays, most people seem to run a 140mm Pike.

cheers mike.

it's for a mate whom i've convinced to try and learn how to ride a bike properly. he wants to swap pretty much everything from his FS to a HT, inc. his Lyriks.

cheers

alpin – Member

Fortunateson09 – Member
I'm going to ruin everything by saying it has to be an Evil Sovereign. And I've not even ridden any of the 3 suggested. I want to have babies with my Sov and it's not even built.

why suggest something that you haven't even ridden?[/quote]

he has ridden them before alpin.
regularly borrowed one from someone else, until he has now bought his own.

ahh, that's cleared that one up.

Orange Crush?

Mike is right the old maz Z1 was a long fork great but very long. Any other owners out there with opinions?

I'm 6' and have a 19" 853 PA, run it with 130mm revs, and I think its a great bike, tends to come out of the shed more often than the full sus bike, even for long rides.

456 every time, I love mine to bits, it goes up and down everything I can throw at it (Peak).
The others may be a little better, but ffs they're 2 or 3 times the money!

A

With the PA, I am 6'1" and ride a 17" PA which is great for all day rides as well as handling jumps and drops.

I'm 5'11", 85kg and ride a commencal 4x short. I use it for 4X racing but also for blasting the woods. The only thing I am changing is the fork to drop some extra weight. I have to say its the best handling bike I have ridden for 4X and blast the trials. Its like a BMX on steriods.

I'm 6'and ride a 17' Alpine with 70mm stem and 140mm Pikes. Ive used my 06 Z1s at 130mm and they were an ickle bit longer than the pikes.

z1's at 130mm are the same length as pikes at 140mm.

518mm axle to crown

You can lower z1's (withini reason) if you want though

I have suggested a Dialled bikes PA as it will do all he wants and has a bit of spring in the steel

Builds into a heafty bike, and there ain't much "spring" going on in those pipes.

The Trail Shot I am riding is spot on in this category.

I have owned an Evil, and back in the day a Band Wagon – and I loved them both. Those 2 bikes were both more biased to certain aspects of "hardcore trail bike" riding, the Trail Shot is the best all round and most usable bike I have ridden. It has done all the loops at Afan with me, and I have enjoyed every minute. It has been to several BMX tracks and pump tracks and I have has handled faultlessly (although I did sort of wish I still had my Evil DOC). My bike differs from the standard one in that I have a a coil in the fork, just as all forks should have 🙂

Can I go against the grain and suggest buying a 5" forks and sticking it on his Trance, they work well apparently.
At worst he could always move it onto a 'hardcore' hardtail later…

grimtech how much was the Felt?

z1's at 130mm are the same length as pikes at 140mm.

518mm axle to crown

Wrong. Z1s are 518.5mm. 😛

I have suggested a Dialled bikes PA as it will do all he wants and has a bit of spring in the steel

Builds into a heafty bike, and there ain't much "spring" going on in those pipes.

Yeh, thats it. if your building a 'hardcore hardtail' you definitely dont want a hefty bike, Id be aiming for at the most, a 22lb weight.

Although biased I'll wade in with the PA too. I'm just over 6' 1" and ride the 17" model with layback post and 65mm stem. It's a great do it all bike and isn't particularly heavy for what it is. I've no idea what mine weighs but it feels quite nimble and zingy despite the big 2.4 tyres currently fitted. The 145mm Nixons suit it well but I've also had my Fox 36's on it which surprisingly worked very well.

Santa Cruz Chameleon!!!

@Soma_rich

It was £1150 and the coil and top out spring bits and pieces to convert the fork were out of my own spares.

I've got a med PA listed at the moment search the classifieds

Heft is relative given that a frame is less than 20% of a complete bike's weight, so most of the heft is in the components, not the frame.

If people want a bike they can thrash hard, they tend to kit it out in burlier kit too (e.g. sturdier rims, fatter tyres, bigger discs, etc).