Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 101 total)
  • Trail/AM hardtails – spoilt for choice!
  • Bigmantrials
    Full Member

    I was drawn to the Production Privee Shan GT when it was shown originally, however I recently saw the new NS Eccentric Cromo 29 which might just be the frame that eventually takes my money. Geometry wise it is a little longer than the Shan GT, which would be nice at 6ft4!

    pickle
    Free Member

    My god those Tyres! truly awful

    NormalMan
    Full Member

    Pimpmaster Jazz – Member
    I did. Love what Cy is doing (and plenty of others do, obviously), but did not get on with my mk1 Solaris.

    Any reason why you didn’t get on with it?

    No flaming or anything. Had mine 2 years but looking back over the past year ice realised how little I’ve used it. Trying to work out why and if it’s time to move on.

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    JAG
    Full Member

    150mm BFe is just the dogs doodaa’s

    My BFe is 26″ wheels and 160mm travel but basically – I agree with this.

    mccraque
    Full Member

    Pimpmaster Jazz – Member
    I did. Love what Cy is doing (and plenty of others do, obviously), but did not get on with my mk1 Solaris.
    Any reason why you didn’t get on with it?

    No flaming or anything. Had mine 2 years but looking back over the past year ice realised how little I’ve used it. Trying to work out why and if it’s time to move on.

    Curious. I built one up at the start of the year, mk2, in plus flavour. I can’t stop riding it. There’s an element of new bike syndrome in there, I know….but it just does everything pretty well. Especially on those ponderous days where I just have no idea where I will end up.

    mindmap3
    Free Member

    Cotic. You will never regret the decision.
    I did. Love what Cy is doing (and plenty of others do, obviously), but did not get on with my mk1 Solaris

    Me too – but mine was a BFe. I really didn’t get that bike and wasn’t sad to see it go.

    To me it was too stiff, harsh, heavy and felt like a plough (not in a good way). The Slackline was a revelation by comparison and cemented my Stanton fan boyism.

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    No flaming or anything. Had mine 2 years but looking back over the past year ice realised how little I’ve used it. Trying to work out why and if it’s time to move on.

    No, not taking it as such.

    There was probably an element of component issue as the wheels were awful, but I always felt perched ‘on’ the bike, as opposed to sitting ‘in’ it. I was running a 120mm fork which also isn’t ideal (but also not unknown) but the handling always felt too twitchy – fun at low speeds, but not fun when those big wheels start generating centifrugal (sp?) force. Twice over the bars on a steep descent was enough to convince me we weren’t getting on.

    I use a 29er hardtail now which I love, so it’s certainly not a big wheel thing. I’ve also ridden said steep descent on several other bikes and had little fear of catapulting into a tree.

    …but it just does everything pretty well. Especially on those ponderous days where I just have no idea where I will end up.

    This is what I wanted, and it’s what the new bike does. Horses for courses.

    NormalMan
    Full Member

    Thanks Pimpmaster Jazz.

    I actually tried changing from 100mm to 120mm to try and rekindle things but it didn’t.

    Anyway, back on topic now.

    poah
    Free Member

    dartmoor hornet?

    deviant
    Free Member

    I’m currently riding a Dartmoor Hornet.
    It can take 26 or 650b wheels…im using 26 for maximum tyre clearance as I like 2.3 to 2.5 tyres on a hardtail, I’m using a 150mm Revelation fork and it’s bloody brilliant…this isn’t new bike syndrome, I rode it back to back with my steel Ragley Piglet and it is a better ride….the reach is longer despite both being 16 inch frames and the bottom bracket is lower….i had to adjust my style slightly to avoid pedal strikes but it’s now second nature, I had it at BPW recently and it was confidence inspiring and I was so much faster

    It’s nice and light (2kgs I think) and despite being aluminium it isn’t harsh, I’ve had a Dialled Alpine, an On One evo, a Ragley and a 45650b previously and it’s the best of the bunch…the reviews online are good and it’s in stock in this country (i think they’re a Polish brand) and they only cost £200!….well within your budget.

    Mines black with the newer black Revelation forks and black Pacenti wheels, it looks awesome and so much better than the cheap price tag would suggest.

    poah
    Free Member

    I paid £160 for my hornet frame in petrol from hibike.de

    deviant
    Free Member

    Yeah I dilly dallyed for too long over what new frame to get and the price jumped up to £200 briefly, I think they’re down to £180-ish again now’s
    Complete bargain though, cracking bike.

    andykirk
    Free Member

    For the long fork heroes……. how on earth do you not go over the bars? If my front end dropped 150mm on a steep gradient I would be straight over the bars in a flash. And they say ride the fork!
    I have 150mm on my bike and it bloody terrifies me, hence why it is always wound down to 120mm.

    gavtheoldskater
    Free Member

    ive just bought for my boy a used Dialled Bikes Alpine frame, from flatoutcycles.co.uk who deserve a plug for the excellent service and price, and bearing in mind i am an old from the 80s stuck in my ways wheels firmly on the ground cleat wearing full suss xc rider it is lovely. i’m almost tempted to look for a larger one myself to play with at trail centres.

    monkeysfeet
    Free Member

    I love long travel hardtails. Had a PACE RC325.5,Cove Stiffee, Ragley mmmmmbop, and currently running a BFE.
    Have to say the Cove was the nicest but sadly Cove appear to have disappeared from the bike scene. 😐

    coomber
    Free Member

    The pinnacle iroko is such an underrated bike. Might be aluminium but its very forgiving, not at all harsh and geometry is superb. I think they are brilliant.

    deviant
    Free Member

    Andykirk, you just stiffen the forks up with minimal sag (i only have around 10-15% sag once sat on it)….then the 150mm fork only uses full travel on the hardest of hits, in fact last time at BPW I didn’t get full travel at all, there was about 10mm of travel left in the fork….i think the idea as much as anything is to raise the front and slacken the head angle….some of the newer breed FS and HTs are going about this with short forks and geometry changes instead but I like the margin for error that the longer fork gives me, it allows me to roll stuff that I’d maybe have to jump/drop with a shorter travel bike.
    I had a slack HT Kona that only took a 100-120mm fork and it felt out of its depth on properly rugged trails, just personal taste I suppose….you do have to get the seat down and hang off the back on steep stuff but I like that and it’s how I ride my FS too, better riders would probably criticise my technique but it works for me, I don’t like riding the front/fork on steep terrain, I move back and let the setup/frame/geo handle it for me!

    wiggles
    Free Member

    For the long fork heroes……. how on earth do you not go over the bars?

    Set the forks up properly.

    andykirk
    Free Member

    Hmmmm. Maybe I should have a play. With my forks I mean. I did follow the instructions on the Fox website…. is this where I am going wrong I wonder.

    deviant
    Free Member

    Yes, the manufacturers all seem to recommend 20-30% sag, which in my opinion is too soft and defeats the point…if you’re using full travel on a normal ride it’s too soft IMO, some people love it and enjoy the comfort but it doesn’t leave anything in reserve for big hits and properly rough terrain…interestingly some world class DH riders revealed this year that they don’t run any sag in their suspension, if I recall correctly one of them said he wants the full 200mm of travel and didn’t see the point in running any sag at all!

    aidieb
    Free Member


    On One 456C, it’s been a hoot since I got it, never riden it with a fork longer than 120mm but it’s what it was made for,I bought a 26″ Scott Spark and love it but always missed the hardtail so I recently rejuvenated the 456C with a new paint job and 27.5″ wheels, waiting for longer air shaft to lengthen the Revelations out to 140mm. it’s riding really well now. could probably use a dropper post as the BB is a bit high in certain circumstances, especially after coming off a sagged full susser.

    mediasquid
    Free Member

    My current thoughts for switching to a hardtail again are based around the Cotic BFe, Production Privee Shan, and Commencal Meta (the steel one). Been told that although the Nukeproof Scout is good, it’s not as fun as those three listed. A Stanton would be nice, but a bit harder to justify the extra costs when there’s so much choice. (My build will end up based around a 150mm fork and 650b wheels.)

    tomvanhalen
    Free Member

    10/10 thread. So far leaning towards an Oka, haven’t yet heard a compelling argument for a Soul instead. But the Soul is certainly a looker

    kayak23
    Full Member

    I’ll just leave this here…

    pelonz
    Free Member

    My new Kona Honzo AL is great fun!

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    How heavy are the Honzo AL’s?

    Stevelol
    Free Member

    There was a used Evil Sovereign in the for sale recently for £140 or something, those bikes are chuffing amazing, adjustable chainstay length too, steel.

    I get a feeling the OP will never be happy though 😛

    poah
    Free Member

    I run 25% sag with my 160 pikes on the hornet, never had an issue with the change in head angle on landings.

    Kamakazie
    Full Member

    Genesis Tarn?
    Looks like a PP but shorter travel.

    Actually, think it might struggle with 26″!

    Scamper
    Free Member

    Run 160 lyriks at 25% on my Slackline 631 with no issues at all, helped by it being a very supportive fork. The Slackline is awesome at 160, so much so I don’t bother winding it down to 130. My previous 26 Bfe was compromised at anything over 130. Would be interesting to try a lighter solo air fork at 140 though.

    Not sue if its marketing, but get the impression the latest Slackline is a little less hardcore than mine and is billed as the Stanton trail bike with more of a gap to the switchback – it runs only up to 140 I believe. As noted above, the 853 appears to have a bit more of the old spring than the 631, but these things are relative. All stantons have plenty of zip and turn on a six pence. I’d still probably upgrade if I didn’t have to buy new forks and wheels too.

    PimpmasterJazz
    Free Member

    For the long fork heroes……. how on earth do you not go over the bars?

    Do you have a low speed compression adjuster? Can you add tokens? Failing that, what’s the spring – air or coil?

    It sounds like you have a compression issue if you’re blowing through travel that quickly. The fork should be supporting your weight and using travel progressively, not blowing through it purely because you’re pointing down.

    Yes, the manufacturers all seem to recommend 20-30% sag, which in my opinion is too soft and defeats the point…

    I’d argue that several fork manufacturers with R&D departments are better qualified to advise on how much sag to run. It is up to you and it could also be argued that the rockier the area the less sag you should run, but that sag also works by dropping the wheel into dips and then cushioning the rider ‘fall’ – it does have a purpose.

    Also hardtails are often designed around with 20-30% fork sag – only running 10% obviously alters the geometry. Whether this is perceptible is an arguable point, but it is something to bear in mind.

    Stevet1
    Free Member

    For the long fork heroes……. how on earth do you not go over the bars?

    Bend your knees. HTH!

    rob1984p
    Free Member

    I have a 26″ wheeled On One 456 Evo2 with 140mm Revs. It is regular gas pipe and I love riding it on technical singletrack at Wharncliffe and indeed had a blast on an uplift weekend taking in Flyup FOD, Cwmdown and BPW. It goes uphill fine.

    To me it seems at least as nice to ride as the 2010 Reynolds 653 Orange P7 (RRP £600) it replaced due to a crack around the chainstay.

    It has a normal headtube but a 30.9 seat tube so can take a variety of droppers.

    I paid £150 for mine in a decent colour in one of the rare sales they have!

    I did have to phone and remind them to send it though!

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    andykirk – Member
    For the long fork heroes……. how on earth do you not go over the bars?

    Because at 25% sag, there’s less than an inch of difference between a 150mm fork and a 120mm, and that really isnt going to be the difference between going over the bars or not?

    Obviously if you have a horrible, divey, uncontrolled fork, 150mm is a bit worse, but any half decent fork properly set up won’t be.

    pelonz
    Free Member

    The Honzo AL is 13.6 kg according to Kona. It is built strong.
    Its my first 29er. The bike just pops, and so far is great on flowy trails, loving small jumps and berms.

    tomvanhalen
    Free Member

    Well I bought an Oka. So, nyer

    nickc
    Full Member

    I’m sure you won’t be disappointed 😀

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    Nice looking bike that Oka. Good call.

    stevemuzzy
    Free Member

    Nice on the oka. Love my shan. And it runs 160mm forks. Problem always is you forget you are on a hardtail and hammer through loads of stuff forgetting to unweight the back end…. averaging 1 flat per ride at the moment (running tubeless too!)

    kayak23
    Full Member

    Ooh, what colour Oka did you get?

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 101 total)

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