another vote for the surge. Mine is lovely 🙂

Had a few, DS1,Sub Zero,Stiffee, but you can’t beat a Chameleon, I will never part with mine.

another vote for the Dialled Alpine. I replaced a 456 with an Alpine from classifieds here and its comfy for all day XC rides (will be using it at bristol bikefest and SITS) but is a riot to ride and encourages you to ride like a kid/loon/hooligan. Got 140mm Revelations on it, Pikes might be more suited to the image but the revs work well and help keep the overall build weight down.

Never known the EBB to slip, in fact quite the opposite unless you grease them well.

The built up pic is a large, its one of the guys on this forums bike.

I sold my Ragley Bluepig and just built a 456 Carbon, same size but the 456 handles alot better and i can sling it around more and get round nasty tight corners easier, the Bluepig just felt big and numb, here is a link to my new hardcore build, pics top and bottom of page 1

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=142717

I have a Stiffee with a Domain up front. Great fun – my first choice bike at the mo’.

I just got a BFe. Swapped from having an Orange Crush. Very Impressed and runs well with 140mm forks.

i only have experience of the DB Alpine and 456. both great chuckable bikes.

I had a Pace Rc 305 XCAM for a while, running 140mm Pikes. That was nice. It wasn’t as nice as the Chromag Samurai that replaced it, which is the most wikid awsum fing eva. 🙂

Blue Pig for sure, amazing frames once you work out how to ride them to get the best out of them.

Mine:

always at the top of my list is a whyte 19 or a nicolai argon fr ! 😉 oh yes i own both for a raw hardtail bashing from time to time 😆

IT HAS to be the dialed alpine. does everything well and is enough of a hooligan to keep up with the fully sprung lot on the dh’s!
runs 140mm pikes megga!

Orange P7..I run 140mm fox talas (never use the talas option and wish i’d bought the floats), a 27.2 pure racing dropper post, stans arch rims on hope hubs with maxxis 2.3 tubless highrollers (bit wide for arch rims really). cracking bike for everything.

All the cool kids ride the Cotic BFe.

I’ve had mine for about a year now and take it on all day rides (forks wound down to 120-130ish) as well as trips to the local hooligan park – Aston Hill (defintiely 160!). It does really well. Took it to Inners and Glentress too last year.

Very impressed.

I ride the medium and I’m 6’2″

i love my ns surge.suberb all round aggro ht.

Blue pig for sure, had a go recently bloody good fun. Two wheel drifts with feet on the pedals 😀 Climbs really well too, me I can’t wait to get one this year. Good luck.

OP – are you more or less confused for reading this?

Without being critical of any individual respondent, the answers seem a) subjective b) not much consensus on what a hardcore hardtail is

(although I am pretty sure a BFe with big forks would be)

Where does trail hardtail end and hardcore hardtail start – or is that down to the rider?

How hardcore can you get on a hardtail? Is there a limit or is it just the skill of the rider?

That said I am pretty certain my Whyte 905 would break before a BFe, and I would break before either.

Did anyone mention Saracen? My knee jerk reaction from yonks ago would be urgh – but they have gone upmarket £££ and are advertising in a way that makes me think not for old farts like me.

charge blender, not too bad on the ups, good on the flat ace on the downs!
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2gs214G7gw[/video]

Im alittle confused as to why not many people have said Cove stiffee. Having owned one, AWESOMENESS!!!!! TO AN EPIC DEGREE!!!

Until some scrotum stole it.

Have I voted for my Transition TransAM yet?

Thanks guys all good stuff. A good spread of opinions and bikes not to mention pricing.

Have a better idea of what is out there now and will start the vigil for “the one”.

I thought there would be more 456 votes having seen the never ending threads on here. What i did find odd was that the Summer season version with the slacker head angle did not get a mention.

At the moment leaning towards a boring old sheep like 456 in 18 inch….Lets see what I end up with!

I used to have a 456 summer season in 18″ Awesome for going down hill on, not so good at going up. Also the BB rusted out.

Upgraded to Cove stiffee. in a different league to On one imho.

+1 for the chumba hx1 – mine’s the large black one built up with talas 36’s on Si’s website. Build quality and finish is excellent, I can’t stop looking at it! Loads of standover and a lot more comfortable than you’d think. Normally run mine at 130mm but let it out to 160mm for big rocky lakes descents.

Don’t think you can go wrong with many of these tbh just important to get the right fit. I have a chameleon, a new hx1, a ti456 and did have a carbon 456 and soon to have a blender. All good.

Bikes are great 🙂

in my family daughters rated
Santa Cruz Chamelon
Dialled Alpine
Dialled PA
Orange p7
Cove Stiffee
disliked
orange sub zero
on one 456
planetx ( think it was the graphics)

TBH as above all down to rider/what you want/are you DH or messing about and so

Personally I liked the alpine with 2.5 tryes but prefered the PA with 140 mm forks just a bit more lively and all dayer for me.

.

What ever you choose enjoy

I have a PA which I use from everything from all day xc rides to DH tracks, uplift days, the alps. I think its great, but then probably most of the others on the list are a hoot as well.

Bit of a left field choice and will probably get flamed!

Saracen Zen 631 steel is worth a look.

I’d been watching eBay for weeks for a Summer 456 and got sick of tired looking frames going for more than I wanted to pay when the Zen went through. It was the steel that swayed me never having had a steel bike and glad I did. Ran it with a 160 fork to start with, was probably more than intended but what was the worst that could happen! Got a 140 on now and although it’s not as composed downhill it’s a good all day bike.

null[img]http://www.bikesoup.co.uk/thumbnails/bikecolorbox/bike_image/bee16d7b26fef337ada64eb0f4c6b06c46cda59d.jpg.jpg[/img]

Allo mate buy my 2010 Orange Crush which is seriously well kitted out and is a serious contender for uphills as well as such fun on the downs. I have just had it kitted out with 2011 bling because I had the front end stolen in London, the bike has done next to no off road so is in cracking condition and the new stuff is untouched.

Follow this link for spec and price (but I’m open to offers on the price)

If you want to use tapered forks on steel frame, want something slacker than most but not quite as slack as the slackest – 66.5-67 at 140, can fit 2×10 chainsets, cen tested at 160mm, is just over 5lbs and sized for trail riding with a bias toward the du stuff, look up the new 853 triple butted+631 xx44 headtube genesis alpitude. I can plug it shamelessly as I dont work there anymore, but its a ripper and not that well known, only came into stock in Jan.