[Closed] 29" aggro hardtail. ..talk to me

Production privee do sexy 29ers. Stanton Sherpa and Onza Payoffs are not quite as 'aggro' as they're designed for 120-130mm travel I believe but both well thought of (I like my Payoff, although it has a 27.2 seatpost).

Stanton Sherpa.

Vendetta 29? [url= https://kingdombike.com/collections/hardtails/products/vendetta-plus-29 ]https://kingdombike.com/collections/hardtails/products/vendetta-plus-29[/url]

Niner ROS 9
2 Souls Cycles QH

Last Fastfoward V2
Pace r127+
Nukeproof Scout 29
2Souls Quarterhorse
Canfield EPO, Yelli Screamy & Nimble 9
Niner ROS

Genesis Tarn 29
Zealous Division
Kona Honzo has to get a mention for being one of the first of this ilk.

I've got/had all of the above - all fun bikes!

I've looked at pretty much all of the above and discounted them as generally the reach isn't enough. With the the Honzo I can't find a frame only or get an idea of weight, and the Tarn is £600 for a standard 4130 frame.

Now, a Solaris with a slackset and and another ~35mm on the reach...

£600 Tarn is with a carbon fork. Appreciate you may not want it though. Complete bike is nice.

Reach on medium Honzo, medium Tarn and Lrg Zealous are all in the same ballpark.

I will add the NS Eccentric Cromo 2017 into the mix too, frame availability is March (or so CRC have said to me).

generally the reach isn't enough

btr ranger - reach can be customized if not already long enough

Pact battlecat ?

Genesis will ride super nice I'm sure from what others have I've ridden

I wouldn't get hung up on tubing. It's their customers mojito or whatever its called. Honzo is also cheaper tubing isn't it? Ie not Reynolds 853 etc

From my bad memory from desperately wanting a honzo I thought the original steel weighed a ton something like 6.5/7lb?

Remember you have to take into account sag when considering reach- it makes a surprisingly big difference, I'd kind of discounted it myself til I saw the actual numbers.

Scout is as stiff as a stiff thing which imo is a huge drawback in a hardcore hardtail, just constantly costs you grip and control... But other folks like that.

@coomber - I've tried getting some info from Kona on the Honzo a couple of times and they've not replied, but you're prob right on the weight from what I can find. It's pretty 'robust'.

Would like to find a few more independent reviews of the Tarn.

Interesting reading btr's opinion on hardtais. Ranger being 100mm on the 29er. I'd agree a hardtail doesn't necessarily need massive travel to be "hardcore"

There was a good thread on here where someone reviewed the tarns and it was a good read. Within last few weeks I think (injured so living on here at the moment).

here it is:[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/genesis-tarn-20-or-29 ]
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/genesis-tarn-20-or-29 [/url]

Interesting reading btr's opinion on hardtais. Ranger being 100mm on the 29er. I'd agree a hardtail doesn't necessarily need massive travel to be "hardcore"

I had reservations about 120mm travel on the 26" frames being enough but I couldn't have been wronger - the frames are a bit spendy but well worth the money

Conviniently pink bike did this recently

[url= http://www.pinkbike.com/news/what-is-the-sexiest-am-fr-enduro-hardtail-of-2016.html ]The Sexiest AM/FR Hardtails [/url]

Sure something in there will tickle your horn.

All the most show arnt 29er but most do a 29 version/equiv.

LLL

@coomber - Thanks for the link, it's a good read but it feels a bit 'sponsored content' to me - great photos, well written, not much else on the site (probably a really unfair comment so happy to be corrected!). Will see if I can get a proper go on one.

Edit: just read the 'about us' page and yep, sponsored content.

My son likes his Radley Bigwig.

You lakes based? Can cock a leg over my payoff if you're handy for conistonish

Singular Buzzard? Selling one in XL if you're interested...

Buzzard was way ahead of the curve, don't think people really got it at the time, Sam should have sold lots of them, and would have if he launched in the last 18 months I think.

Buzzard is ace, but it's too much bike for where I live, was massive fun in the lakes tho and BPW

Friend of mine has the the ros 9, it's a lovely bike.

Interestingly (to me at least, i was looking at one at the time) if you build them up with the same (29, not plus) forks and wheels it has pretty similar geometry to the trek stache, so perhaps that as a left field option with different build options?

My thread from 3 months ago [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/lakes-which-new-hardtail-frame-as-only-bike ]Here[/url]. Ended up getting a full sus 29er.........

I have s Vitus Sentier 29 as my hardtail and love it, light and capable and strangely comfy for an Aly hardtaul.

[img] [/img]

I have a Chromag Surface that I couldn't be more delighted with. Reach is nothing out of the ordinary I don't think, [url= http://www.chromagbikes.com/bikes/surface#Sizing ]453mm on my M/L apparently[/url], so may be too short for what you're after.

🙂

Buzzard was way ahead of the curve,

Came after the Honzo, Canfield bikes etc. Certainly not the first LT 29er hardtail.

Trans AM is a great 29er, weighs the same as the moon, but is a very capable bike. I've had it with fork at 140 and 120. I think it works better at 120. Honestly don't notice the weight when riding it and it'd probably survive a direct hit from an asteroid.

I've got a Kona Honzo with 140 forks and a -2 angleset, it is weighty at 32.5 lbs fully built but I love it. Once you get it going nothing stops it.

Surely steel hardcore hardtails are always going to be bulky things.

If you want lighter then the kona taro is almost exactly the same geometry as the Honzo but made from aluminium.

Always wanted a Transition transam but they'd feel short and steep now. Only thing that would tempt me away from the Honzo right now would be the Last Fast Forward or Swarf, the BTR is just too expensive.

The honzo is also available in aluminium , ti and carbon too these days

The 2017 model has an even longer reach

I really want one!

@kimbers - I've just seen that on the [url= http://www.konaworld.com/honzo_al_dl.cfm ]Kona site[/url] they say you can buy an alu frame only... Now if only they'd respond to me when I tell them I want to give them some money...

The Honzo would be top of my list, if I had money to do a build rather than complete bike...

kimbers - The honzo is also available in aluminium , ti and carbon too these days

I have Chromag Rootdown, it's bloody ace! It's effective the Taiwanese version of the Surface.

[url= https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8626/28062012164_cde060db3b_m.jp g" target="_blank">https://c5.staticflickr.com/9/8626/28062012164_cde060db3b_m.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/JKK9xW ]2016-07-31_07-36-03[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/danclairelees/ ]Dan and Claire Lees[/url], on Flickr

They also now do the Primer which is a big Gnar-er than both.

Before settling on Rootdown, I looked at the Transition Trans-am, Kona Honzo, Stanton Sherpa, Banshee Paradox, Titus Fireline Evo, On-One Parkwood, Cotic Solaris.

There are clearly other options now...but I'm not sure any of them would sway me from the Chromag.

Also interested in this although I'd happily go with alu this time.
Not much choice there either as all the best frames seem to be 27.5 (Crush, Bird Zero etc).

450mm reach on the medium Honza '17! The rest of geometry looks good, but only 68' headangle. Would have liked 64-65' headangle for it to be perfect.

@jruk - sponsored content. How disappointing. Sorry I didn't notice that. MBR gave it 4/5 this month or last though.

@jruk

go through a kona dealer, I used AW cycles in reading, very helpful

cokie - 450mm reach on the medium Honza '17! The rest of geometry looks good, but only 68' headangle. Would have liked 64-65' headangle for it to be perfect.

Got mine down to 65 with 140 forks and a -2 headset. Needs straight steerer forks for that though unless they have changed the headtube.

Another happy Ragley Bigwig owner here. Very pleased with it.

Whyte 529/629 looks good actually!
66.5' HA, 449 reach, 440 CS. That's with a 120mm fork.
I reckon a 1-2' slackset could make it rather nice, maybe with a 130mm fork.
None of the specs are particularly exciting, but plenty of scope to upgrade on the solid geometry.

I think thats almost exactly what mboy did but had to buy a whole bike and then sell parts on to get it as a frame.

Trek Stache? Even bigger wheels and less travel.

I've looked at pretty much all of the above and discounted them as generally the reach isn't enough.

Bear in mind that on hardtail the reach increases with sag, on a FS bike it reduces, so you don't want to match the figures of the latest long/low/slack FS bikes.

Also bear in mind that the more 'downhill' biased a bike is, the SHORTER it's reach will be. Beyond a point (both track steepness and bike length) you reach a point where you're stretched out so far that you can't move weight back off the front wheel. Long and low works on flatter courses, but less well on full-on downhill tracks. E.g. a medium Giant Reign is ~45cm reach, the medium Glory is 42cm.

Whyte 529/629 looks good actually!
66.5' HA, 449 reach, 440 CS. That's with a 120mm fork.
I reckon a 1-2' slackset could make it rather nice, maybe with a 130mm fork.
None of the specs are particularly exciting, but plenty of scope to upgrade on the solid geometry.

For all that faff, A Last fastforward has the same reach and head angle (with a 140mm fork).

thisisnotaspoon - you reach a point where you're stretched out so far that you can't move weight back off the front wheel

Yes and no, I'd like to try my Honzo with 25mm more reach but a 25mm shorter stem. Everything but the front centre would be the same.

I went from a 26er FS, to a 29er HT, and ruddy love it!

I went steel as I like the look, and also, I THINK (probably without factual basis) that's the ideal material for this bike!!

Chromag Rootdown. What really makes it is the pike forks (140 solo air). They are amazing!!
[img] [/img]

DrP

If you made me buy a HT frame today I'd probably go for the newer Stanton Sherpa - looks like a splendid all rounder and very handsome too.

Still not quite as long as I'd like, but I've found another HT with the same reach to ride surprisingly well with a 60mm stem.

Still not quite as long as I'd like, but I've found another HT with the same reach to ride surprisingly well with a 60mm stem.

Pffft. I've just put an 80mm stem on my QH to compensate for extra stack height and lay-back from a -2 slackset. I was worried, but so far it seems ok!

I've got a first generation XL Honzo. The frame weighed in about 7lbs if I recall (I built mine from frame only). It's a fun bike but I haven't ridden it in a while as have ended up on the road bike more. Must wipe the dust off it and get it out again. It rides lighter than it feels on the scales. Running mine with 140mm 20mm Revs, made a surprising difference over the 120mm I started with.

no affiliation, but I found the honzo frame for sale here

http://shop.bikesandbuddies.co.uk/kona-honzo-al-dl-frame/dp/5367

if people are after one