[Closed] Cove Stiffee, what you reckon?

I've had one for about 5 yrs, my 1st "proper" bike - really love it, does most things well (XC, bit of jumping etc). Originally built mine with Pikes and heavy wheels/tyres but recently lightened it all up with air revs etc - very versatile but takes plenty of abuse. I'm 5'11 and mine's 17.5 so that sounds right to me.

I've had one for the past three years and can't say a bad word about it!

I live and ride in the alps all year round and still love to take it out on all terrain DH,XC or freeride its so rewarding, the harder you ride it the better it gets.

I've fitted it with Talus 32's and at max extension 140mm its about perfect anything longer is a waste of time as the geometry goes out the window and its like riding a chopper.

Get one and enjoy!!!

Hey Minzo, I have the exact set-up you mentioned and am also the same height as you. Great bike that fills you with confidence and leaves you wanting more and more. I am on my second as my previous was stolen. Tried loads of other options once the insurance money kicked in but nothing else felt as good. When (not if) you get one you won't be disapointed!!!!

I'm about 5'7 got a 15.5 inch stiffee. It's 6 years old now and still going strong. I tried to retire it about a year ago. Ended up selling its replacement and building it back up!!

Can't recommend it enough, ridden enduro races, dragon downhill tracks, spanish singletrack, Welsh trail centres, lots of jumps and drops and lots of street on it. Is just too much fun to ride, strong and versatile!

Mine works best with about 120mm travel (got pikes on it), but then it's a 2004 one so they probably updated the geometry by now.

I have a 09 19.5inch Stiffee, Took it too Morzine 6 weeks ago and loved it. As Disco808 said, the harder you ride it the more rewarding it is. I have mine with 150mm Revs and race it, lol its ace.

5'11" with a 17.5" frame here. Great bike for blasting. I sometimes forget I'm riding a hardtail on descents! I tend to use a full suss bike for long all day rides but the Stiffee is perfect for my 2-3hr rides

Love mine, use it built with Pikes and heavyish kit for everything from BMX tracks to singletrack in Les Arcs.

Only wish it had ICSG tabs, other than that its perfect, love the short chainstays that make it super easy to flick the bike around

i have had mine 3 years its pixie blue has pike 454 forks it rides wicked would not change it its a 17.5 and im 5'10, just a fantastic bike

I have an original round tube one sitting in the loft that I have owned from new, urber long travel 100mm forks worked, although bad-ass 80mm was recommended, would you like my opinion? 😀

I love mine its my do it all bike. 17.5" frame and im 5'11". Did have air revs but changed to coil pikes this year and would not go back. Climbs well and great fun on downs.. though i am sure i am not using half of its potential.

I am sure you wont regret getting one.

Had one for a long time, loved it... sold it to finally go to the full suss darkside a couple of years ago but if its a hardtail your after its up there with the best of them. In that price range though I'd be looking at a cotic Bfe too....

I've got an '08 17.5 in black and I'm 6ft. Built up with pikes. Smashing bike.

I thought of that bike(to replace my Cove Handjob) but went for a Dialled Alpine fitted with 140mm Pikes. Can do it all. I like the Alpine as it suits my short legs as its got a very low dropped top tube...Im about same height as you 5'7"/8"and went for the smallest one.. ..Not silly weight & if u want it more hard core it will easily take Lyrics/36s without spoiling geometry. Climbs great with Pikes and never need to wind them back. It descends very well as you would expect. Cheaper than a Cove Stiffee too.

Good frame will do all from 5" all day rig to 7" or 8" triple mountain muncher.
Biggest problem is that the frame is wicked harsh and will never be as forgiving as steel.
Sold my stiffee 6 weeks ago to buy a cotic bfe,my first mountain frame was steel and I wish I had never sold it.

Buy a stiffee and it wont disapoint but the steel steed is way better

Steel is undoubtably real and is the gospel.

Love mine. No point repeating the comments above tbh.

You do feel it after a long day in the saddle but I reckon that's the same with ALL hardtails to a greater or lesser extent.

My 2 (kept in different locations) are my do it all bike after selling my full Suss

speshstumpyworks - 🙂 because Alu is not real?

i had one and loved it, but like someone says above anything over 15-20 miles and my back was knackered, not an all day bike for me, if thats your bag i'd look at the handjob.

Jansey- No it was brought to earth from a different dimension so doesn't really exist 😆
Of course it does you twonk they wrap kit kats in it.

Cove Stiffees are great. Have had a bit of a love hate (mine's a 17.5 2004 & I'm 5'9) relationship with mine. I didn't get on so well with it initially. Stripped it 18mths ago to build up a Hustler. Recently got the Stiffee repainted and re-built and I'm loving it - now having doubts about putting the Hustler back together! Rode Afan W2 the other week on it - 44km was hard going (partly age and lacking fitness!) and was thinking my Hustler would have done better in parts. Having said that, IMO the Stiffee is not the best all day bike - but with a Pike type build it's great for a 2-3 hour thrash it and have a blast. There's now a whole host of long travel hardtails out there and I feel the Stiffee is often overlooked in favour of newer fangled alternatives. However it should definately still be considered. Bottom line - back in love with mine, handles beautifully (esp with a short stem), eats up roots, drops etc and with the right kit will leave you grinning like a Cheshire Cat on LSD...

I had one of the older ones, RAD tubes but the 26.8mm seatpost. 19.5" 6'2.

Loved it. And with the little seatpost it wasn't even harsh. Still kind of regret selling it. If you can get a lightly used old one it will be super comfy as well as tough! Mine ran with 140mm Pikes and before that 125m Vanillas and even 100mm Pace and Fox Floats. Great frames.

If I had a new one I would stick a height adjust post on it and a set of 150mm Revs probably.

It is a good only bike as it will do everything and doesn't need to weigh lots.

Similar take here. I'm 5-11 and ride a 17.5 with a Domain fork. The back does tend to get a little sore after a few hours but it's a great trail centre bike. My local ride is Cwmcarn (I only live 20mins away) and its great for both courses there as well as the cheekier stuff nearby. It's the short chainstays that does it; the bike just begs to jumped, twisted and get into all sorts of trouble. I'd thoroughly recommend, but climbing on it is simply a means to an end. It's on the singletrack blasts and descents where you can let rip. For longer day(s) it wouldn't be my choice of bike though, certainly not the one-to-rule-them-all.

Bought one second hand start of the year, stuck some Magura Menjas on it and have done Bulith Wells CRC MTB Marathon on it, Peaks, Afan, Cwmcarn and just done the Trans Cambrian route in 3 days on it. It's good for all of it. I've built it up fairly light and 9 hours in the saddle across Wales was no problem. It replaced a Marin Rocky Ridge frame which was pretty similar.

I bought mine recently as a do it all bike and I'm very happy. Climbs ok, feels super stable going down, not too heavy, lovely quality (anodised finish on mine). I've got a 2010 air U-Turn Revelation Team fork on it (set to 140mm) and it's just magic. I'm probably not using half its potential but hopefully my skills and bravery will grow to match it!

I suspect my stem is a smidge long at 100mm though. What lengths are people running here? I'm 6'2" and it's a 2010 19.5" frame.

I used to have one built up with Pikes - good for short XC and ace for thrash / downhill duties (i did the Skegness Night DH on mine) - but not exactly something you'd want to be in the saddle for more than a couple of hours IMO

I had an Easton RAD one for 5 years which was superb but not sure about the new material they use. They are super strong and very versatile so you can build a pseudo downhill hardtail or an xc machine and everything inbetween. The geometry is very "shore" which in terms people in the UK can understand means it is extremely easy to get the front end up, jump and feels quite short in the top tube. I can heartily recommend one but only if you do not have any back problems.

Mine (2010 frame) still uses Easton RAD tubing AFAIK.