[Closed] Fun 140mm compatible hardtail recommendations

I know it's not steel but what about a Ti456? £799 for the frame but if you plan to have it a while it may be worth it.

I was thinking <£500 ideally to begin with, and would like to stick with steel if poss.

How about a Dialled Bikes Alpine to add to the list, or would the PA cope with what I've listed as potential riding?

Evil Sovereign is the best steel 140mm hardtail money can buy. And that's not just a biased opinion, it's a scientific fact.
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Seriously though, you want one in your life.

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Shonky phone photo of this evenings afterwork ride.
Does what I want, from all day rides to playing around in a Jeycore stylee.
Had it a year, no problems at all 🙂

Dialled PA. Love mine, just had it re-powder coated in black. Looks as good as it rides!

looks like a pig though... 😉

Just pulled the trigger on a Soul 😀 so we'll see how that rides.

Went from a Enduro to three years on a 456 - cracking bike. Hasn't got the tubing/kudos of the 'cooler' bikes but it still rides very well. Might be worth a punt s/hand to see if you like it on a HT before dropping £500 on something...

lol Reggie 😛

Get a 456 and with the change get it powder coated in the colour of your choice. Will still work out cheaper than any of the above and they ride brilliantly. A soul might be prettier and a blue pig would go down steps better but for someone getting into it again a 456 would be the way to go. Souls cost too much and if you are sensitive enough to notice the tubing differences then you probably cry watching Bambi or aren't riding hard enough! Blue Pigs are entirely wrong for Kent and Prince Alberts just don't look right.

If I was going to replace my Orange P7, it'd be an Evil Sov.

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Cotic soul, bit of a fan boy, but went from a 575 to an el guapo and have no regrets made me appreciate riding again!
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i got a 140talas fork in an inbred & its good 🙂

Sov; in black. Want!

Get some Soul in your life 🙂

Soul

Soul angles nice.

Whyte 19 trail?

Chameleon.

Best bike in the world. Even better if it's white.

Prince Albert would be my recommendation for the riding you've described.

Chumba hx1 ftw. Seriously, it's ace and more "steel is real" than you'd think. (for an alu frame)

Orange P7

I did pretty much same as you, went for a soul and it has amazed me far exceeded my expectations. And this is an older one so if they have made an amazing bike better....

There can only be one, the definitive long travel steel hardtail, I give you

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And in descending order of preference I have also built and ridden
soul - all the positive love is true, sov just has more character
alptitude - gorgeous riding bike, finish is dire
pa (mk2) - lovely feel but bit too chunky
p7- rides beautifully but again a bit too much girth
456 - bruiser that loves to point down
pa (mk1)- lovely ride but a bit too lardy
inbred - wee bit too nervous
chameleon - **** meeee back!!!!

Still utterly satisfied with my Dialled PA.

Blue pig would be worth a look, but I think the old model is pretty much sold out now and the new model has tapered head tube which may not be ideal if you're re-using forks.

I'd like to try a Soul, but it's a good bit pricier - albeit for over a pound less weight.

New pig has 44mm headtube not tapered. Will take any size/shape steerer currently offered using the correct headset cups.

the Sov may well be very good - I've not ridden one - but it looks like a dog.

Put cheap kit on it and it's an ASDA bike!

[Sorry, too much post-ride red...]

Make sure to ride a 140mm hardtail before you decide - it is my considered opinion that most of the time that is too much fork for a hardtail for XC / trail centres unless you are doing big tricks, and a lighter more XC oriented setup is in fact more fun and more ridable for most people.

What about a Sanderson Blitz ?

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Now I've just got rid of my hardtail but that Trans Am is luvverly

I've got a PA. I live in Kent. Let me know if you fancy a go. Best bike I've ridden.

Another vote for a Prince Albert! Used to have a Blue Pig but much prefer this...

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Make sure to ride a 140mm hardtail before you decide - it is my considered opinion that most of the time that is too much fork for a hardtail for XC / trail centres unless you are doing big tricks, and a lighter more XC oriented setup is in fact more fun and more ridable for most people

A 140mm hard tail? At a trail centre? Are you mad? You will probably die! You need a 6" trail bike just to attempt some of the obstacles there! 😉

Personally I ride a PA (in 853 flavour..) so am slightly biased, a mate runs a Cotic Soul which is also very nice (lighter as well). The Evil is a lovely looking bike & I've always wanted one, until I picked it up!
Still want one, however I don't think it'd make a good xc bike compared to the others mentioned, as a 'freeride' or 'downhill' hardtail then yes please!

I ride Bedgebury regularly and my Prince Albert was the worst bike I've ever ridden. Too heavy, angles all wrong and bb way too high. Made for a very unstable time in the tight corners of the singletrack.
Now on an Orange Crush, and much happier. Your welcome to have a go if you like.

"Angles All wrong"

Obtuse and reflex rather than acute??

Ragley Mmmbop all the way. It's as fun as a SC Chameleon (I've owned both bikes) but a bit more stretched out so more comfortable for pedalling all day. Basically it's a lighter version of the blue pig, I'm generally not a fan of steel frames though.

Bearing in mind the riding you describe, I think a lot of the suggestions would be almost as overkill as your Enduro.

I know you said steel, but have you considered the carbon 456? Been blown away by mine and won't go back to steel now.

If it has to be steel, Genesis Altitude and Cotic Soul probably both suitable.

I'm generally not a fan of steel frames though

stone him!

I ride Bedgebury regularly and my Prince Albert was the worst bike I've ever ridden. Too heavy, angles all wrong and bb way too high. Made for a very unstable time in the tight corners of the singletrack.
Now on an Orange Crush, and much happier. Your welcome to have a go if you like.

Bedgebury is flat. Literally. It's like a big family trail, including the red and (lame) black. I'm there every few weeks, as sadly it's my nearest place. Is there a secret gnarly bit with rocks and drops that I haven't ridden that would require the services of a Crush??!!

stone him!

Haha, I had a suspicion that would go down like a lead balloon! I know the ride is a tiny bit better vs alu but don't think it's worth the weight trade-off. Having said that I've briefly test ridden a cotic soul and was quite impressed.

+1 on the PA boriselbrus, in my opinion an odd bike which is too heavy for it's intended use.

 

Of course Bedgebury is flat; it's in Kent, not the Alps. Don't slag off the black run, it might not be the greatest, but it was built solely by volunteers (inc me), if you don't like it come and join us to build something better. Don't understand why you think a PA is great, but a crush is overkill? Muppet.

Anyway, the PA angles are wrong. The bb is too high and the front emd too low even with high rise bars. With the same build, the crush has a 40mm lower bb and I don't feel like I'm going ovrr the bars all the time.

I have a mk1 pipedream sirius and it's been used for almost everything. they're surprisingly robust, but are also reasonably light and handle very nicely. It's actually currently built up with drops, slicks and rigid forks; but I've had it rigid singlespeed, 130mm suss forks up front and gears, and it rides really well in every guise. It was a great peaks trail bike before I got my Prophet. I'm looking to free it up from its road going shackles as soon as possible, though, because I miss fun local rides on it.

The new one gets very good reviews.

I'd also look at the Ragley Piglet.

ns bikes surge. Has the advantage of not looking like a ladies shopping bike, unlike the Dialled bikes.

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Don't slag off the black run, it might not be the greatest, but it was built solely by volunteers (inc me), if you don't like it come and join us to build something better.

This is a fair point. I will get off my arse and assist. Presumably you are one of the Boars? I'll look on their website for the next dig day.

Muppet.

This however isn't a fair point.

I don't feel like I'm going ovrr the bars all the time

Is that the fault of the bike or the rider? 😉

Soul I reckon, I liked my BFe but it was quite heavy and apparently you can get away with a lot on the Soul anyway. Plus they come in awesome shades of blue and orange.

Apologies for the muppet comment. Although I quite like muppets!

I don't have the 'going over bars' feeling on my other bikes, or any other bike I've ridden. So yes, bike, not rider.
Please do join us on a dig day, generally 2nd saturday of the month, but check the website.

Woah! Lots to reply to... thanks for all the options.

I should have pointed out that it won't only get used in Kent, i'm hoping to take it to other trail centres, particularly places like Whinlatter and Laggan, as well as Fort Bill, trips to Dartmoor and riding on Skye, though Kent is obviously where it will get used most.

Might be worth a punt s/hand to see if you like it on a HT before dropping £500 on something...

I'm not that keen on buying second hand, I got screwed with a second hand frame once, never again. I know I'll like a hardtail (the enduro is the only FS bike I've owned), been riding and racing them on and off since 1998 with long travel forks. I've got all the bits off the enduro at the moment, and slapped on a Kona Hoss frame (bought for the bits to initially build the enduro), but it's so boring and uninspiring, hence wanting a more fun frame to really get me back into it.

I'm afraid that I prefer the look of the Dialled Alpine and the Transition TransAM (REALLY liking the TransAM 8) ) to the Evil Sovereign (sorry), but not sure how well they would cope on longer rides - thoughts? Presumably the longer frame on the TransAM would help.

Bullheart and Boriselbrus, thanks for the offers of a test ride, I'll bear them in mind.

I've been tempted to join the boars for the parking alone, but I used to love trail building... hmm...

6hr rides in the gnar chilterns on an alpine, works fine. will be riding it at SITS and bristol bikefest too, so it works for XC but is a hoot when it gets a bit downhill/rough.

That's good news, I guess something like that or the TransAM might suit.

Found a thread on MTBR where people were raving about the TransAM, being that bit longer is tempting as I'm 6'1".

I'd genuinely consider getting the float spacered down to 120mm - 140mm will only be good during the odd moment of lunacy but 120mm would be better for most of the riding you're going to encounter (inc trail centres IMO)

Then look at the Genesis Latitude and Cotic Soul. You say you're in love with steel but a lot of 140mm hardcore hardtails are a bit well-built and don't actually feel all that springy and steely at all.

The TransAM is pretty harsh and heavy duty...

Part of my thinking in going for the Soul was that the BFe is unlikely to be more than 25% stronger and I bet the heaviest and bravest BFe owners put their bikes through more than 25% greater peak loads than 12 stone small-air me will! And the lower weight of the Soul should go hand in hand with better compliance.

At the moment mine has 100mm QR Reba's but I have some 140mm 15QR Floats awaiting a compatible wheel. The 140s may be stepped down to 120 but I'm curious to see how uphill and tight singletrack friendly it can be with the longer fork with the bars and saddle position suitably tweaked.

Gary, I don't know why, but I thought my forks could only be spacered down to 100mm, not 120mm. If that's possible then I'll do that.

The Cotic is very tempting, I have to admit, but so is the Dialled Alpine.

My old Curtis used to have a stiff back end, but I still loved the feel of it compared to all the ally frames I rode of the same design.

I went from a 5" bouncer to a second hand dialled pa and it was a great descision. I was always planning on seeing how I go and then getting a new one or a soul but I'm sticking with what I have now until I bust it!

I'd say either a PA or Soul would be right up your street.

Chiefgrooveguru, if you get the wheel to suit your fox's any time soon please let me know what you think.

Yeah, I believe there's two spacers, two makes it 100mm, one makes it 120m if memory serves me correct.

Nice, thanks for that. A 120mm soul is sounding spot on having seen some youtube footage of a simple which seems to be exactly the mix of riding I envisage myself doing. 8)

Thanks for all the help, now to do the last bit of saving the £!