[Closed] Please recommend me a long travel hardtail.

If you're new to it, don't go too mental with a HUGE bike, like the crush, the simple reason being is that it's worth spending a while learning the skills on a shorter travel bike. It teaches you to be a genuinely good rider rather than one who can blunder through things inelegantly on a big bike.

I'd say look at 120/130mm bikes under 30lbs such as perhaps the Orange P7.

Genesis Altitude range ? I'd prefer the longer trave Alptitude tbh...
Check out the sales, etc.

oh - 17" dependant on top tube stretch.....

with a 130/140mm fork, you should run a 70mm stem. max 90mm imo...

thanks for replys guys. Do you think I would be better sticking with something with 100mm travel until I more experienced? Or do you need more for places like Glentress/Inners red?

you don't NEED 130mm but it won't hurt. lockout is useful on a hardtail particularly, and adjustable travel ( u-turn ) is good for climbing as you say. as you want to spend some money there's not much point buying a 80mm fork then wishing you had a bit more. just riding a hardtail will be better than jumping in on a FS straightaway, just for technique, line choice etc.
lots of reading to be done here that will help form your choices. P7 is a good shout i expect, the ally HT that orange do will be good too ( ignore all the bo11ocks about steel frames being more compliant and run your tyres harder or softer to suit you. you ought to be standing up anyway 😉 ).
look at forks, get the best fork you can for your money. gears all pretty much just work these days, avoid truvativ cranksets IMO, and pretty much everything else is pretty reliable now, but some stuff will just take more looking after than other.
learn how to maintain your own bike. lot's of books out there and the park tool website is good too.
find someone to ride with - you won't know where you're at if you don't, and someone who is better/faster/more experienced can help you improve a lot, quickly, help you overcome mechanicals, and take the pi55 when you fall off.
you've a decent budget, you can't go far wrong. 17".
have fun!

My take on it is that a frame with a slightly slacker head angle but a fairly normal seat tube angle will climb OK but will still give you confidence on the downhills. Frames for 100mm forks tend to have steeper head angles for quicker handling, which is great for twisty singletrack but can feel like a bit of a handful on rough or steep trails.

The extra 30mm of travel isn't essential - you have way more movement than that in your arms - but psychologically it feels nice to have a bit more squish, you've less likely to bottom out if you mess up a drop-off, and you can run a bit more sag if you want to quicken things up.

its not all about travel,

a good quality well damped 100mm fork that is set up right for you, will out perform a longer fork of poorer quality.....

Don't let the amount of travel a fork has make you think it won't climb - just adjust your body position to suit. Skill comes into it too. I'm creamed loads of climbs on my not-locked out 130mm Menjas on my 456 that my mates can't do on their racey steeds that have 100mm travel.

How about a whyte 905?

soobalias is right!
you will really never need more than 100mm for Glentress or innerleithen, and a 17" frame rather than 19" makes much more sense.

oh, and.. fork lift on climbs is entirely down to bad weight distribution/riding technique.

oh, and.. fork lift on climbs is entirely down to bad weight distribution/riding technique.

so, if i wind down my forks and it stops lift, it's because i've suddenly become a better rider ? no it's because the geom has changed. something i could maybe replicate by adopting a really uncomfortable position on a long climb.

or, i could just wind my fork in.

god there's some crap spouted on here.

Aye, there certainly is a lot of crap spouted on here right enough! 🙄

your front wheel lifts because you are lifting it with your arms and uppper body, winding the fork down simply makes it harder for you (and your poor positioning) to lift it. the front wheel doesn't lift itself magically! stop pulling upwards and if you do need to pull on the bars pull backwards!

Friend has a [url= http://www.marin.co.uk/2009/bikedetail.php?ModNo=3972-1F ]Marin Rocky Ridge[/url] which is a more agressive(AXC) hard tail than it's [url= http://www.marin.co.uk/2009/bikedetail.php?ModNo=3949-1F ]XC cousin[/url], I have the middle of the range North side trail also in the AXC range.

Off road he struggles up some hills if he stops he just gets wheelies as opposed to foward go. But since we dont do much cross country (the odd trail centre and mucking about in birmingham) then our choices suit us fine sir.

the AXC range tend to have more travel on the forks and a more extreme geometry on them than th Xc range with less travel on the forks.

therfor I think. no matter what people recommend you need to go to a biiig bike shop and have a sit and a peddle around the shop/car park. Which is what I did and it was a close run thing between the Spec' rockhopper and the marin.. but the marin was more hooliganish, which was what I was looking for.

What are you hiring at the trail centres? I don't go so honestly don't know. If you feel what you ride works why not go for the same? Try different T Centres that maybe offer different hire bikes and see what suits?

I was going to recommend a look at the Marin Aggro HTs as they seem to get good mag reviews generally.

As stated above the way you pull on your bars has a big effect when climbing. I always try to follow a tip from Ned Overend from a mag YEARS ago that was also bought up on a Cycleactive weekend I did.

Neds advise was to think of reving a motorbike as you climb and try to twist the grip towards you/down. This pulls your elbows down and thus your upper body. This way your lowering your centre of mass closer to the centre of rotation. It's the same but opposite to steep downhills/drops and getting your bum right behind your seat. If you do it right you can brake with the front as your CoM is so close to the centre of rotation.

Works for me every time, but you do need to think about it. As soon as you get sloppy and "sit up" you will find a tendency for the front to go light/wander and/or lift.

Have you thought of looking 2nd hand? Something like a Cotic Soul/Kona HT?

"look at forks, get the best fork you can for your money."

100% agree, assuming you are generally happy with the overall fit of the bike - a quality fork is paramount. Oh, and suitable tyres ;-D

you will really never need more than 100mm for Glentress or innerleithen

Yeah but your average frame designed around a 100mm fork will have a steeper HA than average (you ride some wee jumpy thing do you not?) and generally be longer, higher standover etc.

Aye, but jump bikes have steep HAs.. and GT isn't exactly high speed or steep or rough so why worry about it?

a 17" frame will have plenty standover unless the OP has mega short legs or huge gonads :P. and as for TT length it obviously varies between manufacturers.

Thanks for all your comment guys. It has really given me more to think about. I might just stick to finding a Ht with a good 100mm fork and then decide in a years time what I really need.

I went through this process earlier in the year. I tried a bunch (Orange Crush etc) but got a Marin Rocky Ridge. It's unbelivably good, to the extent i've been leaving my SC Nomad in the cupboard.

It also has an ace fork (i've got the float 140 (early ones came with it) but the later ones come with van 140), and climbs fine. Haven't really found anything I can't get up. Very quick on the downs and ace in woody singletrack as well. It's also quite nice in the air if you're going off a drop.

It'd eat glentress for breakfast. And the freeride park for that matter.

Very happy with my Kona Five-O, seems to climb alright and is a blast downhill. Not that pricey either.
I wouldn't worry about sticking to 100m forks, if you get a full sus people will say you need a hardtail, if you get a 130mm hardtail people will recommend learning on a 100mm, and so on, eventually you'll be on a single speed rigid bike. Well not really but if you want a long travel hardtail then get one, they are fun and ideal for chucking about.

GW- remember, Johnboy is a beginner. Speaking from experience as a leader of beginner group rides at GT, to the new rider it can seem pretty steep and high!

Something like the Giant Talon 0 may be even better- it's below your budget, well specced and has a 100mm fork but combined with stable (slack) geomoetry and wide bars and short stems that're good for a newer rider. I think that'd be the perfect bike if you're wanting to get used to it.

Gears are SLX and XT, which is a really good level for the £850 it costs, and a Tora fork which is good but upgradeable- it'd be the first thing to go on this bike but because it can take a longer fork you could just upgrade in a year's time, that way you don't have to worry about buying a new bike.

The left over in your budget could go on SPD pedals and shoes, a decent helmet and as much riding clothing and tools as you can afford. It's important to have all this kit as well as a decent bike.

Where are you based? There are a lot of Giant dealers around.

I've probably ridden more at Glentress on a 80mm travel XC hardtail with V-brakes than on any other bike and even that coped well (except for when it was deep snow and the rims kept icing up) and was fun, especially as it was light and made the climbing easier.

Having said that when I first got my Cotic Soul it was with an eye on building up to be what I regarded as the perfect Glentress hardtail - reasonably light and with adjustable travel forks to help climbing but still be fun on the decents. As it turns out Glentress is about the only place I did use the travel adjust regularily, winding the forks down for the climbs but putting them back to 125mm (which was long for a hardtail back then!) for the downhill bits. I still reckong that's great for Glentress but I also find that for local stuff in the Pentlands I just leave the forks at 100mm all the time.

Using a 2nd hand frame and some quality used bits my Soul originally cost under £1000 to put together, so it might be worth picking up a good frame and doing something similar yourself. Building a bike and setting it up is also great for learning stuff that can come in useful when out on rides - fixing gear issues etc.

Hired out a Genesis Altitude 10 today, I got to say I quite enjoyed it I think I've found my new Bike!!!!

Thanks guys for all your advice, way more advice than I thought I'd get.

Cheers

john 🙂

I was going to recommend a look at the Marin Aggro HTs as they seem to get good mag reviews generally.

Just thrashed my [u]new[/u] Rocky Ridge (thanks Cyclescheme!) round the lakes for the last four days and it is an awesome bike. Climbing without the forks lifting is easily achieved if you "drop your wrists" (throwing your weight further forward). First HT in years and loving it!