[Closed] Steel hard tail frame recommendations

Where did you hear about them from?

Hate to be a naysayer but it looks like a fairly generic steel hardtail - I'd save some money buy a Soul and go on a skills course plus a nice holiday... or you could give me the money if you really want to get rid of it 😉

£900 for a steel frame, you've got to be kidding right or does that include the rest of the bike?

I think I'd be looking at different frame materials if I was spending that much on a frame.

[url= http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROOTI456VN/on-one-ti-456-frame ]Ti frame option No. 1 (£800)!!![/url]

[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=39288 ]Ti frame option No. 2 (£1040) !!![/url]

Where did you hear about them from?

My guess would be that [i]Singletrack[/i] magazine, issue 59. It did looke gorgeous but £900 gorgeous? I'm not that convinced.

For that money get a Ti one.

At the normal end of the budget I really like my Cove Handjob and the Genesis iO is great, I'm sure their Altitude frame will be great too

IIRC from the article, you're not just buying any 853 frame, you're buying a Made in the UK 853 frame - and that's where your money's going. The £400 - £500 853 frames from Cotic, On One (when they did them), Rock Lobster, Sanderson etc are, I think, all made in the far east - ditto the £900ish Ti ones mentioned above. Whether you can tell the difference, whether it matters to you and whether it's any better for it / you feel any better for it is up to you.

One of my mates recently invested in a handmade-in-Stoke, Brian Rourke 853 road bike that is absolutely beautiful. The frame cost as much as my S-Works Roubaix frame and fork and weighs a bit more too, but then that's missing the point.

I've currently got a Sanderson Life 853 and it's lovely, but I don't know if it's half as lovely as the Enigma - but then I'd love to have been able to afford / justify a made in the UK frame. If you can afford it, justify it and appreciate why it's twice the price - and perhaps ride it first - I'd do it. At that sort of money your alternatives are probably going to be the Made in the USA frames? I love the quote on [url= http://www.sidewayscycles.co.uk/products/index.php?id=68&clid=6 ]Sideways[/url] website about the IF Deluxe which sums it all up:

The IF Deluxe is nothing more than a bunch of pipes welded together to make a bicycle shape. Of course, St. Pauls Cathedral is just a pile of stones, but now I'm sure you get what we mean.

That enigma does look good, and I bet you won't run in to many on the trails, but £900 on a steel frame....

Hi thanks for your views i think goforthehills sums it up ,its a english hand made frame and brazed joints and hand finished .
And being an engineer you can see the work that goes into it and having spoken to the boilders they have a real passion fot what they do their road bikes are amazing bits of kit .
Have had titanium bikes and to be honest prefer the ride of a steel frames
Its a lot of money for a frame but i only ever have one bike and am fortunate to be able to afford one as selling the R8 frame and work has been good this year .

If you want it buy it.

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Seriosly. I regret not buying something like this when I had the chance.

I keep getting drawn to this page...
http://www.curtisbikes.co.uk/xc-reynolds.html

(Very happy with my Sanderson Life, but you have to have a plan b)

How was the R8?

Is it off the peg? If so that's a lot of money for a steel frame.
You could get Dave Yates to build you a custom 853 to exactly your chosen geometry for that:

http://www.daveyatescycles.co.uk/custom_bike_frames-ATB_Frames-28.php

If you want it enough and can afford it and know it's right for you then do it, you will love it and keep it for ages, whereas if you got an inbred etc instead you'd think about changing it.

If you end up not liking it though...

Not sure if 18bikes are taking orders for custom frames yet? Could be worth a look.

gonetothehills - nail on the head

My suggestion would be to keep your money in your pocket, £900 is silly money for a steel frame.

I'd want to ride one before I shelled out nearly a grand on a frame.

I'd been looking at these, was speaking to them a while ago and they were suggesting 953, not sure what they're doing with it now though.

Wish I'd bought one.

Inbred & a nice holiday.

Go for it. 🙂

I think trying to find a hand built bike in the UK which has modern geometry (without you having to design it yourself) is quite tricky.

The Enigma looks pretty nice. I would try and ride one if possible, for me, mainly because I haven't got any experience of that Columbus tubing they're using. I like fairly springy frames, So I would have to make sure it fitted the bill. YMMV.

18bikes (have they launched theirs yet?)
Hammoon cycles (featured in news a couple of days ago and looked interesting)
Chas Roberts (not quite convinced about geometry but YMMV)

If UK isn't important to you, but hand built is, then there are lots more options (although usually more expensive by the time you've got them in the UK).

Good luck!

Just taken a longer look at the geometry on the Enigma.
Make sure that 71/73 and 100mm forks is exactly what you're after. If, like you suggest, you'll be keeping it a long time, it could prove important.

I own an Independent Fabrication and when it was made (2002) I couldn't see any reason why I'd want more than 80mm travel for a hardtail. Of course now I've got 150mm on my full sus bike, 80mm seems pretty limiting - so much so that it's almost become my woods-specific bike which is a shame. I'm sure it would take 100mm without ruining the handling, but I'm not even sure that's enough for me these days.

Riding in the Peak District doesn't help matters, where straightlining over rocks is pretty common.

The geometry is the same as my orange R8 which rides really well and also has 100mmforks which are fine for 95% of my riding as live in the norfolk flatlands .
The curtis does look good ,but think its going to be the ego st