[Closed] steel uk hardtails...whos got what?

Stif Morf here. Ride most days and haven't touched my orange five in months.

its bright yellow, climbs well, descends amazingly and in 3 months, many crashes and far to few washes it hasn't missed a beat

Love it

I've been riding a Morf since July. I've found it more fun than the new Bfe (one ride on a demo day) or my old Blue Pig Mk 2 (three years of riding) - shorter forks feel more suited to this kind of bike. Stif have sold out of most sizes of the frame now though.

Designed in the UK or made in the UK?

Cotic BFe, ride it 90% of the time xc to "dh" trails

Here it is again...Trusty Rusty...Triggers brush, handbrazed in County Durham in 1990 & still going strong. (well 2 of the frametubes are anyway)

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Um, I'm running a Soul275 and A freshly built Solaris.

Soul is a two year old build now and 2x10 with 140 Revs, dropper, Flow EXs on Pro2Evos with a Dampf/Nic combo.

Solaris is running modified Rebas (moco and 120), dropper, 1x11 GX/X1 with Turbine Cinch and AB oval 32t, Frequency i25's on Pro2Evos and a Vigilante at each end cos it's winter

Stanton Sherpa is a good all rounder. Very capable bike and the 2nd gen ones have enough clearance for 27.5 plus tyres if that floats your boat.

Had a BFe for a few years now. Mostly superceded now by the Rocket, but before I went FS it got ridden everywhere - local little round the woods, trail centres, Peak, Lakes, Wales, Fort William red. Hugely capable bike if a bit physically punishing on long, rough rides.

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Not uk, but uk friendly, what about a Surly Instigator mk2. You can get a full bike for about £1400 (was £2200 last year). Proper bargain and a very nice bike with a good spec.

I've got a 26" BFe that got used for all sorts of stuff until a few weeks ago. It's built up SS rigid now.

Cotic Solaris- 120 Pikes, Reverb, i23 rims, Nukeproof bars, 2.4f/2.25r tyres, SLX/XT drivetrain.

Does me well round the Lakes.

2016 orange crush here great bike but I am thinking of changing it sometime this year my be for a BTR ranger in 29er flavour.

MK1 Dialled Bikes PA. 26" wheels, 2002 Z1 Bombers, 2x9 XT (BB is 10 years old and still going strong) was a great and capable bike when I bought it and it still is.

Just swapping my Scandal for a Solaris mk2, will have 100mm rebas for now, 2x10 mix of XT & SLX, dropper when I want without remote.

Also looking for a little bfe for fun.

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Stanton Slackline

This is the old 26" version but you get the idea...

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Stanton Sherpa here run with 29" wheels, very happy with it.

Got a switchback mk1 with 150mm sweeps, feels and rides fantastic! I used to have a mk2 soul with 130/32mm forks, good for the trails and xc, but this switchback blows it away when hooning about on my local trails! It's as comfy, but a lot slacker and the 34mm forks make it a lot more solid up front.

TBH the British designed stuff has for the most part seen exorbitant price hikes lately, brand building malarkey I'm ooooout.

Ragley latest RRP's you're aving a giraffe mate Stanton same. Too close to full sus frames in sales, way above aluminium frames with similar geometry that are lighter and haven't seen anywhere near the same price hikes over the same period.

The price of a resurgence in popularity I suppose.

BFe

Pros
- Relatively light
- Strong
- Looks good
- Good quality.

Cons
- As harsh as cheap aluminium (you really feel it on sustained rocky trails)
- Compromised handling at maximum travel heights (not bad at the travel height you want though).

I have an Onza Payoff (29er in copper) and it's pretty good. Only 'fault' with it is the 27.2 seatpost so droppers are a bit limited. They've been in the sale recently for 1300ish so pretty good value.

Planning on getting a new Stanton Slackline soon because it looks ridiculously sexy.

Onza payoff here, edit: hi5 Andy !, acid bath raw version, looks well cool, which is the most important thing! But also trailsy angles but not so it makes it a dog climbing, big wheels, you'd need a 27.2 dropper, I'm going without at the minute and not massively missing it. Not 90s Kona springy but takes a bit of the sting out when up to speed. Er yeah, well happy with it

TBH the British designed stuff has for the most part seen exorbitant price hikes lately, brand building malarkey I'm ooooout.

Ragley latest RRP's you're aving a giraffe mate Stanton same. Too close to full sus frames in sales, way above aluminium frames with similar geometry that are lighter and haven't seen anywhere near the same price hikes over the same period.

The price of a resurgence in popularity I suppose.

Wholeheartedly agree.

Current Stanton steel range are all £600! I only paid 750 for my Aeris.

Are there any UK companies who actually build the frames in the UK, apart from them wot make filing cabinets. Or is it limited to custom builders?

Quite fancy a payoff. Are you both running an EBB or press fit adaptor?

Sorry for the thread hijack

Cotic Solaris Mk1.

With regard to the price hikes talked about above, Cotic are charging £500 for the Solaris frame which is what I paid in 2014.

Solaris in yellow now £399 which is a decent price

The price of a resurgence in popularity I suppose.

All costs are shooting up. Not sure popularity has much to do with it.

Bigger manufacturers can delay price rises, but not escape them…

Buy now.

Adapter, was cheap enough. Go for it, nice little frames

I currently have:

Mk1 Cotic Soul (think it cost £380 back in 07 or 08, I forget which)

Mk1 Cotic Solaris in 29er (£499 when they first came out)

Next Gen Stanton Sherpa (B+). £599

Yup, frames aren't cheap but 863, bolt through rear axle and a depreciating pound (at least +10% impact) all add up. Guess what, if it falls further they'll go up even more 😥

If you'd been paying attention you could've picked up a soul (135 axle) or a mk2 Solaris for £399 recently (in yellow) or a Stanton with 15% off on black fireday.

dialled prince albert
the new one should be along soon

26" Bfe here. Built it as a cheap stop gap between posh bikes and just kept riding it.

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It's been everywhere including up and down all them Alps in that there France when I broke my DH bike. That was an interesting week.

I'm about ready to switch back to something more forgiving but have no idea what I want.

Are there any UK companies who actually build the frames in the UK, apart from them wot make filing cabinets. Or is it limited to custom builders?

I take that as a 'no' then. 😕

+1 on the dialled PA - just a super frame. Feels really lovely.

I've got a Mk 3 Soul, 26" wheels. Lovely bike and by far the best hardtail I've ever ridden. Problem is I bought a Whyte T130 and I'm struggling to justify both!

Can really recommend a bfe in the lakes...

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I'm 6ft, I'm right between cotic sizes, for the Solaris I've gone large because it's more of an xc machine.

I fancy a 26" bfe for pump track/learning to jump duty, but it'd be nice (though not essential) if it was pedalable for rides up to a couple of hours, am I asking too much from one frame? Would I be better off with a small or extra small? Priority would be for it to be good for the first intended use.

6ft 1 here. Large Solaris.

S'alright I suppose*...

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*It's bloody brilliant

I fancy a 26" bfe for pump track/learning to jump duty, but it'd be nice (though not essential) if it was pedalable for rides up to a couple of hours, am I asking too much from one frame?

Mine gets used on proper dirt jumps and pump tracks. I've also hit some pretty big gaps and drops on it.

It's also the most comfy all day bike I've ever had. Saying that, people say the Bfe is harsh and I don't have any similar bikes to compare it to. I've never been an XC rider so I just pop the Reverb up and go. My last hardtail was a Charge Blender which was similar on the fun stuff but a total pig everywhere else.

Everybody keeps on about the high prices...has anyone considered the 2nd hand market?

Some amazing bargains to be had! Some bikes have hardly been used and most decent HT's sell for circa £1k with a good build. I know you don't get warranty but how often does a decent HT go wrong useless you do something really silly?

I'd go for a Stanton but I'm biased! 😉

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It's still fun, lithe and comfy many miles and years in. By the bikes of time, it's very long, allowing long seat post for flex.

@Bregante - how do you find the reach on the large Solaris? I'm 6' 1" and normally ride an XL Bird Aeris with a ETT of 660 + 35mm stem (reach is 486mm). Thinking of getting a Solaris but want to run it with a 40-50mm stem.

I have a 2016 Bird Zero AM. I'm enjoying it at the moment, great fun

jruk - perfect for me with a 70mm stem although I haven't got ridiculously long arms.