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GT Zaskar for me but more to do with how much I coveted it as a teen before finally buying one, than how it actually rode.
In terms of bikes I think of as iconic, most have been mentioned several times (UK hardcore hardtails, Chameleon etc), but one I was expecting more love for is the Rocky Mountain Blizzard which would definitely make my list.
Not iconic, but probably the best hardtail I rode was a Commencal Supernormal which, despite being an XC leaning bike, did all that i asked of it at the time in a very engaging way.
Nukeproof cub scout?
DaveyBoyWonder
Free Member^ by that logic all current bikes are also “not very good”.
How?
Greatest is impossible to pinpoint, so many variables - value ? ride quality ? looks ?
that said, my 456ti evo with the tapered head tube is still my favourite and still ridden
Another vote for the Cotic Soul. I've had three, and wish I still had one.
My first was a second hand, black MK2 like the one above, upgraded to Hope/Mavic wheels. Thomson stem and seatpost, reba dual air forks, 3x9 transmission - it was just brilliant, light, nimble, confidence inspiring, sprightly. Truly the bike that got me properly into mountain biking. I swapped to a MK3 for dropper compatibility but don't reckon it was quite as nice to ride. I rode the Borrowdale Bash on the MK1 about 8 or 9 years ago, by far the most techy natural terrain I'd encountered and it just did it.
Via a Solaris, a 650b Soul and a handful of other bikes I've ended up with a Cotic Flare full suss which is lovely, but I've ridden it a fraction of the miles I rode that first Soul. Simpler times...
Has anyone owned a 26” Cotic Soul and it HASNT been their favourite 26” hard tail?
Bloody loved that bike.
I had a Ragley Ti, it was magnificent, it made me a better rider and let me get away with damn fool nonsense, I loved it… I’ll fight its corner and say it was one of the best oldschool hardtails ever made, but I don’t need to get another one in 2024 to know that my ti Titus utterly ****s on it to the point of ridiculousness.
Yes, as someone who still has a Ragley Ti as well as a couple of modern mountain bikes, I'd say it's a bit like watching some TV show from your childhood that you used to love on a modern, HD television. Like, oh, I dunno, Hill Street Blues - you can still vaguely see what it was you loved about it, but the picture's blurry and a funny shape and the characters feel dated and predictable. It still has a sort of residual charm, but it's very definitely not what it was viewed from a modern perspective. See also 80s/90s hot hatches, maybe.
You may wish you'd never sold your Soul / Ragley Ti / Ti 456, but thinking they're still as good as they were at the time is wishful thinking 🙂
There’s a third option which is to resurrect my 456c which I very much enjoyed.
Mine has been getting a lot of use this winter, as the weather has been so bad. Still enjoy it. On its last legs though as the seat post broke at the top, so I have to use an extra long seat post (no dropper) and a double clamp.
If you ever sell the frame, let me know.
I'd forgotten how fugly they were/are ^^
thebunk
Full MemberHas anyone owned a 26” Cotic Soul and it HASNT been their favourite 26” hard tail?
Yeah, I far preferred my Ragley Ti. I think it was just simply better at everything except for pootling (for such a capable bike, the Soul was an incredible pootler)
But the Soul set a really high bar... After I got my Hemlock I knew the Soul wasn't a great fit for me, it was too allroundy, so I started looking for something a bit more full on and it took a lot of looking. My Mmmbop was awesome but so skittish, my C456 was great but it just lacked whatever the magic ingredient in the Soul was, it was reliable and capable but never inspirational. (I think of this as waggy-tailedness, I had a BFe for about 5 minutes and ditched it because it had absolutely none)
Finding something that was as good as the soul but also did the job I wanted it to do was really hard and that's a pretty big compliment.
I'm going to vote for the Chameleon. First of the small jumpy hardtails that came in larger sizes, about 97 or 98. Maybe not the greatest but well up there and driving that bandwagon. The original do it all HT imo.
The '98 size L I had with Z1 forks and wide as poss ratio 1x8 was good for jumps at Cranham 4X, DH in the FoD (just) and all day XC. Very influential in how I think about the range of use and riding attitude a hardtail should have.
Also a reminder of how wheel size influences things as I don't see how a bike with similar character could be made now as a 29er, despite me being a big fan of 29" generally. Tempted to think a mullet HT would get closest.
^ on that note about ride character in a 29er, an odd thought is that my rigid Jones gets closer than most to the mix of agility, confidence on tech stuff and all day XC abilities that the Chameleon had. It just loses out on the lack of forks and over jumps but that's also me being 30 years older.
In-rats
Production Privee Shan/Oka
Best hardtail ever made with the bonus that you can run 27.5 should you want with dropout kit.
Has anyone owned a 26” Cotic Soul and it HASNT been their favourite 26” hard tail?
I rode the prototype Soda round the carpark at Sherwood Pines, that might change my vote from the Soul!