Hi folks,
My beloved Global TH1.5 is with me no more - after a repair to a downtube crack I lost confidence on it and decided not to transport it to NZ with me, and so it has been donated to a friend for spares/re-repair. For that reason, I'm looking for a replacement hardtail and I'd appreciate your thoughts and advice...
I think I'll be ordering a custom Chinese Ti hardtail and getting it delivered to me in New Zealand. I'd like something that is pretty versatile, so I'm considering requesting something that could handle 29er-plus tyres and a fork with around 150mm of travel with a fairly modern, slack geometry. I'd like to use it for a little hooning around at trail centres but also longer cross-country rides and bike-packing. Are these requirements self-contradictory?
I like the look of the Orange T9, and was thinking of a similar geometry.
Thoughts?
Adam...
Something like a Stanton Switch9er...?
Look on Spanner Bikes for inspiration but the three most commonly used Chinese factories that do direct sales are XACD (Xi'an / Changa Da), Titan and Waltly. I've dealt with XACD and Waltly over the years and would recommend the latter based on the fact that dealing with them isn't a shouting match and they take PayPal - between myself and mates we've had over a dozen frames with no breakages. My other advice is keep it simple - big, round tubes, avoid manipulation, big changes in section, cowled drop-outs. I'd also avoid internal routing unless holes are reinforced. The new Sonder Signal Ti looks very similar to frames I've had built from Waltly in terms of drop-outs and chainstay arrangements.
In terms of geometry, particularly long, slack for bike packing is the way that the front wheel will track uphill with luggage strapped to the bars as any weight can accentuate steering flop, particularly on technical, loose uphills where you might want some steering accuracy - simply don't strap to much stuff to the bars. Short chainstays are less of an issue.
@jamj1974 - yes, very nearly exactly...! I'd be reasonably happy with the price, too, were it not for import duty into NZ. I'll take a close look at the geometry
@dovebiker - thanks, that's awesome advice. The Sonder is one I'd been considering - but, as above, at the moment I'm thinking that ordering from China into NZ might be easier than ordering form the UK.
Thanks again all!