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1300 for a ragley td-1 and all gubbins to make it ss/gears/rohloff. Which when you realise it a rigid fork specific frame is nuts....:)
Most acely awesome bike though
300 quid on my BFe. Can't imagine ever needing anything more from a hardtail.
Having said that, I spent the same in 1997 on a hand made Lee Cooper XC frame. The interwebs tells me that's about 500 quid in today's money. Still using the frame now as a rigid singlespeed commuter (still on its original paint job too) so that's pretty good VFM I reckon.
It seems the sky's the limit when it comes to paying hard-earned cash for a suss frame, but what's the most you have - or would - drop on a classic hardtail frame? And why?
I spent around 1100 quid on a Ragley Ti frame because, put simply, it's a brilliant bike and works for me and the sort of riding I do. It's the same reason I'd spend money on any frame, full sus, hardtail or rigid, road, mtb, cross or whatever.
I'm not sure I understand the inference that a hardtail frame is somehow some sort of poor relation. Just as with anything else, you're paying for material, design, manufacturing, brand etc, whether it's full suspension or not is only part of the story.
It's a bit like asking whether you'd spend less on a two-door sports car than a five-door estate. They're just different.
Echoing a couple of replies on the first page...
A Ti456 from 2008/2009?, costing £1149- fifty quid extra for the shot blasted flamed decals as was the nicest finish. Amazing and only bike until I just built a full susser. The On One is most appropriate for 95% of my riding.
Can't see myself being in a position to do the same again but bang for buck has been immense value.
Local shop has had a Look carbon frame come in as a warranty replacement, apparently about $5000 AUD. It is a thing of beauty, but I prefer remaining married to yet another bike. I have never bought a frame only or ridden a hardtail since I gave up on my old trek 6500 (which is going into hard waste this week).
I'm not sure I understand the inference that a hardtail frame is somehow some sort of poor relation. Just as with anything else, you're paying for material, design, manufacturing, brand etc, whether it's full suspension or not is only part of the story.
I certainly didn't mean to infer that at all.
I was asking for a number of reasons:
[list][*]I'm potentially about to drop a wad of cash on a hardtail for a - erm - self-present.[/*]
[*]There's a lot of good suspension bikes out there now, but things do change very quickly, effectively 'outdating' them quickly, depending on how much you buy into the annual model update/refresh. High-end hardtails seem more immune to Henry Ford's sales model, thus potentially making them seem like more of an 'investment', usually for less money.[/*]
[*]Hardtails are great! Certainly my last geared hardtail (Brodie Holeshot) was one of the most adaptable and fun bikes I've ever owned. The fact is was lower maintenance than a susser was purely a bonus.[/*]
[*]And yes, the road comparison above. Although I think we're past that now.[/*][/list]
I suppose what I'm getting at more is that high-end hardtails are sometimes built outside the far east by local craftsmen (and women, I hope) and potentially one of these buyers I was interested to see whether many STWers had done this, and whether they felt it represented VFM - certainly over something similar (tubes, weight, finish) from the far east.
I've just ordered a Kingdom Vendetta 2, £1199 of Ti loveliness. Can't wait for it to come now, and get it built up.
I've just ordered a Kingdom Vendetta 2, £1199 of Ti loveliness. Can't wait for it to come now, and get it built up.
I like Kingdom stuff. Very much.
Briefly rode the Vendetta prototype when it was a 29er. Ir_baboon off here rode it for substantially longer and thoroughly enjoyed it in the Lakes.
Bought my Robin Mather for £750 in 2004. Full custom and an absolute bargain, still my main bike, smiles per miles in spades. been all over with it. looks a bit trashed now but still love it. And considering what Rob now charges for a frame I got in at the right time!
old pic:
[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3397/4575659452_da36e25b81_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3397/4575659452_da36e25b81_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/7Yks9d ]Clean bike. (before)[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/evilgoat/ ]Evil Goat[/url], on Flickr
I suppose what I'm getting at more is that high-end hardtails are sometimes built outside the far east by local craftsmen (and women, I hope) and potentially one of these buyers I was interested to see whether many STWers had done this, and whether they felt it represented VFM - certainly over something similar (tubes, weight, finish) from the far east.
I kind of see where you're coming from. I guess I'm in a sort of half-way house there as the owner of a Ragley Ti frame, made by Lynskey. I don't know how the same frame made in the far east would compare in terms of ride or finish, but what maybe is relevant is that when I had a problem with the downtube cracking at the junction with the headtube, I eventually ended up having an e-mail conversation with Mark Lynskey himself who explained why my frame had cracked - down to the amount of headtube below the tube junction fwiw - and was then gracious enough to ask me what would make me happy with the frame.
The end result is that I now have a somewhat modified Ragley Ti, which still rides brilliantly, and a really positive regard for Lynskey as a company who went the extra mile to sort things out for me even though technically they didn't have any obligation to deal with me directly.
I'm not saying you should buy something from Lynskey, just that I suspect you're more likely to get that sort of personal service from a smaller specialist named brand than from an anonymous far eastern factory.
Also think it's really hard to allocate 'value' to a bike purchase as it's all so subjective. I've never regretted spending 1100 quid on the Ragley frame and, with hindsight I'd have spent more to have the same level of enjoyment from riding the bike. Then again dropping £20k on a turbo diesel estate seems bonkers to me, but it's something people do quite routinely.
But yeah, personally I'd say if you can afford it and it's going to make you happy, why not? It's not really something you can judge in objective terms anyway. Value for money's pretty personal, no?
I paid ~700 for my Ritchey P-650b and I'd do it again.
Would willingly pay more for some nice titanium as well.
I pair a rather unreasonable amount for my Trek Speed Concept 9 frameset, but that might be stretching the definition of the topic slightly 🙂
It did come with brakes, bars, seatpost, forks and a little toolbox to mount on the frame too though 😀
Cheers, Rich
It did come with brakes, bars, seatpost, forks and a little toolbox to mount on the frame too though
No wheels? They saw you coming. 😉
My Ritchey P20 was about £800 retail, but i worked in the trade at the time.