What would folk suggest as a tough all-round HT? Don’t want ultra light XC use only, prfer something that’ll take some punishment{jumps/drops etc},with slack had angles….

Orange Crush? heavy but tough

hoss
rocky ridge
sub zero
456
456 summer jobbie
brodie holeshot
crush

and funily enough the crush is the only one i have not had the pleasure of owning..

All I could think of off the top of my head right now, probably worth checking out:

Santa Cruz Chameleon, Marin Rocky Ridge, Identi (I think) Mr Hyde, Cotic BFe, DMR Trailstar, DMR Exalt, Evil Sovereign, Dialled Alpine,

Bear in mind that ‘hardcoreness’, material, weight, fork length and slackness vary considerably…

Flow bikes are apparently bringing out an 853 hardtail with geometry “based on” (i.e. copied from) a Stiffee. It’s been in the works for a year or so but should actually be available in a couple of months.

DMR Trailstar and Dailled Bikes Alpine not been mentioned yet. Plus the above.

ns suburban?

If you want to stick to a Canadian brand you could look at the Chromag Stylus. i think the HA is 67 but can take a 160mm fork. Also have iscg mounts if that kind of thing is important to you. The new one is significantly lighter than the previous one too. Im not sure what the deal is with the new UK importer as the website is still not online yet

I think Mythic do something that should be hard core enough. They are also a more unusual choice.

Personally I would probably go with a BeFe though.

cove’s own Handjob is now pretty similar to the STiffee in terms of angles and intended use.

Pace have a hardtail thats on offer at a few places, forgotten what its called 305 or something??
Kinesis Phase is similar too

I just replaced my 5 year old stiffee with a BFe. Totally different bikes mind. Bfe is far more comfortable, and probably faster up and down a hill but it lacks the mental try to kill you handling of the stiffee. If you’re after cove handling then wait for that flow I reckon, a steel stiffee…mmmmm

.243 racing ?

Thanks so far, but if it’s not a silly question, what’s the difference between 456 and the summer version?

PS – Ton – you’re not selling any of th aforementiond frames at the minute are you?

My Mountain Cycle Rumble is a kickass HT bike. Stiff, replaceable/differing drop-out combinations, and it can take a pounding.

Takes a long fork, 150mm no problem, and it’s not too heavy.

it’s Ali, and got a long’ish top tube for the size.
It rocks. And is very quick handling on the twisty bits.

ton I am not sure the on-one bike are design the same way the stifee is. And the are specially not design to take the abuse of a hoss, crush and such…

P7? Maybe more XC, but damn tough…

MussEd – Member
PS – Ton – you’re not selling any of th aforementiond frames at the minute are you?

what size frame do you need.

Kinesis Max Ph4se – mate has one, Easton rad tubing, tough as hell and look great

Santa Cruz Chameleon, amazing all-rounder. Can literally do anything you want on them. Strong, light, chuckable and gets back up the hills without any problem. Fairly stiff/harsh on the back end but the acceleration more than makes up for it.

I’ve a nice blue Chameleon frame for sale, large size, 2008 model with the EBB and swoopy tubes.

There is no alternative.

Cove came up with the geo and everyone else copied it now it’s so close but Cove have crap paintjobs now and over priced that Santa Cruz have a great hardtail in the market.

My ’03 Stiffee had terrible paint but my ’08 frames are painted as good as any other manufaturer.

Price has become more eye-watering during the ‘crunch’.

Sorry been away dismantling{demolishing} a pergola in order to make room for new shed/man cave.

I’m 6ft 1″ so probably large on most bikes Ton. Heard tales of your {ahem} stature {/ahem} and know from your regular posts on here that you like a change of frame from time to time.

Rickos – you got an ad on classifieds? Not noticed it yet, unless it’s gone up this afternoon…Oh and what does that Eccentric BB mean exactly?

Totally agree with Zaskar, there is no alternative!
I have a 08 Cove Stiffe, and had 2 Rock Ridges before that as the first Rocky Ridge snapped, not something I’d expect the Cove to do.

The Stiffee just feels better than the Rocky Ridge, end of. Several pals have Chameleon’s and their nice frames, but look much stiffer at the rear than the Cove.

Just be done with it and buy a Cove Stiffee!

There is no alternative.

Cove came up with the geo and everyone else copied it now it’s so close but Cove have crap paintjobs now and over priced that Santa Cruz have a great hardtail in the market.

A new Stiffee is £595. A new Chameleon is £599. 🙄

Eccentric BB = it rotates in a sleeve so you can run singlespeed easier. Not sure how EBB systems hold up to huckery pokery though.

How about a Chumba HX1? Like the Chameleon it also has an eccentric BB and costs £550.

mussed
email me mate
got something you might be interested in.

Prince Albert ..£240 new 😀

Genesis Alptitude
Kinesis Pha5e
Orange P7 (will happily take a set of Fox 36’s)
DMR Trailstar
Santa Cruz Chameleon
On One 456

Fantastic bike, enough space on the rear for 2.5′ tyre. Has been on a few uplift days, done majority of the drops at glentress, innerlethien and even been to morzine with it!
Only problem I’ve had is with the travel adjust nob on the pikes clashing with the frame. But a bigger crown race for the king fixed that.
If your serious about getting one your welcome to test ride mine.

Faz

Whyte 19 with Pikes?

Thanks so far, but if it’s not a silly question, what’s the difference between 456 and the summer version?

The 456 Summer has a slacker head angle than the 456 all the other dimensions are the same. The only other obvious difference is the summer is clear lacquered rather than a paint job (comes out a sort of nice green colour). I presume the idea is that it’s a play bike that’s going to take lots of knocks so no posh paint required. It was only £125 before Xmas, but will have gone up a bit by now. 130mm-140mm forks are good and the bike climbs fine with the slack head angle. Here’s mine

Wow Chameleons have gone up in price! I thought they were way cheaper for a while!

I had my original stiffee 69er back in 03 and had to sell when money was tight to someone off here!

O’ve had other frames and nearly bought another Zaskar but now Wiggle have upped their price I might have to buy another Stiffee.

I will never forgive myself for selling it.

MussEd – Member
What would folk suggest as a tough all-round HT? Don’t want ultra light XC use only, prfer something that’ll take some punishment{jumps/drops etc},with slack had angles….

you don’t need slack angles for jumps or drops, slack head angles are more stable at higher speeds but worse for jumping proper DJs and only minimaly better on big fast drops.
what do you weigh MussEd? where are you planning on riding it? and sort of what top-tube length suits you? (I’ll take it as a given you’ll be running somewhere between a 40-60mm stem?)

Sadly I weigh 15st, 6ft 1. I ride primarily at GT and Innerleithen,{also some homemade stuff in local woods} although I’m up early today to head up to Laggan for the day. When I said jumps I didn’t mean full on DJ/SS stuff. Think the slack head angle for quick descents remark still stands really.
As for top tube length I’ve never really had a bike I didn’t get on with in this regard. I don’t have outlandishly long arms or owt, just big old shoulders so bar width seems to be more important, and yes will be short strong stem going on there.

Cheers for help so far lads, plenty to look into!