like realy good or err ok good.

Like that **** good you’ll not be wanting to buy ‘owt else 🙂

not true – nice and slack, but climb OK.
however, they are so severely stiff, your chiropracter will rub his/her hands with glee and the paint if fookin kak.

seriously????

Who cares about the paint ? So it falls off 🙂 The bike still works though. You just need to ride it on the terrain it was made for.

I’ve heard pretty much exactly the same as Lecht says, from people I know who own them.

Paint is fine on my 06. Great bike, love it to bits. You can put enormous tyres on the back if you find it harsh. I don’t.

I’ve had one for five years and don’t think it’s overly harsh a ride.
Done proper mountains on it, played about in the woods and ridden it in the odd 24hr race a 12hr solo and some enduros.
It’s inspiring on technical trails – up or down, the only slight negative for me, is that it’s a bit of work to get up to speed and maintain it on flat non-techy trails, but I guess it wasn’t aimed at the terrain where an xc HT excels.
Paint is lasting really well on mine – but I’ve seen many less fortunate!

This is mine now, polished up, just finished rebuilding it today 🙂

ouch – it hurts just loooking at it – seriously stiff mate – ride one and see….i’ve ridden a few, love Cove, but couldn’t recommend a stiffee, sorry.

It’s perfect for what I want, riding very steep very techy trails on loose terrain. If you want to ride at trail centres this aint for you. get something more mainstream.

It’s an awesome bike that encourages hooligan behaviour only usually found on full-suss bikes. I recently sold mine and got a 456 Ti, and whilst I love the On-One and it is an all-round better bike, there are occaisions I miss the Stiffee.
Yes it’s pretty brutal for anything longer than a couple of hours thrashing but you’ll either have a huge smile on your face or be nursing a few injuries after it’s encouraged you to do something stupid!!

Seriously good, end of.

It’s a totally iconic bike, and one that will be mentioned in years to come, and nodoubt eventually become a collectors item, like your Haro Masters/Hutch Tricksters/Skyway BMX’s of the 80’s.

I don’t find the back end any harsher than other Alu hardtails I’ve owned, just compare the size of the rear tubing to a Santa Cruz Chameleon, now that’s a stiff frame. If your worried about harshness just put 2.5″ tyres on it, or go for a full sus.

Perfectly put heihei 🙂

I will never get rid of mine, its done most od the trail centres and I don’t find it any worse to ride all day than the ti 456, if I had to choose between the 456 and the stiffee the stiffee would win.

pete, did you sort a ti 456.
you must have won the pools……your old enought to remember em pal… 😉

I had one, loved it, wondered a bit on the climbs but not much more then my handjob does. was stiff in the back end and wouldn’t ride it all day, but you can (and i did) have a 2.5 inch tire on the back which helps. its a toss up between that or a hummer to replace my handjob…… the stiffee is winning

I changed to a Stiffee from years on xc race spec dales and stumpies so it was a kind of rebirth of riding stile more of a slack moto style which I found ideal especially for the formed trails at trail centres. I now have two, one with flats, wide bars, long forks and big discs fat rims wide tyres and the other with time clipless a lot skinnier, more xc, build but with fat tubeless tyres. I can ride either all day and I can’t quite get to accept this myth about them being short duration play bikes.. i think folk see the name and it creates a psychological block in their heads that it’s like riding a bike made of girders.. I am quite sure it’s not the same as Steel or Ti but I hear the same rubbish spouted about chameleons and know many who all day ride them with out any pain.. I will probably take one to Andorra this year rather than the G Spot without any fear of reduction in fun factor. For much of the UK natural trails if I switch from the G Spot to a Stiffee with the 2.3 – 2.4 tyres (and you could fit 2.5 if riding is dry) sat on them the front end is identical and as a result sometimes forget i have a rigid tail because they are supple and not harsh, it is not until i cut off some corner riding over rough rubbish at speed thinking the rear shock will soak it up and it does not that I recall the I left the G Spot in the kitchen

Yeah Ok the stickers are not, but the paint aint that bad I’ve seen worse finishes and longevity on expensive bikes from mainstream brands. Cove are a small shop, doing a wide range of colours jsut to ensure its hard to get the right one, the colours are sweet and mine only show wear where body or shoes regularly rub on the frame in muddy conditions.

OK, here’s why I like mine:

Good on the ups, and the downs, and the alongs. Just a really good combination – the slackish head angle is good for steep stuff, but the handling is still nice and lively.

It’s light for the pasting it can take. A smidge over 4 lbs I think.

The tubes seem very dent-resistant. There have been many occasions when I’ve gone one way and the bike’s gone t’other but the only damage to it has been cosmetic.

Mahoosive tyre clearance – a 2.5 High Roller fits no problem.

Nothing weird about the frame like integrated headsets or slidy dropouts.

Silly easy to pick the front end up, because of the fairly high BB.

Silly light back end too.

Comes in really nice colours.

I’ve had mine about four years now and don’t want to change it.

Mate has one and he has no qualms of going out all day on it. In fact I had a loan of it when my own bike was out of action and frakin loved it. Think that nonsense about chiropractors was mischief making.

Great frame, only thing holding me back{see earlier thread} is cost at the moment.

The only reason I don’t own a cove stiffee is because I own a Santa Cruz Chameleon, clearly amazing bikes and a quick look on there website shows they come anodized now so no more “flakey” paint

Yes mate, 456 in, morning glory has gone :o(

I had mine with 100 – 130 U-Turn Revs on – that sorted the climbing out. It was the best descending bike I’ve ever had – it actually felt safer than any of the three subsequent full sussers I’ve owned – in a “don’t worry, I’ll get you out of this mess” kind of way. It genuinly felt like it was looking after my (and my shonky riding skills). I really do remember that aspect of riding it quite fondly! Sad eh?

So why did I get rid of it? Even with Conti 2.3 tyres front and back, I just got so beaten up on the rough stuff – trekking along, not downhilling – and couldn’t keep up with the other guys on that sort of terrain who were on full sussers.

I’d have another one though (or a Chameleon) but in my dotage suspect a Hummer would be more sensible. And a touch pricier.

Oh yeah – the paint was a bit iffy too, and the stickers are the kind of things you get free with MBUK.

the finish was horrendous, but sorted under warranty after losing a quarter of it’s paint in big flakes over the first month

it has a very tight, some would say harsh, back end.

I WILL NOT PART WITH IT.

It catapults itself through sections, has proved itself as only bike, light bike and play bike, has a lunatic element on the downhills and can ride relaxed to the shops.

Would recommend an adjustable fork, 5″ is ace descending, but a bit wandering when ascending

I chose mine over a Chameleon as it didn’t have any faffy bits in the transmission/brakes and was cheaper.