Hardtail between £600-£1000

A buddy of mine is starting to look for a replacement for his Orange Gringo, he is looking for something faster handling (the Gringo is a battleship!) and softer rear, so something steel ideally.

Any suggestions?

Have a quick search – there was a big-ish thread the other day about bikes around £800.

In summary, Merlin’s various options, something from Cube and I think Boardman bikes might have been mentioned… It would be remiss of me not to add On-One at this point too 😉 (no connection)