Hardtail with 160mm forks………..what is there??

as i said it is for my nephew 19 yrs old and off for the summer to the alps, spending the summer out thereand only wants to take one bike which will cover going up and down and be reliable. He is 6ft and 14stone so needs to be robust but he is worried about the long climbs so wants to keep weight down but still sturdy, he will use 160mm travel on the downs and adjust for the climbs
Alpine is a great choice, as if the befe but anything else out there?

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/mountain/alpitude/alpitude/overview/

would be happy with a 160 on the front.

Summer. Alps.

The word "chairlift" comes to mind when it comes to getting up the hill… Even if he sets off with the best intentions to pedal everywhere, I guarantee he'll be corrupted before too long.

lol Mr Edwards, it is based on his idea to save cash, after working all winter he wants to make his cash last he is taking the dirtbag approach to this excursion.

Evil Sovereign, On-one summer Season, On-one 456 Carbon should all be added to the list.

As for keeping the weight below 30lb, well with Air Forks (Lyriks or Floats), Hope wheels with Flow rims, and sensible choice of drivechain (ie: not raceface) it shouldn't be that hard.

Only thing I would also definitely recommend is a Thomson post as you are going to end up with a fair bit sticking out, and they don't bend.

lol Mr Edwards, it is based on his idea to save cash, after working all winter he wants to make his cash last he is taking the dirtbag approach to this excursion.

Summer lift passes are cheap! Seriously, there is no way he's going to pedal up all the hills all summer. Better to be realistic and get a season pass at the start of the summer than end up spending more money on day-passes here and there.

Why's that then Cookeaa?

Quite simply PA's built for a 4-5" fork Alpine is for something a touch longer isnt it 140mm+, and you probably save a half pound or so of frame so it's a net win; less weight, not such a slack HA, better climbing and since your already happy with a 4" fork no difference in DH performance, and it's cheaper…

As for the OPs nephew; There is an ever growing list of frames that will take such a fork:
-Alpine
-Chameleon
-EVIL imperial or Sov?
-NS Surge
-DMR Exalt
-456
-BFe?
I think Norco do a frame or 2 that will…

But I wouldn't suggest he aims for a sub 30lb build for what I assume is going to be a primarily lift assisted/DH orientated Alpine trip, a bit more heft in the wheels and drive at the expense of weight is a sensible compromise, esspecially if he's going to biff it up…

I own a DMR Exalt and would not recommend it for his purposes it's more of a bargain bin DH HT hack, the Alpine seems to be the optimum choice, the couple I've had a brief go on have been great and probably climb as well as a long forked steel HT possibly can…

his plan is to travel to as many places as he can in the summer, france italy solvenia arc if possible so a season pass will be out of the question.

Save the cash on food and beer! He won't need to eat as much if he takes the chairlift!

Real world, he'll really limit the areas he can get to if he only pedals up the hill. He'll do one or 2 descents a day rather than 15 or 20, and he can use the chairlifts + traversing to access more distant areas from one basecamp. As an example – Champery which has some great singletrack is an easy trip across from Morzine/Les Gets by chairlift & bike, but would be an absolute bugger if you wanted to pedal the whole way, and you wouldn't enjoy the trails over there so much, as you'd be knackered, and still have to make the trip back.

(this all asumes he's not a world class XC wannabe, at which point why is he taking a 160mm hardtail?)

There was a good article in Dirt a couple of months back about a pair of brothers who did the Alps for a summer for very little cash. Might be worth a look.

I rode the alps on my db alpine last year, worked fine on all the dh courses with 150mm marzocchis. I'd build it up strong if he's 14stone though, 35lb's might be about the right weight.

We were also on a bit of a budget but we travelled about a fair bit. Did france, switzerland and italy. Camped rather than used chalets and just cooked our own pasta for tyea, every night.

We did buy lift passes though, cycling back to the top of the hills would take forever, and at 14 stone I imagine your nephew aint the fittest.

he is fit, and solid his weight maybe more tha 14 st, rugby and rowing were his sports, i think he will end up doing what people have suggested but i think he needs to work it out for himself, he ain't listening to his family!. Thanks for the advice and help.

cookeaa – Member

Quite simply PA's built for a 4-5" fork Alpine is for something a touch longer isnt it 140mm+,
according to Dialled bikes site the Alpine's geometry is recomended for a 130mm fork and the PA is recomended for a 120mm-140mm fork, so the same really! – have a look if you don't believe me. but anyway..
if you run an Alpine with 100mm forks it ends up having a nice low BB and sensible H/A (for nipping in and out of tight techy stuff which is the only place a hardtail has any real advantage over FS in DH)

OP – 30lb is achievable (at a price) without sacrificing strength if you go for an Aluminium frame rather than steel. – I've raced 4lb Alloy frames DH (successfully) and ridden DH in the Alps on them (when my DH bike snapped) – it'll cost a load of cash building it to 30lb and still maintaining the durability

i also have a DB Alpine. i pedaled it over the alps last year and plan to do the same with it this summer several times over.

the frame is perhaps a touch small for XC duties, but with the saddle up high, my beloved adjustable stem swung forward and the fork dropped to 115mm it makes for a good climbing machine. with the saddle down, the bars brought back and the fork let out it becomes a mean abwartsmachine.

oh, and sometimes people WANT to ride up and not take the fat-boy chairlifts. it's not always about the downhill and, as i suspect, this lad isn't going for a 10 days holiday, but a summer travelling through the alps riding good trails.

I stand corrected then GW always thought of the PA as a UK trail riding bike and the Alpine as a big mountain big forked Grrrr bike, but I guess you can build both either way, Replecation of function?

Edit: actually just looked and the DB site says apline is for 120-160mm fork and PA for 120-140mm fork so middle for diddle PA ~130, Alpine ~140… So and whats 20mm less fork ~0.5deg less HA and ~10mm lower BB?

Of course if you say a frame is capable of handling a 160mm fork then most buyers will plonk one on there because they can, PA still makes more sense to me for 100mm fork use…

the dialled website says in the geometry section the head angle is 68.5 (recommended travel 130mm) But in the description for the frame says it works best with 120-160mm travel.

If your riding is mostly downhill a big fork works well on it. I have non adjustable domains with 165mm travel (stanchions actually measure 180mm) and it climbs fine, maybe not ideal for a day of climbing but an hour or two here or there for a good downhill it works fine.

I'm v happy with my Orange SubZero. Probably weighs in at around 31lbs but I use it for everything from 5-hour xc rides to Alpine dh. Massive fun – never had any issues.

jonedwards – where are those photos from. I'm going on holiday with trail addiction to Les Arcs this summer. That rock drop is making me think I need to get some training in!

It's a 15.5"/21"

£195 OVNO posted.

only 9 months old and is in very good nick, hardly marked. (was ridden by a 44 year old bloke, who should know better).

Way too small sadly, I'd need a 17/22 minimum I think

Alpine will ride well with 120mm-160mm travel. Thanks for pointing out that typo on the website RS, I will get that amended.

The new version bfe is good for 6 inches and really was designed as an alpine bike… Can I have one please?

Alpine was also designed for/developed in the Alps. The clue is in the name 😉

How about a Sinister – Ridge. Beautiful, hand welded by Frank the Welder (The Welders Welder!!), with nice CNC dropouts and detailing and 1.5" headtube. I've done 30 mile epics on mine in 140mm mode but the it will take upto 170mm forks.

http://www.sinisterbikes.com/ridge.php

I have a large 19" black one in good nick I may part with as it is maybe a bit too hardcore for me now sadly. UK retail is about £559 if you can find one, I'm looking for £275.

G