Looking for some input from Hello Dave owners. Im in love with the seafoam green and fully appreciate its a ‘hardcore’ hardtail. Not planning on going down the full susser route but love hardtails. Confident it will take a beating from my large arse on whatever i can throw it at, but how does it fair on general duties? Countryside and bridleway spins with the kids and family trails? Also eyeing up a Moxie in vivid pink. Any feedback welcomed

And just in case its still a thing…

I’m no expert, but if I’ve understood others correctly then generally the compromise of a more capable bike over the rough stuff is that it’s less comfortable for longer periods in the saddle.

From your description your family time general duties are more bimbles than 50 miler bike packing days so would have thought almost anything will be fine.

Or is that not a fair assessment?

Sorry, not an owner but it was on my hardtail shortlist very recently when in the market for a new hardtail.

Positives for me were a decent fork and dropper, steel frame and a good set of brakes. The latest tyres in the spec look crap though so budget in at least £100 for a new set unless you have a spare pair already.

In the end I thought the geometry was a little too much for my style of riding and wanted something which could still feel fun on smoother singletrack and social spins so went for a Ragley Big Wig instead.

And just checked on Planet X website and sold out of sea foam green too by the look of it.

My pal has one and although he’s a far better rider than I am he seems to hit steep stuff like he’s on a DH bike.

I’m now quickest on the climbs though (Solaris 2020)

I’m happy bumbling on mine.

It has fairly light wheels which helps.

I did a 40 mile ride round the peaks the other month. It was perfectly fine, although I was reminded why I normally ride my full suss in the peaks, I was feeling pretty battered by the end. That is the first time I’ve ridden a hardtail in the peaks in 10 years plus 🙂

The frames are not light. I can’t remember how much it weighed, but it was a similar weight to a carbon enduro bike frame.

After 2 years, I’m still just as happy as I was when I go it 🙂

Friend has one, says it’s an absolute pig that only suits DH, and then he would rather have a full sus. Hope that helps!

quick question – are the decals stickers or lacquered over ie could I remove them easily?

@hunter yes thats a spot on assessment, my mid and youngest child are normally assisted with a towhee and its usually <10 miles. However i do occasionally go for an exploration from the door which can range from 10 to 50m depending on the terrain.

I would take that Pipedream Moxie over a Hello Dave everyday of the week – plus that pink is 🥰

The Moxie will still handle the rough stuff, but it will be less compromised everywhere else. It’ll have quicker steering and feel more nimble.

+1 for the Moxie.

Is that hello Dave still at covid tax prices?!

Pipedream moxie would be a winner. Although in stw tradition, I can highly recommend a Cotic bfemax!

Anything over an On-One or anything associated with Sick. Did Marino make these, can’t recall and am sure their work is good, but a Pipedream or Cotic over that, certainly if you were looking at frame only prices.

Anything over an On-One or anything associated with Sick. Did Marino make these, can’t recall and am sure their work is good, but a Pipedream or Cotic over that, certainly if you were looking at frame only prices.

AFAIK Maxway make them, the same people that make Cotic, Stooge, and probably a lot of other “British” frames.

Marino didn’t / don’t make these – it’s done in a factory in Taiwan (a pretty decent one as I understand it)

Im looking at frame only at build up as i wish/swap existing parts. The only thing i dont like about the moxie is the seat stays meeting above the downtube… I prefer a clean angled line from front to back 🙈

And you think the ‘Hello Dave’ looks aesthetically pleasing?! To me it looks like something heavy has squashed it – and the picture below is actually a good one of it not looking quite so squashed.

I was considering the Moxie but wanted to keep 650b wheels and the bb was just too low for that really. Hence buying a Marino with my own geometry.

Moxie:

Hello Dave:

Nordest bardino is showing stock in m/l, thought I read bird had frames on the way. not sure though. Pace 529? Stif squatch? That hello Dave price tag seems so high!

FWIW, I stumbled across these sales videos from Maxway. Not sure quite what I expected to see, but it kinda made me re-evaluate the perceived premium on UK made stuff and puts into context a bit why it must have been such an uphill struggle for Cotic to try and build a comparable factory from scratch.

I gotta say @joebristol, when i saw your marino build pics i got a tad jealous😜 im now totally open to others but not stretching to Ti prices unfortunately. The nordest looks intriguing…

Edit: im also looking to keep 650b so that may have limiting factors

Isn’t the hello Dave a 29er? The Tik Tik was the 650b hardcore hardtail they did I thought.

If you want 650b then you need to run proper + on a Moxie otherwise the bb is too low I reckon. I’m running 2.6” tyres on my Marino that has 45mm bb drop and that’s fine, but I think the Moxie is about 60mm bb drop isn’t it?

If 650b then have a look at the Ribble ht725 – that was right up there on my list. So were the Stanton Switchback / Slackline.

Edit – if you’re not in a hurry you could always go Marino – just allow at least 8-12 weeks I’d think – maybe longer.

Stanton outlet pages worth looking at, very good quality frames and finish.

Stanton switchback here, save sort of riding as they op and it’s nigh on perfect

@joebristol, 2.8+ to be precise. Ive sent a few manufacturers some questions and see what they come back with

Have owned a Moxie, wasn’t a patch on the Dave, but the Loco Moto is even better.

Also had a Switchback which was lovely but too small for a 6′ 3″ er

The Moxie was quoted as suiting 27.5, 27.5+ and 29, before I bought mine. I’m pretty sure. Now I think they’ve dropped the implication it suits traditional width 27.5.

My own experience was that with 2.6×27.5 tyres, 150mm 29er Pike and 165 cranks it was a shade too low, albeit I could adapt to it. Moving to a 29er front wheel, still both tyres 2.6, got the bb high enough to get me back to a normal frequency of pedal strikes (ie few, and due to my error). It’s probably still a very low BB but I like it as it is now.

I guess my front wheel change equates to about 8mm at the bb. If that’s right then the difference in Crank lengths is big in this context and I’d say even with 2.8s you wouldn’t want a much shorter fork or a much longer crank if running 27.5 F&R.

But assuming your setup plays OK with the bb drop, I think the Moxie is fabulous. I think it does retain some of the steel feel that I was skeptical burlier frames could (like other similar steel frames it weighs about 2.65kg IIRC), the finish is lovely and the geometry is exactly what I wanted. I love it.

I haven’t done any really long rides on it but I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t be comfortable for that, so long as you’re OK with its weight. Mine’s built up fairly light so I don’t see that as an issue.

The Moxie for me is the ideal do it all bike. mines set up as a full 29er with 160mm forks and its quite comfy and capable of smashing out a 30 mile ride just as much as its capable of smashing out some gnarly lines in the woods with mates.
It is hands down my favourite bike i’ve ever owned.

Not to mention it looks incredible

Love that Pink Moxie – if I’d had 29er wheels / tyres I’d have bought one of those exact frames. Just wanted 650b as I wanted my hardtail to be really playful – I did 25 laps of a little tarmac pump track at the start of my ride last weekend and it was ace fun with the dropper slammed. Ripping round the berms, doubling up the little rollers and pumping the rest. I had a go on my mates 29er hardtail and it was nowhere near as fun on that sort of thing.

Ah @joebristol N+1 rules eh! 😉

Haha – a 29er ht isn’t on my agenda at all. The next bike change will either be from my Bird Aether 7 to an Aether 9C or possibly swap the bits from my caad12 disc to a caad13 disc!

@daver27… That photo may well have just sold a moxie 😂🙈

Let’s see if I can post an image…

Just in case the mullet version tickles your fancy.

Edit: grrrr. Help!