has anybody got this as a do it all bike? currently on a five, getting on a bit and thinking of ditching it for one of these….i was considering a soul, but i want to run 140mm forks, and have heard the soul doesnt suit it exceptionally well…

also the carbon 456 can run upto 160mm forks if need be so sounds like 140mm should be fine!

how does it climb? how does it descend?

it will be used in the peak district pretty much full stop!

im quite liking that new orange coloured one too

also does anyone have any pics of ‘nice’ builds with reverbs, xt/xtr etc etc

goes nicely with 140mm fork, have they got some new colours out?

Here is mine – no bling on it i’m afraid – although now has 150mm revs and Hope wheels

I had one as my only bike for a while with U-Turn Revs that suited it well. 140mm was a bit wandery on climbs so I’d adjust it up and down as necessary. Really stable and comfortable, I got mine to about 10kg with Stans/Hope wheels, Hope X2 brakes and 1×9 X0 and E13 drivetrain despite a Reverb.

A couple of blurry pics:

banana – yes they have some form of new neon type colours, look quite nice, and not cheap i think!

mine would have everything swapped over from current bike, apart from id probs get a new reverb for it!

is there cabling for dropper post? ill be running it 1×10 anyways so dont need the front mech cable guides?

i genuinely dont think the frame itself is ugly, they just tend to be built up by ‘cheaper’ parts as most people run them as second bikes built up out of spares, i think it would look quite nice with decent kit on it..

My dropper cable runs in place of the front mech cable

what sort of weight do they come out at with say an xt build, reverb, flow wheels, carbon bars etc 1×10?

If I wanted a hardtail as a do-it-all bike (which I don’t), the C456 would be at the top of my list.

This thread is making me feel nostalgic for my stolen one.

🙁

what sort of weight do they come out at with say an xt build, reverb, flow wheels, carbon bars etc 1×10?

I had that sort of build with a Rev Team, 25lb to 26lb depending on exact components. Bike shop scales.

I’d pretty much happily sell all my other bikes and keep the 456. Some people say the frame is too harsh/stiff, which may be true.

Iwent for raw as didn’t want to be too precious with it. Was tempted by the plain bright yellow a few months ago.

I can’t quite get past that downtube. Though the new orange colour somehow manages to mask the horror of it to some extent.

Weight wise, the frame is 1.5kg, or 3lb!!! Thats only 200g heavier than an XC race machine like a whippet.

Factor in an extra 500g for big forks, +300g for a reverb, 400g for bigger tyres, 500g for stronger wheels, you have a Go-Anywhere LTHT for 2kg heavier than a XC race machine.

I also have the Raw Black special edition, and love the stealth look!!

I’ve found the carbon456 to be quite comfortable, although its mainly my 2nd bike. The ASR5c is for the bigger day rides. I don’t know how much if any difference the carbon post makes to the comfort either. Weightwise i haven’t got a clue, but its sensible

Carbon 456 down by the Tyne by ritcheyp20, on Flickr

Mine weighs in at 12.2kg, takes climbs well, could be better if I dropped the travel to 130/140mm. Also the fact I use a 50mm x 25 degree stem.

Downhill is superb when running 150mm, secure and planted steering.

*flat tyre fixed now, cracked elbow stopped me from changing it.

btw if you do buy one, don’t be tempted to add the cheap On One smoothie headset, they don’t last 5 mins. I’ve now got the On One/works component slackset on mine which hopefully will last a lot longer.

Aye, I’d second that, the Smoothie is absolutely ****. Mine was free with the frame and still not worth it.

I’m going to damn it with faint praise. It’s a capable, competent bike. It does nothing terribly wrong but it doesn’t really stand out either… The handling is a bit odd, it somehow feels longer than it is when on the flats or descending, but shorter when it’s climbing. Not up to, say, Soul standards IMO. So I decided to play to its strengths and slacked it out with a Works headset- now it’s better descending, about the same climbing, but not up to Ragley standards. Never bad but never outstanding.

Oh and the finish is incredibly awful- just starting a warranty claim with On One over that, which they’ve kicked off by saying “Paint isn’t warrantied”, though I don’t see anything in the warranty about that, but I’ve parried by “It’s not painted”. Topcoat has fallen off in massive chunks. I guess that’s how you know it’s a real On One.

But I can’t be too critical- it cost me £300 and it’s better than most £300 frames. Much better than a standard 456. I’ve just got higher standards.

Here you go:

If it broke* tomorrow, I’d buy another. Fantastic value.

* I really, really don’t expect to break it.

I have 1 x 10 mixture of XT and X9 with Fox float 140mm hope/mavic wheels and it’s just over 24lb’s

Frame was £250 so I don’t feel overly precious about cosmetics athough I have put some heafty helecopter tape on the downtube and chain/seatstays where rocks tend to hit and heel rub.

Got this to replace a Cove Stiffee so I don’t feel that it’s harsh at all, climbs and descends really well, a little wondery on steep slow stuff going up but no surprise reatt with 140mm forks and a slack head angle. The cove was the same.

Why not frameswap and ride a c456 over winter and keep your Five frame to oneside. You wont lose anything on the Five frame.

Mr Phil – Is that my old one you’ve built up? Looking really good. I don’t half miss it now 🙂

I run 1×9 + device ,Hope/DT wheels ,Hope M4/X2 tech brakes, 150 travel ,50mm stem

Id agree with most climbs better than I expected and surprisingly comfortable too.

Mine started out like this and was pretty light;

did emburlen it a bit later on;

tbh, I never quite felt the love for it and got a steel Curtis after about 6 months.

Personally I think the Soul is magic on 140mm forks! 😀 I did almost buy a Carbon 456 instead but I’m very glad I went with the skinny orange steel pretty thing. Coming round to two years as my sole MTB and looking forward to many more!

Coming round to two years as my sole MTB

this is just plain wrong 😉

In one word – “YES”
It is an excellent bike.
I have one with full XT, Mavic Wheels, Fox 140mm Floats and a reverb.
There is a spare cable guide on the left hand side that the reverb can use. Mine is a non decalled black satin finish with no paint to fall off of. Used primarily as my night bike, but keeps us with the full sus lot I go out with.

With XT, Mavics, Fox and a reverb, haven stem/bar combo its very light and goes up as well as down really well.

I use one as an xc bike with 100mm forks and it seems at least as comfortable as my 853 frame. When I first rode it I kept checking the rear tyre thinking I had a slow puncture.

MrPhil, do you work a lot with rocks? If you do I know you. The Dungeon is good fun if too brief.

If it’s a going to be used as a true all round machine, ie taken to a proper DH track as well as XC tracks then I would recommend a 456.

The slack head angle and its stable manners make it very good descender. But the low front end and long front centre enables to you get back up the hill without too much trouble either.

If it going to be mainly used for XC and trail centre stuff then I’d probably say there are better frames about.

The C456 is good at everything but is not amazing at anything. Something like a Soul would prob be better trough some single track but then a Soul wouldn’t be as light and let you descend a well as the C456.

I love my C456 but it does get used for a bit of everything and I don’t think many other frames can match that ability. Other frames may beat it in their own niche’s but not across the whole range of riding.

Some people say the frame is too harsh/stiff, which may be true.

tbh, I never quite felt the love for it and got a steel Curtis after about 6 months.

Why do some say its stiff and some don’t? Is it harsh??!

I never found the c456 a harsh ride, certainly more forgiving than the steel 456 it replaced. (I transferred bits across). It just seemed to lack ‘something’ for me.

Reckon things like harshness is very subjective and probably based on what you’ve ridden previously. Some people might see it as being harsh, others stiff and direct, others as lively. Currently bike of choice is an mmmbop that often gets called harsh, but I find it very responsive and lively and find more compliant frames a bit dull.

certainly more forgiving than the steel 456 it replaced.

I found the 456’s rear end to be very dull and heavy. I find the Sanderson Life’s rear to be amazing.

Somewhere inbetween wouldn’t be too bad.

heres mine

it is my only mtb so by default a do it all

Marin – Member

MrPhil, do you work a lot with rocks? If you do I know you. The Dungeon is good fun if too brief.

No mate, I take it your from the wirral?

So folks- is the rear harsh, too harsh or have a little give (i.e. more than alu frame)???

MRPHIL……I bet there weren’t too many folk around in the dark telling you you should be on the bridleway when you took that photo!!? I often go for cheeky rides round the Dungeons in the dark then up to Thurstaston Hill, so much nicer when its quieter!

I found the 456’s rear end to be very dull and heavy. I find the Sanderson Life’s rear to be amazing.

Rear triangles are triangular, which historically has been quite a rigid structure.

Any sense of “feel” from a chassis flexing vertically is from splay caused by the wheels spreading further apart under load, and not from the rear triangle.

may’be but some frames are much harsher to ride than others.

I owned an Armadillo and that was a total back breaker. It got so bad, I had to sell it and no bike before or after has knackered my back in the same way (and that’s with identical components as I swapped frames)

So folks- is the rear harsh, too harsh or have a little give (i.e. more than alu frame)???

Which alu frame exactly?

Someone please give Hora a go on one so he stops asking the same question over and over?

😉

may’be but some frames are much harsher to ride than others.

I owned an Armadillo and that was a total back breaker. It got so bad, I had to sell it and no bike before or after has knackered my back in the same way (and that’s with identical components as I swapped frames)

Massively stiff top tube and downtube. Nothing to do with the rear triangle.
I really liked mine. And it fitted (with a slight tyre knob trim) a 26 x 3.0in Gazzaloddi 26in in the back!