Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)
  • Sort of hardcore hardtail
  • marksnook
    Free Member

    So building up a 29er hardtail and looking at new frames as there are no 2nd hand ones that fit the bill!
    Going to run a 140/150mm fork. Would like it to be kind of slack and kind of long.
    Bikes currently in the running are:
    Pace rc529
    Stanton switch9er
    Pipedream moxie
    Nordest bardino
    Custom Marino

    I can add more to list but that’s the idea. Approached Marino Uk about custom. However I’m reading horror stories about frames taking months and months etc. Mainly pink bike steel is real thread.
    Is it a gamble to order a Marino? Would like to have a hardtail for winter so by Christmas/new year ideally.
    Aiming 64 head angle, steep seat angle, 450/460 reach short ish chainstays. Kind of a slimmed down version of my enduro bike. Going to ride the same stuff on the hardtail so figure close ish in geo but different!
    Torn as budget isn’t really there for something pricey. Could always tell the wife the Stanton is from Peru I guess 😂

    What would everyone do?!

    BillOddie
    Full Member

    Cotic?  Chromag? Both same ballpark pricewise as Stanton.

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Cotic BFeMax?

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    kayla1
    Free Member

    I don’t know what their turnaround times are like now but I ordered my custom Marino through Luke at Marino UK and it took around 6 weeks from my initial email mithering at the start of July to having the frame here and built up into a bike in the second week of August. It would have been sooner but I wasn’t around to take delivery when it was due to be sent out, it was actually in the country at the start of August.

    marksnook
    Free Member

    I did think bfe max, got a rocketmax though so maybe something else would be nice. Stanton/cotic/pace money is absolute top of budget don’t tell my wife kind of thing. She can’t get her head around the second bike thing! The Marino ticks a lot of boxes I’m just maybe over thinking and worrying about it being next winter before it’s here!
    I don’t love the look of the chromag top tube (the bend) which I know is petty but here we are!
    That’s good to hear @kayla1 have you had any problems with it?
    I’m unsure on random numbers based geo but hopefully it will work!

    kayla1
    Free Member

    No problems at all, it’s lovely, kind of a cross between the original BFe275 and the 26″ Stanton Slackline-

    26″, 66.5° HA, 74° SA, 18mm BB drop, 415mm stays, 420mm reach, 380mm seat tube and rack mounts!

    DaveyBoyWonder
    Free Member

    Mmmm, rioja colour RC529…

    marksnook
    Free Member

    I’m even looking at that grey as well! Though 29er, 64 head angle, 77 seat angle, 460 reach, 430 chainstays, 420 seat tube based around a 150mm fork
    I like steep and natural stuff, fire road climbs or steep climbs so landed on those numbers! Seat angle might be over the top!

    tall_martin
    Full Member

    On one hello Dave?

    Long and slack. Great going down Steep natural stuff.

    The best climing hardtail I’ve ridden

    joebristol
    Full Member

    Marino won’t be a quick option – but then loads of other frame manufacturers are out of stock for months anyway.

    I originally ordered a custom Marino direct from Peru in July and I still don’t have it.

    I had a heads up to try Marino U.K. and see if they could do anything to help. I contacted them at the end of August and within 3-4 days we had the design nailed down and they’d provided the full Marino bike geo diagram and it went into the queue in Peru for building. I’m told it’ll be shipped week commencing 26th October. So if I get it say the week after that it’s taken just over 2 months – ignoring the time lost between the start of July and the end of August.

    If you’re going to order one speak
    to Luke at Marino U.K. rather than ordering on the Marino Peru website.

    monkeysfeet
    Free Member

    Orange? Dartmoor?

    marksnook
    Free Member

    I can’t get any info on the Dartmoor primal regarding acailabity, the hello Dave is now 800 frame only! On one comedy pricing again!

    I’m chatting to luke at Marino Uk and he is being very helpful. Most stuff is going to take time I know that. Christmas is my target for having a frame

    To be honest I think the Marino has to win as not spending 600 bucks will keep the wife happy! It can be a sun 1k build with stuff I have lying around

    justaname
    Free Member

    I ordered and paid a deposit on a custom FS Marino at the end of June. Its currently painted and having bearings fitted prior to the final alignment check. Its taken a while but that’s ok with me as I have another bike I can use in the mean time.

    Shipping should be imminent I hope.

    I’d recommend going through Marino UK too. I dealt with Luke and he has been brilliant with at dealing with a garage of questions from me and is pretty quick to respond to any queries.

    GolfChick
    Free Member

    How about commencal meta HT AM or whatever it’s called? ticks the 150mm box. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the moxie and if I wanted something with 150mm forks I’d prob stump for that one.

    dc1988
    Full Member

    I got a Marino when I was in a similar position, nothing was quite the geometry I wanted and with Marino I could get custom geometry and it cost less than any other options. I’ve not had any issues with it and even though my geometry was guesswork from other bikes I liked the look of, it ended up perfect.

    Mine is a 29er, 140mm travel.

    480mm seattube

    510mm reach

    64° head angle

    77° seat angle

    440mm chainstays

    It feels a bit upright when riding flat tarmac but it climbs ridiculously well, it never runs out of grip up the steepest climbs.

    stevextc
    Free Member

    What would everyone do?!

    What I just did was spend £285 and had the frame the same week.
    Positives … beautiful steel frame… delivered same week and aggressive enough for me.

    Negatives … ordered my kids size, only takes narrower 29 wheels Its now only available for £320 and I will have to drill out or cut off the mounts for the mech cable as its inexplicably a outer from a UK company.

    +/- depending on view…
    Supple Steel frame
    Integrated headset
    Non boost

    chestrockwell
    Full Member

    I was looking at the same earlier this year and decided upon the Pace. Lovely thing and back in stock I think?

    Then bought a gravel bike!

    marksnook
    Free Member

    Going down the Marino route, just can’t justify the cost of the other options. There is a wait with a lot of the Uk options so it’s not like I’m putting myself out!
    Cheers all

    joebristol
    Full Member

    I think that’ll be a good option (at least I hope it is as mine should hopefully arrive soon), just make sure you really nail down each detail on the frame you order. It’s surprising how many options / features there are in a hardtail frame to consider!

    5lab
    Full Member

    it might be worth giving on-one a ring. the £800 frame only is clearly just so they can discount it to £400 (or wahtever) next week – I bet they’d rather make a cheeky sale to you at the normal sale price, than make no sale at all?

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    Whatever Marino tell you about delivery dates take with a pinch of salt…
    Luke seems a nice guy and all that but ultimately can’t do any more than keep asking Marino where your frame is.

    joebristol
    Full Member

    Per Stu’s comment – I think this is exactly the situation. Apparently my tubeset was cut ready for welding a few weeks ago and I’d see some build pics but they haven’t been forthcoming so far. I’ve been told the week of the 26th Oct for shipping…….but we’ll see

    singlespeedstu
    Full Member

    I think they must have a lot of tubes cut and ready for welding over in Peru…
    Also been told they’re struggling to get gas.

    scar4me
    Free Member

    Another option…
    Personally if you are on a budget I would recommend over forking an Octane One Prone 29 (sub £200 on CRC).
    The only thing it won’t match on your “wish list” is the steeper seat angle, but it’s still perfectly capable geo wise.

    I’ve been running the 29er frame with 160mm forks and 27.5 wheels for about a year now and it’s really nice all rounder.
    If anything running it with 29er wheels will actually be better for the ST angles than the way I run it.

    I have just build myself a bamboo hardcore HT frame with Geo numbers very similar to what you are talking about, and ride wise the Octane One is not bad at all. (27.5er, 64deg HT, 80deg SA, 500 reach,435mm CS, -45mm BB)
    The biggest differences:
    1: the climbing position is generally better, but the forward riding position does mean I need to concentrate more for traction climbing on roots.
    2: the extra effort it takes to get it up on the back wheel.

    (So I’m not just talking hypothetical, I’ve tried both.)

    marksnook
    Free Member

    Cheers all, I’m not in a mega rush so it’s all good. Ordered a frame, see you in 8 weeks to moan it’s not here?! 😂
    I’ve gone very straight traditional hardtail looking with no diagonal gussets and straight top tube meeting seat tube where the seat stays meet it if that makes sense?!
    Look forward to seeing photos joe when yours arrives!

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    My one tip when pondering hardtails and referencing off your full-sus is to not compare the static geometry but the sagged geometry. If your full-sus feels perfect and you get a hardtail with matching static geometry then the head and seat angles will be too steep, the reach too long, the stack too low and the BB way too high.

    On a 150mm fork I’m liking 63.5 deg HA, 74 deg SA, 440mm reach, 48mm BB drop. Add 1.5 deg to the angles and 20mm to the reach to compare to a full-sus.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Also, you don’t need as steep a seat angle on a hardtail (at sag) because it won’t sag the wrong way when climbing like a full-sus does.

    dc1988
    Full Member

    That was my thinking when ordering mine, I have a 64° head angle that I thought would be nearer 66° at sag. My seat tube angle is 77° and I assumed there would be less sag as it’s only relevant when seated but not when stood up so assumed it would sag to about 77°. Rough guesses on my part but they worked perfectly.

    marksnook
    Free Member

    So I rode a nordest bardino and that felt great so some numbers are half borrowed from that. I’ve gone 64 head/ 77 seat angles based around a 140mm fork but probably will run a slightly bigger fork. That will slacken those angles static. I really like the position a steep seat angle puts me in as I broke my back about 15 years ago and have a very manual job. Being upright pedalling really helps that

    joebristol
    Full Member

    I knew I had a hardtail that I broadly liked that had a 66.5 degree ish headangle so just went a degree slacker to help on the steep stuff. It had a reach of 432mm and felt a little short sometimes so extended that to 445mm (my full suss is 457mm and that’s as long a reach as I’d want – and obviously sag extends the reach on a ht but generally not on an fs).

    I decided I didn’t want a super steep seat tube angle on a hardtail – it makes more sense on a fs. So I went with 74 degrees for the static / non sagged seat tube angle. Went for pretty short chainstays (425mm – 650b wheels) as both bikes I’ve loved have had them short.

    Hopefully it should come out as quite a playful trail hardtail that’ll hold its own on slow but steep technical trails. Planning on using 2.5” DHF / 2.6” Forekaster tyres for some extra padding and a 140mm Pike Ultimate. Code R brakes. Cant wait for it to arrive now!

    dethbeard
    Free Member

    I ordered a Marino (through the UK arm) first week in August, was told about 6 weeks.
    Almost at 12 weeks now and it still isn’t in the UK.

    I am not bothered, as it has given me plenty of time to buy the components for the full build, but I can imagine a 3 month wait would be irksome to some.

    If you are keen to get it quickly, then consider something already in the UK (Marino UK do hold some stock occasionally, have you contacted them?) if you are wanting custom, then go for it.

    I am 198cm tall and OTP XXL bikes require me to run loads of seat post, custom was the choice i made.

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