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I have been dreaming about hardtails again. A stupid fantasy where I strip down my perfectly good Giant TranceX and build up a gnarr trail hardtail. 150mm air bolt thru fork, flats, volume tyres, double and bash, sensible brakes, big bars, a sub 30lbs hooligan to make me feel alive.
So a White Evil Sovreign in Tange Prestige looks awesome at £469 from CRC. But a Dialled Alpine looks almost the same for £370ish in Reynolds 853, although no sure about the paint job.
Who prefers what and why?
Looked at both and went for the Evil, mainly because of the reviews and the non standard seattube diameter put me off the Alpine. Don't regret the decision other than I don't want to ride any of my other bikes just the Sovereign.
BFe? I couldn't see what all the fuss is about with the Sov, it's a nice enough frame and looks great in places but it didn't do anything particularily special. Never rode an Alpine though. The BFe's not the second coming either but it's lighter and cheaper and does the same job.
Also looked at both but the gay wee triangle on the top /seat tube put me off. Went for the BFe as it lacks this feature.
Love my Alpine just right for riding around having fun. Running Marzocchi RC3 ti forks at 160mm at the momemnt. I think it was more suited to the 140mm Pikes I had on it before from a travel point of view.
I went through the same quandry, really wanted the Bfe but ended up with the sov after also looking at the alpine,
Don't regret it, the finish on the sov is second to none, with huge attention to detail, lovely welds, tube ends, drop outs, and a really solid drive side tube,
the cotic is also IMO of a superior finish with nice pipes made of 853 as we know and a great paint job in blue,
the alpine i felt was not quite as nicely done as the others but then the price is a lot more inviting and in the flesh they do look great in green and look a lot lighter than my sov,
it took me a few weeks to decide but the one thing i can say for sure is i love my evil , it never fails to feel special and you can really launch it, i run 36 vans and the handling and steering are still so sharp it staggers belief and at the same time still climbs like a monkey,
good luck with your choice i think you will be happy with either of those three its just a case of what you fancy spending.
I've got an Alpine. After some components swapsies to get it right it's now running really nice. It's prob the first proper do it all HT ive finally got sorted. Pike coil UT at 140 are fine for the level of DH stuff I can manage, and I do a lot of riding at Thetford as well so winding the pikes to about 120 it works well for that too. A friend has the BFe and I agree the finish is better on that, but I much prefer the standover height you get on the apline and by the looks of it the Evil too. The only thing I'm not too keen on with the alpine is the drop outs, but they are really solid. I've not noticed any issues with the paint job on the v2 green one i have. usual chips etc but it's as tough as any other frame I've owned.
Plus I like supporting Mike, this is my 5th dialled frame 🙂
I think you'll enjoy any of those frames.
I can't properly remember, but isn't the Alpine quite high bottom bracketed compared to the sov?
I have a Bfe, which is all the bike I need with 160 vans on. If I had to choose between the two options you gave it would be the Sov, just because I prefer the look of it...
I've owned a Dialled and ridden a mates Evil Sovereign quite a bit. The two bikes look similar on paper but they are quite different.
The most noticeable difference are the chainstays on the Evil being much shorter than the Alpine, at least the one I rode has adjustable stays and was set up so that they were 16.2" versus the Alpines 16.7". That's quite a difference and you really felt it on the trail, with the Evil being a heck of a lot more playful than the Alpine.
In the wrong hands, the bike would be quite a handful and even a talented rider will have to adapt their style to get the most out of it. You really don't need to be 'lairy' or aggressive to get the bike around corners like you do with other frames and I found myself getting into all kinds of (fun) shapes on the Evil. It's not quite 'snap oversteer' but it feels a little like it.
Thing is that once you're used to that, the Evil is a lot of fun and it jumps incredibly well.
That's not to say that the Alpine isn't also a fun loving hooligan because it is. It's just a little more 'mainstream' in what it does. More like a BFe than the Evil.
APart from that I guess size will be a determining factor. The Alpine comes in 16" and 18" - I am just under 6ft and rode the 16" which was OK but just a wee bit small. The balance point was just a little too far back on the bike and meant there wasn't enough weight on the front wheel. But the 18" felt far too big for a small, agile play bike.
The Evil I've ridden was a medium with a 23" TT. This felt perfect and the small Ragley I now have is also more or less the same fit.
The BB on the Alpine does look high on paper but you don't notice it on the trail when compared to the Evill
I've got an Alpine Buzz ... it's the bike I tend to use for guiding. Mines set up with shorter forks (120mm) and 3 rings on the front.
Makes a superb all day bike, climbs and descends well. Never ridden an Evil so can't comment on that.
Got a med sov frame for sale in the classifieds. Drop me a line to talk about price if you are interested. It's not white but you can maybe live with that for the cost saving?
Ive ridden both, Sovs are stiffer than Alpines. Couldnt tell much difference really apart from BB height.
I agree the alpine balance is quick far back. I thought it was me used to bmx/4x type frames...
have you considered the ns bikes surge? Bit cheaper, but much the same sorta thing, probably slightly more dh oriented rather than xc
I've got an Alpine and have ridden a Sovvy quite a lot, the sovvy is very short at the back end (even with the adjustable dropouts on a middling setting) and very rigid, as has been said before, very manoeuvrable and fun on the jumps, but a bit hard work after a while and not so fast. The Alpine, in comparison, feels more like a normal bike.
Both a good option to ride when you feel full of beans, if you're a bit tired or have a very long day planned a 4-5'' full sus is what I'd go for..
Best see if you can a ride of each to see which you prefer. I've got an Alpine and it's a great wee bike. Climbs and descends with mucho fun. Well, as much as climbing can be classed as fun. I know a few mates who have Sov's and rave about them, so really you can't make a bad a choice. Just really which you prefer.
My Sov is probably the stiffest bike I have ridden, feels solid and probably has less twang than an Alpine and less than the Alptitude I had before.Also has paint that seems to be an inch thick. All good bikes though, in fact, our nightride last night had a BeFe, an Alpine and a Sov in the mix. Colour wise there was a clear winner too.... 🙂
Aye, the stock colours on the Alpines are a bit average, I got one in Tonka yellow off here that I quite like though..
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Good taste perhaps being pushed quite far with blue bars and cables..
Alpine takes a 27.2mm seat post and a 30mm seat clamp - both fairly standard/common items.
And any 34.9mm front mech will fit with the shims that come with the frame (which replace the shims that come with the front mech).
I had an alpine, it was class and the paint job was tough