[Closed] Hardtail recommendations?

New sonder transmitter for 999 seems hard to beat

I really like my Cube C62 carbon frame, light and strong, and rides well. I'd definitely recommend it.

All sonder on special. Alpkit.com

Very happy with my new Chameleon 👍

^^^did you get carbon or ally chameleon? What’s good about it?

I love my Scott Scale 😊

What’s your budget and what are you planning to ride it on?

Not thinking more than a couple of grand, and riding ‘Degla, Peak, Lakes etc, basically all the normal spots, but, well, just on a Hardtail..

I’ve got a large whyte 909 2018 frame with dropper and saddle for sale if you’re interested. Great hardtail, plus compatibility and fashionable geometry.

Would make a great build if you’re interested...

Ragley Bluepig. Thank me later.

Also chuffed with my new (alu) Chameleon. Pretty capable on the downs but has just the right amount of slack to make doing other stuff fun too.

I love my alu chameleon too, fast and great on the downs, rode the steep tech in Wharncliffe at the weekend and it handled it fine with a 130mm fork.
I stuck some carbon 29er wheels on it and it’s fast and light (under 13kg depending on parts)

It’s so playful and bmx like on the jumps

Cotic Bfe or Bird Zero TR

Stif Morf. I regret selling mine

I bought a cotic soul to compliment my Whyte T-130, I have only ridden my Whyte a handful of times in the last 14 months...

For general riding and messing about I love my Vitus Sentier VRX+. Built up with a 140mm Pike / gx 11 speed / Dt Swiss e1900 wheels / Guide brakes etc. Decent kit without being bling essentially. The frame has clearance for 2.8” rubber, but I’m running 2.3 on there fine - loads of mud room.

On twisty pedally trails it’s great, on the pump track it’s loads of fun to throw into corners, on steep tech stuff it’s nice and manoeuvrable and on a half day uplifting at Flyup 417 it was great fun.

It’s also very cheap!

If you want something like that but with a bit more reach for faster / rockier stuff then I also had an Orange Clockwork 137 (now maybe called a Clockwork Evo) on the list, plus a Sonder Transmitter. You could also add the Bird Zero TR.

A bit slacker again is the Orange crush / Orange p7 / Airdrop Bitmap / Bird Zero Am Boost / Nukeproof Scout. I didn’t want my hardtail to be for the same sort of terrain as my FS though (Bird Aeris 145LT), I wanted it to be more playful, hence being a bit shorter and less slack, but still modern and stable when required.

Think the key to the playfulness of the Vitus are the short 425mm chainstays and average reach (think 445mm on the medium / 17” frame). Also managed to squeeze a 150mm dropper in there which is fantastic for playing on.

I've had two Cotic BFe and loved them both.

They do everything and are as tough as hell.

I've got a Sonder Signal TI. It's a great trail bike and has rekindled my love of mountain biking.

Sonder are a good company to deal with as well.

You know what I’m going to say Nick 🙂 Solaris Max. To be fair there’s some great shouts up there ^^^ as well. But you know, Solaris Max!

i was gonna get a bigger wheeled soul or 29er cotic, good choice, but my chameleon was too cheap to pass up, some great bikes mentioned.. a few mates have the t130 a great bike, one also rides the 905 whyte, which is a great bike too

what is wrong with the Krampus.
possible the best hardtail available for uk riding either on trails or trail center.
and ideal for a man sized man.

Nick,

Lots of nice options for trail hardtails now.

I'm biased and would say a Chromag Rootdown.

New Pipedream Moxie or Cotic are much easier to come by though and I'm sure just as much fun.

I would say go 29er (2.4 clearance but not plus), 140mm fork and steel.

Nothing beats a Moxie. Get one or regret it.

Cheers All.

Whyte 909 (2018) here and cannot get enough of riding it. Simple, quiet, fast, a looker, light, comfortable. Just, great.

I would have a look at the Pole Taival.

I'll just pop in a Pace RC627 or 529. Good price, good geometry and a very nice bike to ride up and down!

Orange crush

I’m selling a lovely 2018 Stanton Switchback.

I bloody live my Slackline, they look the mutts in my humble opinion.

As a fellow T130 owner, and in typical STW style, also have a MK5 Cotic Soul and they compliment each other very nicely, even able to swap the wheels between with no issues so could save on build cost if you T130 has Boost spacing. The Soul is ace, pretty light, crazy stable at speed but still fairly agile, it's just great. A grand would get you a frame and a Revelation fork from Merlin like I've got on mine would leave a fair bit of change for the rest of the build, could easily go under £2k. Picture of mine for inspiration!

Whilst not as pretty as a Stanton or Cotic or Orange etc the Vitus I bought (as mentioned in my post above) is surpringly nice for the cash. Have you got a preference for alloy / steel / carbon / Ti?

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Edit - before anyone pipes up - I know it has odd tyres / non aligned logos with valves / white zip ties etc - not bothered - it just rides so great!

Long and slack, 29er, trail hardtail, brand new:

Radon Cragger, 1.2 k:

Cragger 7.0

There is also a 8.0 version around for a bit more money. Don't have a Radon and don't know any reviews of the Cragger (it's so new!). But think the bike looks very good and know how happy the Radon Swoop owners are!

Others: tons of good hardtail frames at bike-discount. Dirt cheap. Also Carbon.
Bought an full suspension frame there end of 2017. 350 GBP (!!!). Cube 27.5+ Stereo 150 HPA. Hell of a great bike! All bits and pieces including frame ended around 1.5 k. Use 35 mm i.d. rims and 2.6 inch rubber. A blast.

We've just bought the Boardman MHT 8.9 29er for me and my wife. Currently you can get it for £800 by trading in helmet. It got a good review on bikeradar at £1000.

I think it looks good as well.

Loving my 650b P7 two and a bit years in.

Kingdom vendetta LS. A superb bike. Haven’t ridden my turner for months now.

I would be looking at Alpkit with that budget and seeing what nice things they can hang off a Transmitter for you.

Looks like GX Eagle+Revelation for £2k or teh carbonz for £2.2k.

Have you not got the pink Cove + Lefty still?

So, in a nutshell, we're spoiled for choice! 🙂

Buy the best looking one in the geometry that suits I reckon.

P7 bought in a sale of course. Not touched the FS since I bought it a few years ago. Great for tootling along and full on gnarr. Does equally well on long bikepacking trips as well.

Cotic BFe here, awesome bike. Monstrously capable but also perfectly fine bumbling around.

I have the alu chameleon. It's very easy to flick about and with 120mm forks wants to jump and pop off everything. It climbs well and doesn't seem to beat me up around Degla like I've experienced in the past with ht bikes there. The reach is spot on, I'm 511 and it's a large with either plus 27.5 or plus 29er wheels. Very versatile and above all a fun bike to ride.

Bird! But then I'm bias, have a TR and have hardly touched my fs since getting the TR

With a hardtail buy the bike with the frame geo you want over a particular brand.

I ride a large G160 and managed to get a 905 in xl as my n+1 tbh ive used the 160 twice in the last 3.5 months ... the 905 is brilliant ..

Stick with what you know, Whyte's are superb. I lean more towards hardtails and their 900 series are superb. 909 if you have the cash but the 901 is just lovely. Point it downhill and it just goes.

Also a T130 CRS rider and added a hardtail for similar reasons and and a couple more... Was looking for a 905 ended up with a 2018 Crush, so I could swap wheels (and it was on offer, just over £1k, meaning I had some cash to tweak it). Really happy with it.

Paul

Well this thread has got me looking at possible replacements to my Salsa A La Carte 26” ht... thanks for that! 😉

Personally, I like the skinny steel look and feel and have discovered the Sanderson Town Crier, which rather looks like a modern equivalent to my current ht, with 27.5” wheels, 120mm fork, tapered head tube and what seems like a total bargain at £299 new!

Except I’ll need wheels and a fork...