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I want a hardtail but am a litte out of touch, what are the options these days?
my requirements are;
1. steel
2. not 29er
3. short travel (120mm to 140mm)
4. not super long (less than 450mm for S/M)
nice to haves:
1. UK designed and/or made
2. Horizontal or adjustable Dropouts
My previous hardtails owned are:
Cove Stiffee FR2007
On One Inbred 2010
Cotic Soul Mk2
Main use would be at local session spots, micro DH and very occasional dirt jumps but also some local flat single track where my 29 FS is just overkill.
Thanks
James
“ my requirements are;
1. stainless steel”
Almost no production bikes are stainless steel but I think the new Starling hardtail might be.
Yep, it’s pretty much the starling, or the starling, or the starling.
BTR Might make you one, if you have very deep pockets.
@chiefgrooveguru ok good point, edited to steel though those starling bikes look v.nice
@tomhoward never heard of BTR but they look amazing, exactly what I want but can't afford
Are you after a full bike or just the frame?
Your requirements are sort of going against the hardtail trend of 29/long & slack/long travel - but there's options out there.
Ticks some of the boxes
Only reccomending because I like my old 26" flavour
I can’t think of anything ticking all your boxes.
Have you looked at Mason?
Forget stainless. Lovely though it looks, it makes little sense over a good painted steel or raw Ti frame. I’ve always wanted a stainless mountain bike… been looking into it for years.
@ta11pau1 either, I'm thinking of a session bike that I can whip out on my lunch hour without having having to think about it too much, leaving the FS for weekends
Onza jackpot? No sliding dropouts though.
@kelvin never heard of Mason before, they are very nice but again probally a bit too pricey for a 2nd bike
@jamesoz nice suggestion, I didn't realise onza were even still a thing
if that BTR Ranger Frame 650B was still availble at that price I'd take it
probally a bit too pricey for a 2nd bike
Very true. You can forget about stainless then!
Recommend what I ride… SolarisMAX mullet.
what is that? it looks familiar!
Production Privee Shan 27 Classic
My 26"er
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49770216578_1c2cacc64a_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49770216578_1c2cacc64a_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://www.flickr.com/gp/85252658@N05/8fk3J2 ]20200412_092154[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/85252658@N05/ ]davetheblade[/url], on Flickr
How about Stanton? A Switchback or a Slackline might fit the bill. Swappable dropouts.
@kelvin Solaris is not a bad shout though really want to avoid another 29er for what reason I am unsure other than I am short and already have a 29er
@garethjw that stanton slackline looks perfect though they have no 16.5" frame
If you already ride a 29er full-sus then I’d lean towards a 29” hardtail - however I will have a much better informed opinion on this in a week or so when my 27.5 hardtail will have been replaced with a bigger wheeled but fairly similar hardtail.
@TheGhost I like this, a bit longer than I had thought I wanted but it's ticking other boxes.
@chiefgrooveguru a 29"er was my starting point thinking I could chop and change parts but in the end I think I want something that is more different to what I already have. What is your 27.5 hardtail out of interest (and what are you replacing it with)
[i]Production Privee Shan [/i]
There's such a lovely GT 29er one of these on ebay - unfortunately for the OP its a large. I'd snap it up if I didn't already have a full garage!
Recommend what I ride… SolarisMAX mullet.
how do you find that better than just running it as a 29er?
Ragley Piglet?
There’s such a lovely GT 29er one of these on ebay – unfortunately for the OP its a large. I’d snap it up if I didn’t already have a full garage!
TBH, I'd give it a punt if I had a spare £1300, it's lovely - I'm yet to try a 29'er. Couldn't really tell on my phone though - does it not have a dropper post, which seems odd on a bike like that?
I've got an itch to scratch with the Shan #5 too
I'm totally into these Production Privee bikes, v.nice!
Just had a peek at the Shan, and was surprised that it was BB92 press fit - that’s a strange choice for a bike aimed at the enduro end of the market.
You’re shopping in a limited market for 27.5 / steel / your travel requirement. Even harder for sliding dropouts.
Stanton were the first that spring to mind, but not cheap. Slackline or switchback - the latter has really short chainstays so might be nice and snappy turning in bike parky / dirt trails.
Maybe the small Ribble ht725 - could probably get away with a 140mm fork on there.
Not British, but if nothing else fits the bill and you have time to wait then Marino custom frame. I went that route and designed myself a 650b hardtail for a 140mm fork to my exact spec. Does the job perfectly for what I want it for and it’s a very different ride to my 29er Sentinel.
Reach 445mm / chainstays 425mm / headtube 125mm / seat tube 395mm / HA 65.5 / SA 74 / 140mm Pike / clearance for up to 2.8” rear tyre / full internal routing
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Ragley Piglet. Supposed to be 27½ plus and 140mm front, but I initially built mine with 2.25s and 130mm up front and it was the lively, snappy, nutter bike that doesn't seem to exist anywhere now that everything is long, low, and slack. Running 2.8s now as I scored a cheap pair and it's tamed it a bit. It's almost certainly the best bike I've ever built.
Some good suggestions above. I'm selling my mk2 switchback on pinkbike if that's any interest to you, 444mm reach - can get sliding dropouts for it if you want. I ran it with 130mm forks.
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3307428/
does it not have a dropper post
No, but the seller says he's a roadie who bought it (remarkable taste for a roadie 😀 ) to try mtbing and he now needs a van 🙂 Not been used for 2 years, so he says.
Another of my choices would be the [url= https://www.betamtb.com/bike-tests/budget/field-test-commencal-meta-ht-am-origin/ ]Commencal[/url]. too much travel (is that possible?!) for the OP though
Not adjustable dropouts or UK made, but another option might be the NS Eccentric Cromo?
https://nsbikes.com/eccentric-cromo-29,122,pl.html
I had the alu version of this frame, which is 29/27.5+ but I ran it as a normal 27.5 bike for a while and it was fine, especially with shorter cranks (I found 175mm too pedal-strikey, and ran it with 170mm). I had it as full 29 for a bit too, but it was best as a mullet.
I ran it with a 140mm fork and it was grand for all my local riding.
Love my Solaris Max, but it is 29er and it is long so probs doesnt tick your boxes - ace bike though it does size big though as its got a long reach on it.
Howler Frameworks Rune.
I have a Production Privee Shan 27 and a Oka both run 27.5 by far and away best hardtails I have ever had would definitely recommend , not had a problem with either press fit bottom brackets (so what are the odds something happens tomorrow ??!!)
Just buy my On-One Deedar in Large.
Pros
27.5 not 29
Steel
Designed in UK
Travel 130-140
Reach of 439 in Large with low standover
Nice and slack at 64.5 degrees (I have a minus 1 degree slackset fitted)
Cons
No sliding dropouts!
Not boost
Ridden only a handful of times.
https://bikeinsights.com/bikes/5d41dc145ca18100173fb42e-on-one-deedar?build=base&version=2016
there are some great suggestions here, most of these bikes I had never heard of before so thanks to everybody who has contributed.
I was in Derbyshire yesterday and popped into the local bike shops to see what 29” steel hardtail options they had and as I had suspected they are too long and heavy for the type of riding I plan to do with it if I want to keep my full suspension bike.
Pipedream Moxie?
https://www.pipedreamcycles.com/shop/moxie/
Can be run with either 27.5 or 29 wheels/tyres
A 27.5 Cotic Soul sounds like the bike you describe, unfortunately Cotic don't make them anymore. You could search for one second hand.
One of the Marin Team bikes? Get good reviews for being a good all rounder xc kinda bike? Pretty good value and a nice looking bike.
I do quite like the look of the Pipedream Sirius. Short travel aggro is fun.