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I seem to be utterly incapable of deciding which bike to buy and I’ve therfore decided to rope you all in. For various reasons surrounding availability and price it has been narrowed down to three bikes.
All steel hardtails, all designed with our weather and riding in mind. Which one would you choose and why?
1: Pace RC127 - Only the decidedly vague story’s of bad customer service on here are causing me concern. Decent geometry, looks pretty and good spec. Have been great on phone and email with queries.
2: Stif Morf - More progressive geometry, but this may restrict use as an all rounder when compared to the Pace?
3: Ragley Big Wig: future proofed (kind of) with boost. Weighs more than the moon, but seems bomb proof, which is good given my history of falling off. I’ve had 29ers before whereas 27.5 is an unknown quantity.
Sod the forum naysayers on the Pace. If tgat’s what you fancy and it does look mighty good then go for it 👍😁
I'd go for the Pace ..
No hang on a sec ..the Ragley ...
Oooh but that Stif sounds good ..
You are welcome ..😉
You've just summed up my internal monologue ☺
The idea of me advising anybody on this, given how long I procrastinate, is laughable, but strangely I find spending other people's money much easier 🙂
Forget future proofing, it's pointless. No matter how many current standards a bike has it will still be out of date before you've put the first scratch on it. The only negative you seem to have for the Pace is internet stories about customer service. If your own experiences with the company have been good then I'd ignore those and go for the Pace. They are all great bikes of course, but I sense that you really want the Pace.
Having the same issue between 3 full sussers. The internal monologue is taking over my life!
It's not helped by the fact I can't get my hands on the money until April as it's held in a bond, otherwise I would have ordered one on Monday. With this extra time I have I've now changed my mind, not on the bike but the spec.
I'm going to go mad before the cash lands in my bank account.
Your OP reads like you have your heart set on the Pace so go for that. Although I don't expect you to listen as my mate has been telling me to go for one bike for a similar reason and I'm still going round in circles.
I hated my Big Wig for everything but downhill where it was great. If it's an all rounder you want I'd look elsewhere
Thanks everyone. It was originally the Morf that caught my eye. The Big Wig is the only one that I was really unsure about. The Pace does seem like the best all rounder and it would be my only bike. Hmmm
No Cotic Soul on your list ? Have you really thought this through? I mean really?
Hth
Cotic is out of price range or would be on there along with Stanton. I’ve owned a few Cotis in the past. Able to get deals on the three mentioned, some used, some new.
Roll a dice with your eyes closed. Choose the option that you secretly hope the dice selects.
Let’s make it interesting. Add another 97 bikes and I’ll go to Games Workshop and get one of those 100 sided, hand forged by Dwarves dice.
Pace or Stif? Argh 😱
What colours are they ?
Pace is Black and Yellow, the Morf is grey and the Dwarves are a pasty white from living under mountains.
The pace issues were some time ago I think. I'd choose that. Looks ace and ideal as an allrounder
Morf then...
How about some pics 🙂
I would go Pace. I've always wanted a Pace.
Stif, no stealth dropper routing on the pace ..
Pace is quite short and steep whilst the Morf is far from too extreme for general messing about or pootling but will be much more confidence inspiring on the steep stuff.
Add 1.5 degrees to the quoted head angles and consider if you’d buy a full-sus for the same purpose with those angles? Hardtails get steeper once you’re on them!
Id go pace for the heritage alone tbh.
wasn’t there an article in some magazine or other recently about them?
However I’m not you, I don’t do the kind of riding you do, or in the places you go.
I wouldn’t worry about future proofing or anything like that, it’s pointless, buy what you want and get out there and enjoy it. Old school headsets/hubs/bb/whatever are still available so no point stressing eh.
Sod the forum naysayers on the Pace
I'm a naysayer, they are one of the worst companies I've ever dealt with, and I've had extended dealings with Sky, British Gas and BT.
I mean all bikes will have manufacturing faults from time to time, but it's how those problems are dealt with that make the difference. Don't piss on me and tell me it's raining.
Another vote for the Stif Morf.
I'd go for the Morf, because grey will look really nice with orange hope bits.
There’s an ex demo pace for sale at Sutton Bank cycles
Don’t do full suss so that comparison doesn’t really mean much to me unfortunately. Pace doesn’t seem that steep or short to me. Definitely has stealth dropper routing too. Never felt under-biked in the peaks, even on a 26 wheeled, 100mm travel cross country machine.
Morf does look like good fun and may encourage extreme idiocy which is never a bad thing. Ooh it’s tricky this.
On the pace website it says external dropper routing.
I'd still go for the Pace.
The ex demo is the one I’ve been looking at. Both Adrian and Sophie say it has a stealth dropper. I is confused. Morf is a full build with black components, so no shiny orange until bits start dying.
I bet you got there before you even set off on that 26 wheeled bike ..
If I had to choose one despite my earlier post it would be the Stif ...for no other reason than I have only read good things ..
The RC127 doesn't have stealth routing (unless it's changed) but the 127+ does.
I have the Pace RC127. Get that. No complaints from me, takes a lot of stick and is a belting ride.
They were doing a great offer on the frames a few weeks ago, might be worth an ask.
I like the Morf too mind..
If I were choosing i’d cross off the Ragley in that company straight away simply because i’d prefer to own one of the other two.
Pace have had their issues, I can vouch for that and are a long way from their innovative heyday but if you like the bike then it’s worth a shot.
As for the Morf, the geometry is not far off my p7 and that handles all types of riding with ease so I wouldn’t worry about it’s ability as an all rounder. Add to the plus points that the staff at Stif are ace and always happy to help, it is the one i’d be going for.
pic the geo you want then pick the frame that has the right colour and made from the material you want. make doesn't really matter.
Isn't the Big Wig a 29er, and therefore perhaps a bit different from the others?
Yeah, crossed Big Wig off the list. Had a 29er previously and it was there for familiarity really. Never tried a 27.5 bike so keen to give it a raz.
Morf is a full build with black components, so no shiny orange until bits start dying.
But they will start dying and then the funky colours come to play....
The problem for me with all these new steel hardtails is that they lack the properties of steel hardtails I used to like!
Blame CEN.
Which was why the Ritchey Timberwolf really appealed. Especially at £1500 from Merlin (£349 frame-only).
But there's something odd about the geometry that I can't quite make work. Slack seat angle, high bottom bracket. It's almost like a 100mm bike with some long forks on it. I soooo nearly bought it though!
Nooo Alex! Don’t go adding another pretty bike to the mix 😧
Got the Morf 👍🏼 Hope it was the correct decision
Nice one !
Have fun ...
Congratulations, it's the right choice...
>I very, very nearly bought the grey Stif Morf myself ( got a Slackline instead)
Expect pictures to be forthcoming.
Awesome. Looking forward to seeing pictures!
I agree with Alex, there’s something not quite right about that Ritchey. Much better parts spec on the Morf too and I got it for a great price to boot.
Did you get an ex-demo Morf ?
No, the Pace is an ex demo. This was just from eBay, but got it for a great price.