[Sandwich]

How many of you ride hardtails, either primarily or frequently enough to mention? What do you ride?

I get the itch every couple of years to abandon my fancy full suspension boinger and switch to a simple, aggressive 29er hardtail in ti or carbon or high-end steel. Then it usually passes. Seeing the stache carbon, honzo ti, and canfield EPO has made the itch come back though...

 

[kidwoo]

What's wrong with you?

 

[KenW449]

How many of you ride hardtails, either primarily or frequently enough to mention? What do you ride?

I get the itch every couple of years to abandon my fancy full suspension boinger and switch to a simple, aggressive 29er hardtail in ti or carbon or high-end steel. Then it usually passes. Seeing the stache carbon, honzo ti, and canfield EPO has made the itch come back though...

I too would like to know, i bypassed the HT phase and went right to full squish. Its a bit overkill for some of the stuff i ride though.

 

[Lazoup]

I'm a strong believer in Steel hardtails too. I had a few Chromag, and a Cotic.

None these days though. Riding a Megatrail, and a Gravel bike (steel too though). Next winter, I may be building something like a carbon Honzo or a Transition.

 

[Olly]

I've got a couple. The Chromag Monk is fucking awesome, but very specialist. The Dartmoor Hornet is... alright, I guess? Maybe I'd like it more if it wasn't way too small for me, but right now it only really gets ridden to the pub, or if the Suppressor is broken.

 

[KenW449]

 

[slyfink]

there's a specific forum for this question: http://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/forums/beginners-forum.30/

 

[FlipSide]

I have a Voodoo Bizango I purchased in 2011(26", made from Reynolds 853 steel tubing). This bike is my beater/loaner/backup bike built from parts that trickled down from the upgrade process of my main bike over the years. It has some really nice classic bits on it and I like riding this bike, but the old-school steep geometry pretty much sucks. The bike rides pretty nice with the fork set to 120-130mm...but I find it’s downright unrideably steep at 100mm or less. I would say it’s a very nice bike for flow trails ...but I tend to avoid these trails. I especially find it is a great bike for late fall long rides/exploration in cold temperatures and sloppy conditions, where reliability is much more important than performance (I have coil-sprung fork on it, a Gravity Dropper seat post and a 1X10 drivetrain).

Even though I like this bike, I completely drool over the new hardtails with modern geometry like the Chromag Surface, Primer, etc. and I will eventually own one. I would ride my hardtail much more often if I had one of these. I would also add that I would certainly advise you to consider a 29er with 2.5 tires in order to get a more forgiving ride.

Now, to answer your question: IMO it's a matter of budget. I find a hardtail is an excellent second-bike, but it would not be my primary bike. If the available funds to own and maintain your bike are limited, I'd definitely recommend building a nice hardtail before a low-budget full-susp.

 

[Cerberus75]

I have an On One Parkwood. Don't like it much, thinking about replacing it with something else. But I really only ride it on the C&O rail trail when trails are too wet elsewhere early or late in the season. The seat angle is slack it's only comfortable seated. Standing it's to small.

 

[Sandwich]

What's wrong with you?

plenty

 

[KenW449]

The Honzo does not have a tapered head tube

 

[Olly]

IIRC it has a 44mm headtube - so with the right headset you can use practically any steerer tube in there.

 

[Gary]

aggressive 29er hardtail in ti or carbon or high-end steel.

stache carbon,

This has to be a wind up.

but if we're gonna talk about hardtails I do have five of the things. (4 of them are ridden most weeks)

Dartmoor 4X. Reba, 26" wheels. Saint cranks 1x9 XO. Hope brakes 26" SRAM wheels. Street tyres. slammed saddle 25lb ish
Giant STP (small). 100mm PIKE. Saint cranks. 1x10 Zee. Shimano brakes. 26" hope/stans wheels. DHF/Bling tyres. 150mm dropper 29lb ish
Giant STP (large) 100mm Fox 32, Saint cranks. SPDs. 1x9 XT. Guide brakes. 26" Maxic/hope wheels. Mud tyres. 150mm dropper, mudguards, lights 30lb ish
Rockrider 520 (650b) - Bought this bike in Spain and left it there at a friends for when I visit. Entire bike cost 250euro new. swapped to a short stem and kinda love ragging this cheapo cable braked, undamped thing on rocky Spanish trails.
Ghost Kato 120mm suntour fork. XT 650b wheels (Kinda hate this bike... but it's for work Guiding/teaching) it does wheelie phenomenally though.

I ride hardtails more than any other bike. lastnight I rode indoor skate park on the Dartmoor.
tonight I'll ride the large STP in the mud. it's a dirt jump bike but I built it primarily as a winter XC bike and it's always ready to ride in the worst weather here at night.

I hate Ti and steel and 29" wheels so have no advice for you. But in answer to

What's wrong with you?

My money's on

 

[boostindoubles]

If you count dj and bmx I've had like 5x the hardtails to squishy bikes. Most of those hardtails have been SS. My stable doesnt feel whole if the steel SS is missing. Like right now... I hate waiting for frame builders... "it's at paint"

 

[rockofullr]

I have a hardtail dirt jumper. I ride it straight to the hospital on occasion.

 

[iRider]

How many of you ride hardtails, either primarily or frequently enough to mention? What do you ride?

Only HT I ride is a pumptrack bike. It rolls on 26" but is Ti.
Everything else has suspension or no suspension and drop bars.

 

[Westy]

My bar bike is a circa 1997 hardtail. Sadly, since I hurt my thumb in August, it has been the only bike I have ridden.

It also serves as a good tool for comparison when someone on a 29" enduro bike complains about lack of stability.

 

[Jeremy R]

I has one....

It makes me smile like this...

 

[djjohnr]

Just wait till the spinal arthritis sets in...then you won't think about hardtails anymore

I have one hardtail, it lives on my trainer.

 

[Sandwich]

This has to be a wind up.

but if we're gonna talk about hardtails I do have five of the things. (4 of them are ridden most weeks)

Dartmoor 4X. Reba, 26" wheels. Saint cranks 1x9 XO. Hope brakes 26" SRAM wheels. Street tyres. slammed saddle 25lb ish
Giant STP (small). 100mm PIKE. Saint cranks. 1x10 Zee. Shimano brakes. 26" hope/stans wheels. DHF/Bling tyres. 150mm dropper 29lb ish
Giant STP (large) 100mm Fox 32, Saint cranks. SPDs. 1x9 XT. Guide brakes. 26" Maxic/hope wheels. Mud tyres. 150mm dropper, mudguards, lights 30lb ish
Rockrider 520 (650b) - Bought this bike in Spain and left it there at a friends for when I visit. Entire bike cost 250euro new. swapped to a short stem and kinda love ragging this cheapo cable braked, undamped thing on rocky Spanish trails.
Ghost Kato 120mm suntour fork. XT 650b wheels (Kinda hate this bike... but it's for work Guiding/teaching) it does wheelie phenomenally though.

I ride hardtails more than any other bike. lastnight I rode indoor skate park on the Dartmoor.
tonight I'll ride the large STP in the mud. it's a dirt jump bike but I built it primarily as a winter XC bike and it's always ready to ride in the worst weather here at night.

I hate Ti and steel and 29" wheels so have no advice for you. But in answer to



My money's on

covfefe

 

[Happymtb.fr]

I have a NS Surge evo with a -2 angleset, old Fox 36 float at 130mm, 26" at the rear and 650b up front, now as a single speed but easily converted to 10 speed. Good fun for a very low investment!

Have you thought about Marino Bikes in Peru, they do custom geometry on steel frame apparently off good quality for very little money?

 

[atrokz]

I'll be grabbing another. I love them for mellow or flow trails (same shit I guess), cardio workouts, gravel or double track, etc. Perfect for pounding out miles in any conditions. It's also nice for crappier weather as they are easy to clean and maintain.

That said, for any 'fun' riding I'll stick to the FS. being able to charge and pop off everything in sight is more fun than dancing around rock gardens. Raced DH on a hardtail for a few years, and I won't be doing that again...

 

[Sandwich]

I have a NS Surge evo with a -2 angleset, old Fox 36 float at 130mm, 26" at the rear and 650b up front, now as a single speed but easily converted to 10 speed. Good fun for a very low investment!

Have you thought about Marino Bikes in Peru, they do custom geometry on steel frame apparently off good quality for very little money?

that sounds fun, minus the mismatched wheels, not a big fan of those. haven't heard of marino. Thought about going chinese titanium for a while, but I have a short attention span.

 

[Happymtb.fr]

minus the mismatched wheels

I have trendy riding buddies and showing them the front wheel make them less nervous

 

[Happymtb.fr]

haven't heard of marino

http://singletrackworld.com/2017/05/custom-steel-marino-frame-peru/
The website is not the best and the guy is a bit busy now that he is more known. Maybe @slimshady knows about him?

 

[WestCoastHucker]

Is this still the "Downhill" forum?


fwiw - i ride a hardtail as my main bike (it's a bmx bike though)

 

[Nick]

I have the Pedalhead that I won from @mtg for some local smoother trails, and the Sovereign which is really a street/dj bike. I enjoy riding both, for their intended uses.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

I do Chromag Surface - Here she is, rolling on some 2.6 butcher/slaughter with carbon rims and now xtr cranks. It's worth mentioning I have a nomad with a similar build which I use for bigger stuff but the Chromag sees about 70% of my riding.

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

I have the Pedalhead that I won from @mtg for some local smoother trails, and the Sovereign which is really a street/dj bike. I enjoy riding both, for their intended uses.

Sovereign rules, if they were doing a new high end steel version of that bike again I'd buy one. I bet we hear from @dump in under 10 min.

 

[bagtagley]

I spent a bunch of years on hardtails as my main bike so that I could afford a decent DH bike. I loved it, but being younger helps, and being a strong rider helps. Once your muscles get tired, your body starts to absorb the beating. I get sore when I ride one now.

I got several rides on a newer Stache 29+, and it was smiles for days. If I was gonna get another hardtail, I'd go full ridiculous and get a Stache, hands-down.

 

[captainspauldin]

I have a Kona Honzo ST and I'll ride it about 80% of the time. The trails closest to my house are much better suited to a hardtail, so it just made sense to me to add one to the stable. Geometry feels really good, I'm on XL so it has a crazy 510mm reach, steel feels much better than the alloy Big Honzo I had previously.

Here's a breakdown of what I've run the past couple years in hardtails:
Kona Explosif 27.5 - Good bike, but wanted to try something new.
Commencal Meta HT Cromo 27.5 - Another good bike, but felt too short and not as good as the Big Honzo I demoed.
Kona Big Honzo 27.5+/29 - Loved the extra plushness of the plus tires at first, but the alloy frame was harsh and started to like the 29er wheels better for this bike. Geonetry felt great for me, honestly made my Commencal feel cramped, forcing the sale of that and the purchase of the Big Honzo.

 

[slimshady]

http://singletrackworld.com/2017/05/custom-steel-marino-frame-peru/
The website is not the best and the guy is a bit busy now that he is more known. Maybe @slimshady knows about him?

A couple of my riding buddies have/have had Marino frames. Top quality for low bucks, although getting them here in Argentina is sort of a PITA. Cromoly is a helluva cheaper in Peru apparently, and the guy is able to mimic any design you like.

 

[velocipedist]

Dartmoor Ghetto and Ventana El Toro. The later is built up for my 8 year old son. Hope to pick up a pedalhead as parts accumulate. El Toro has been smashing mountains since 2003, hardtails are swweet, the Smash is pretty friggin sweet on studs too though.

 

[Sandwich]

I spent a bunch of years on hardtails as my main bike so that I could afford a decent DH bike. I loved it, but being younger helps, and being a strong rider helps. Once your muscles get tired, your body starts to absorb the beating. I get sore when I ride one now.

I got several rides on a newer Stache 29+, and it was smiles for days. If I was gonna get another hardtail, I'd go full ridiculous and get a Stache, hands-down.

Interesting to hear your non-lizard thoughts. I had a krampus for a minute and it wasn't the right bike for me. Needs high end parts to get rid of the wheel weight issue, which that bike didn't have. It was neat though, and shaving an inch of the stays would make it neater.

I have a Kona Honzo ST and I'll ride it about 80% of the time. The trails closest to my house are much better suited to a hardtail, so it just made sense to me to add one to the stable. Geometry feels really good, I'm on XL so it has a crazy 510mm reach, steel feels much better than the alloy Big Honzo I had previously.
View attachment 127546
Here's a breakdown of what I've run the past couple years in hardtails:
Kona Explosif 27.5 - Good bike, but wanted to try something new.
Commencal Meta HT Cromo 27.5 - Another good bike, but felt too short and not as good as the Big Honzo I demoed.
Kona Big Honzo 27.5+/29 - Loved the extra plushness of the plus tires at first, but the alloy frame was harsh and started to like the 29er wheels better for this bike. Geonetry felt great for me, honestly made my Commencal feel cramped, forcing the sale of that and the purchase of the Big Honzo.

I thought about grabbing the big honzo frame as my diamondback has all the trendy axle sizes needed to swap over. The BB is a bit higher which should work well with 29er wheels out here on the east coast. I had a scott scale hardtail which was super fast, but the aluminum frame and post beat me up. The new one would have to be carbon, ti, steel, or full weirdo with 29+ wheels.

 

[6thElement]

Lynskey Ti 29er, currently rigid 3x9 and ridden a few days each week on singletrack/gravel/road rides. Has a squishy fork sometimes, sometimes it's SS.
Specialized steel DJ.
Festivus gift from wifey of Kona Wozo, basically a fat Honzo and has been a blast on the steep trails near me when snowy.

 

[FlipSide]

Dartmoor Ghetto and Ventana El Toro. The later is built up for my 8 year old son. Hope to pick up a pedalhead as parts accumulate. El Toro has been smashing mountains since 2003, hardtails are swweet, the Smash is pretty friggin sweet on studs too though.

Nice bikes and nice Kettle as well. You have great taste!

 

[velocipedist]

It woks.

Nice bikes and nice Kettle as well. You have great taste!

 

[Nick]

Sovereign rules, if they were doing a new high end steel version of that bike again I'd buy one. I bet we hear from @dump in under 10 min.

I would too.
Before acquiring the pedalhead I was this >< close to buying a Chromag Stylus. I think that would be a better replacement for the Evil.

 

[jonKranked]

What's wrong with you?

Massachusetts?

 

[Sandwich]

Massachusetts?

hey you fakkin' guy, you wotch ya meowth