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Versatile hardtail?

spocomptonrider

spocomptonrider

sportin' the CROCS
Nov 30, 2007
1,412
118
spokanistan
I need a new bike, mostly to ride some trails a few dj's mostly it needs to be able to pedal to the top of stuff. This pretty much eliminates most companies Dj frames. As much as I would like to just build a bike for pumptrack dj dual slalom action it just isn't in the cards at this point. That being said I sold my TransAm last year, it seemed to fit the bill and I kinda regret selling the thing although a bit long for dj's with the right fork it did ok for my hack status jumping. I was also thinking of picking up a Commencal Meta 4x but I think pedalling it to the top of stuff might be the suck. I know this has been beaten to death but I still am having trouble coming up with solid options that don't cost as much as a decent fs frame would.

What do you guys think? Should I just suffer on the xc rides to have a sweet bike on the djs or just keep saving for that Stumpy Evo and build a hardtail later on?
 
T

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,480
422
I have an SC chameleon (really old model mind you) that does exactly this. Other than this option I'm thinking Chromag have some choices that would fit you well
 
Gary

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,648
5,562
UK
if you're not too tall what about an STP? it's the most versatile bike I've ever owned. They're cheap and for a DJ frame they're light (4.5lb frame) tough and ride great, I ride everything from XC to DJ/DH on my 14" STP (at 5'11" I need a 410mm seatpost for XC). it's a great pumptrack bike and it's not even too bad at the skatepark (I do prefer my BMX there tho).
 
spocomptonrider

spocomptonrider

sportin' the CROCS
Nov 30, 2007
1,412
118
spokanistan
Trib that barnstormer is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. I'm thinking it would be more advantageous for me to just build a supersweet FallGuy R/T and get back into djs and the odd ds session rather than building a custom trail hardtail only to replace it with a fs > 1 year later. Are the Chromag frames any more affordable than the Tonic's?
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
Huck Banzai said:
Chameleon is god of this. Do it.
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It really isnt though...I have owned 2 of them, 1 transition trans am, and an evil and while the chameleon is pretty good for all around the steel bikes take the cake in terms of feel for all around riding. I would never buy another aluminum hardtail again for trail/dirt.
 
Huck Banzai

Huck Banzai

Turbo Monkey
May 8, 2005
2,523
23
Transitory
manhattanprjkt83 said:
It really isnt though...I have owned 2 of them, 1 transition trans am, and an evil and while the chameleon is pretty good for all around the steel bikes take the cake in terms of feel for all around riding. I would never buy another aluminum hardtail again for trail/dirt.
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I dont do steel, and my chameleon has done it all well. You'll see them, through the years and now, built as do-it-alls, SS DJ builds, XC Builds, I did plenty of DH on mine...

May not be your preference, but damn skippy its up to getting the job(s) done!
 
C

clarkenstein

Monkey
Nov 28, 2008
244
0
i use a brodie bruzza for everything you mentioned. x/c rides, DS tracks, pumptracks/jumping. it's a jack of all trades - master of none kinda thing, but i get along just fine with it. it's aluminum and under $1k USD.
 
W4S

W4S

Turbo Monkey
Mar 2, 2004
1,282
23
Back in Hell A, b1thces
I've ridden this bike a couple times now and it's really fun. u-turn lyric so i can dial it down to 115mm if I want. I built it as a do-it-all bike that I can take to Dj's, pump track, etc. Did a 15 mile xc ride on it yesterday and it was fun as hell. If you don't like steel, ragley also makes an Alu and a carbon fiber version, too, as well as a bunch of different frames.
 

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RaID

RaID

Turbo Monkey
Oct 27, 2001
1,393
0
Not the real North Shore (Sydney), Aus
Evil Sovereign - i picked the frame for exactly the same riding you mention, it has adjustable dropouts to tweak it for different rides, very competent on pump tracks, love the geo for trail riding, especially with a Uturn pikes. I even did an 8hour team enduro on it.

The only minus i would say it isnt light, which is exaggerated on my build due to the spare parts off the DH bike on it. But with a lighter wheel set, air forks and SLX cranks it will feel much better

Highly recommended.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,218
4,471
RaID said:
Evil Sovereign - i picked the frame for exactly the same riding you mention, it has adjustable dropouts to tweak it for different rides, very competent on pump tracks, love the geo for trail riding, especially with a Uturn pikes. I even did an 8hour team enduro on it.

The only minus i would say it isnt light, which is exaggerated on my build due to the spare parts off the DH bike on it. But with a lighter wheel set, air forks and SLX cranks it will feel much better

Highly recommended.
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I can't speak for the new one, but I'm a fan of the original model. I'm going to be riding this thing for a long time.
 
manhattanprjkt83

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,646
1,217
Nilbog
dump said:
I can't speak for the new one, but I'm a fan of the original model. I'm going to be riding this thing for a long time.
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Agree'd I'd venture to say it's the best in this arena, the barnstormer looks pretty unreal as well.

The trans am just has a leg up because it is quite a bit cheaper and very similar. I had the evil for a long time, wish I had never sold it.
 
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