MTB hardtail frames - 'hardcore XC'

glitch

glitch

glitch

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Having sold my old bike to a colleague, I'm in the market for a replacement. And this time I figure I'm going to start from the frame up and go from there. I've got a rough idea of what components I need, but slight variations will no doubt come into play when I finally settle on a frame/fork combination.

I've got a budget of around £1k for the whole bike, so I'm looking at no more than £350 for the frame. I'm still undecided as to whether I want a steel or aluminium frame, although I'm leaning towards the livelier feeling of the former, having started out many moons ago with a steel Kona. I'll be aiming for a bike that will handle a mixture of singletrack and general trail riding, and I'll want something that can be built to be relatively light and nimble, but still handle the downs without too much difficulty.

I read and hear great things about the Pace RC303 and how wonderfully suited it is to English singletrack, but I'm not paying £500 for a frame so that's out of the question already. But I figure that anything with similar geometry would be a good place to start, and have seen some frames that look quite good.

So far I've come up with:

Charge Duster @ £350



Cove Handjob @ £330



Maxlight Pha5e @ £350



On-One Inbred 456 @ £150



On-One Scandal @ £250



Not knowing much (if anything) about what's out there, have I missed anything obvious or is there already a stand-out frame from amongst those few above? Or can you recommend something else to add to my research pile?
 
2007 Specialized Hardrock Sport FRAME ONLY (red)
A1 Premium Aluminium, double butted TT, ORE DT, externally relieved head tube, reinforced disc mount, forged dropouts w/ replaceable 98954020 hanger


£89
 
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There's a slight difference between an £89 frame and a £350 frame!

I know the cove handjob has received a lot of positive reviews.

Charge duster looks like quite a good option. I like the fact they've got "A bicycle company" written on the frame, what's it there for? To cover up that Charge are actually an iraqi militant faction? :p
 
yozzer2001 said:
2007 Specialized Hardrock Sport FRAME ONLY
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Not quite what I'm looking for, but thanks for popping by.

Bunka said:
I know the cove handjob has received a lot of positive reviews.
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Which is what is leading me to put it at #1 spot so far. Certainly looks the part, has virtually the same geometry as the Stiffee, and is on budget.

yozzer2001 said:
Charge duster looks like quite a good option. I like the fact they've got "A bicycle company" written on the frame, what's it there for? To cover up that Charge are actually an iraqi militant faction? :p
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Heh, I was wondering that myself. I like the look of the Charge, but it seems a bit weedy compared to the Cove. Although, having said that, I've seen a Duster running Pike's and some pretty hardcore kit, so there's obviously some strength in those Tange Prestige tubes.

PurpleDinosaur said:
Of course you will have to cycle about with Handjob written on your frame...
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Might divert attention from the plank riding it then!
 
Out of the options I'd go with the Cove, the name is fantastic and by all accounts it is a a great frame to boot. On-One does make good stuff and some of the names are even better but I don't think the Inbred is quite in the same league as the Handjob.

Man, I love these names, it is almost impossible to compose a sentence without it sounding like there is something very wrong with you. :D
 
What sort of forks are you thinking of? Are you going for the common/boring option of bouncy ones, or the more hardcore ridged option? I only ask as fork type will dictate the frame choice IMHO.

For example, if your going with rigid forks, that almost rules out aluminium frames, and steel "bouncyness" really comes into its own. On the the other hand, if your going with sus forks then steel is not the best frame material choice, and frame geometry can be quite different.

Just my two pennies worth.
 
You can't argue with the value of the 456. Bang on a pair of Rev's or Pikes and off you go.

Couple of alternatives - Merlin special build Commencal Nuts for £850. Looks like top value with full XT.

Pipedream Sirius - steel frame for £199. I love mine :D
 
glitch said:
Surely any of the steel frames I've listed above have both the strength and the geometry to accept suspension forks?
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Not quite sure what the poster means by steel not being the best choice with suspension forks. Out of the guys I ride with, almost everyone has a steel HT with suspension forks (On-one, Cotic, Pipedream etc).
 
#Chri5# said:
You can't argue with the value of the 456. Bang on a pair of Rev's or Pikes and off you go.
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Agreed about the price, not sure about the colour. If there was ever a colour I hate, it's red.

Wouldn't Pike's be a bit burly for the 456 though?

#Chri5# said:
Couple of alternatives - Merlin special build Commencal Nuts for £850. Looks like top value with full XT.
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Loveoly spec, shame about the size. Should probably have mentioned my height (I'm 6'1" with 33" inside leg) in the OP.

#Chri5# said:
Pipedream Sirius - steel frame for £199. I love mine :D
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Mmmm, interesting. Might add that one to the shortlist.

#Chri5# said:
Not quite sure what the poster means by steel not being the best choice with suspension forks.
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That's what I was thinking too. Hopefully he'll come back to explain his musings.
 
Please forgive my ignorance on MTB's but I am interested in a XC/"All Mountain" type hard tail too. How much weight are you compromising on when choosing steel over aluminium? With road bikes, I know it can actually be very little, but given how strongly XC MTB's have to be, surely the weight penalty of steel is amplified? What kind of weight would a ~ £800-1000 hard tail with say XT components come in at? Im sorry I am partially hijacking the thread.

Im not trying to start a material vs material war either. I appreciate its mostly about the design and that there are also different types of aluminium and steel.
 
I'm certainly not the best person to answer your question in full, but I can have a game stab at answering it in brief.

I don't see any compromise at all in choosing one material over the other. It's all down to the tubing used and the design of the frame as to how much of said material is used and how heavy the frame actually is. Steel is generally seen as a more supple, responsive ride and aluminium as a harsher but more direct ride. Although that's really generalising things and someone will no doubt be able to expand on that for you.

Difficult to say what a whole bike with XT spec would be as you've got to factor in the weight of the frame, forks and other accessories, but you could be looking at anything from 26 to 30lbs depending on your choices. I'd certainly expect to spec a bike at around the 28lbs mark for around £1k and then shave off a pound or two for every few hundred quid over the mark.

Speaking of forks, I'm really liking the reviews and the general specification of the Pike's. Looks like the 454 Dual Air are the best, and I'd imagine the 2007 models are available to be had for a small discount over the '08 models. I assume that they can also be locked out with the Poploc accessory?
 
Ok chaps, I'll hold my hands up, I'm not sure I worded that quite right!

I'm only really speaking from experience, and I'm probably fairly out of date as the last bike I bought was about 10years ago! But I'll try and clarify what I was trying to say......

There are 2 main points....

1. If you have sus forks then the bounce at the front means you can have a very ridged frame and still maintain a comfortable ride. If you have ridged forks, then having some flex in the frame makes for a less bone shaking ride. Speaking very generally.....Ally tends to be much stiffer, but lighter. Steel tends to have a bit more natural flex.

2. Suspension forks tend to be a bit longer, when that is linked to frame it affects how the geometry works. So (I think) some frames are designed for shorter ridged forks, and some for the slightly longer bouncy ones. I suspect that probably some are also a compromise for the two, and are "suited" to either.

Does that make a bit more sense? As I say I'm speaking very generally.

:-)
 
Every hardtail frame these days is designed for suspension forks, and in turn most rigid forks will be long enough to compensate.

Have you seen the Cotic Soul? I know someone that canes it on his, and it's done him well. I seem to recall they were doing XT builds for around a grand but I may be mistaken.

al
 
i was in the same situation as you few months back, looked at all the frames you listed above plus the cotic soul, and eventually wittled it down to the Scandla and soul but the soul is always out of stock and pricey so i went with the scandal and i wont regret it! its awesome and super light!

And obviously you need a piccy!!


Edit, at £250 for a super light frame you cant go wrong. most of the other frames in my opinion are over priced for ever alu or custom steel frames none use 853 steel and still cost over £300, Except the inbred which is priced at what the steel is worth. if you live near doncaster pop in and see them there very nice people at On-One
 
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ichabod crane said:
i was in the same situation as you few months back, looked at all the frames you listed above plus the cotic soul, and eventually wittled it down to the Scandla and soul but the soul is always out of stock and pricey so i went with the scandal and i wont regret it! its awesome and super light!

And obviously you need a picky!!


Edit, at £250 for a super light frame you cant go wrong. most of the other frames in my opinion are over priced for ever alu or custom steel frames none use 853 steel and still cost over £300, Except the inbred which is priced at what the steel is worth. if you live near doncaster pop in and see them there very nice people at On-One
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now that is nice

how much did it cost you and did you buildit your self ?
 
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