Jump to content
IGNORED

I want a hard tail


Recommended Posts

21 hours ago, tomreece said:

FYI I am keeping the FS so the HT would be a backup bike.

My $0.02:

I upgraded by big bike last year (Scott Genius 720) and wanted to get a complimentary HT to go with it. Snagged a huge closeout Scott Scale 730 which has practically the exact same geometry as the Genius, but in HT version. I pulled the drive train and fork off without spinning a single crank, upgraded both bigly, and love that bike. Fast forward 6-7 months and I feel like I didn’t make the best decision. I bought and upgraded a hard hitting burly hardtail that would compliment my hard hitting burly (and just as efficient) full suspension. 

I can ride both at brushy, walnut, pedernales, pace bend, and even Reveille. So I ask which should I actually ride on certain days? 

Fast forward to today and the HT is being sold and picked up in an hour, and I’m going to figure out my second, complimentary bike this weekend, which will be some type of gravel grinder that’s ready for road riding, fire roads, and buff out single track, and capable of tech and small drops if needed.  

In the end, a second bike is always great, hell I’d like 5, but I try to live a minimal life as much as I can right now. My recommendation is to really evaluate and make a move on a bike that is different from your FS. Getting a 1x slack hardtail with a 140 fork is great, but is it really necessary when you have a mid travel super efficient smuggler? That’s for you to answer as I already have. 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was joking earlier. Obviously no one here will try to talk you out of buying another bike, so I thought I would try. 

I've always had a second bike or two. It's fun to be able to a different type of ride when the weather's bad or just to add a little spice to your usual trails. Right now I have a CX bike as my second bike. It's fun, but I regret selling the 29er SS that I had before it. I had a rigid carbon fork and a 100mm Fox. I always ran it SS, but it was convertable to gears if I wanted. In a rigid, geared setup, I would have been able to do everything I currently do with the CX, but in a more comfortable (for me) flat bar setup. The take away is that if you can only have one second bike, versatility is a really nice quality to look for. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

'cause I'm stupid, I really want a dirt jump hardtail.


It’s totally worth getting one. Walnut Creek pump track and a DJ bike are a great way to get in a serious 30 minute workout and have a blast doing it. Never felt more like a 14 year old than when I’m at the pump track.

My best advice is to stop riding BEFORE you get too tired. It’s amazing how much work it can be to go around a track without pedaling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/26/2019 at 10:07 AM, bestbike85 said:

Fast forward to today and the HT is being sold and picked up in an hour, and I’m going to figure out my second, complimentary bike this weekend, which will be some type of gravel grinder that’s ready for road riding, fire roads, and buff out single track, and capable of tech and small drops if needed.  

 

Good stuff. I have a Ti Motobecane CX rig as my 2nd. I was a long time hardtail guy but gave it up for comfort. No regrets. 

As far as the cx and riding on trails and stuff. I’ve hit small drops on mine, ridden it down Cru Jones and Basket out at Brushy, most of St Eds, and Walnut. 

One thing riding the cx on trail has taught me is that there is no such thing as a smooth trail. It’s, for me, soooo harsh but so freaking fun to take the pizza cutter wheels offroad. I run Stans Iron Cross tubeless setup with WTB something rather tires. The other thing in my experience is I get some pretty good chest pain...around the sternum/rib interface from all the jarring. 

Just my experience, but I exclusively rode my cx for a while and repeatedly rode stuff that was probably too rough. I have brake levers on the top bar(?)/flat part of the road bars. Gripping up there is brutal with no cushy bar tape, but there’s probably a way to make that kinder. 

Now I really only ride it if muddy out or if I want to do a shorter ride time wise and still get in some easy miles. The feeling of some easier speed is nice. 

Cant say enough about that Motobecane though. I’ve beat the hell out of it, and it just keeps going. 

I am going to switch to a shorter travel 29er as my mtb and keep the cx around forever as a trusty backup. I’d KIND OF like to see what a 29er ss is all about but not enough to mess with it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never had much interest in owning or riding a FS bike, but I ride a CX bike with tubeless Gravelking tires (32 rear, 35 front, no more room out back for something fatter) and it's a blast on loose surfaces. It sucks on chunky rocks though. Even going slow, you can feel your rim bottom out frequently, so I avoid anything chunky on it. A bit of SATN can be ridden this way.

My fastest hill climbs are on this bike. It's also fun when the trails are too wet to ride, piecing together roads and gravel trails. I find the pizza cutter wheels, drop handlebar, and overall lightweight-ness of it to be more fun for long distance rides when fat tires feel like you're dragging cinder blocks around, but a skinny tire road bike limits you to tarmac only.

Edited by mack_turtle
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/25/2019 at 12:11 PM, tomreece said:

FYI I am keeping the FS so the HT would be a backup bike.

Curious do you have a Short List of options yet? I'm in a similar conundrum where I wonder what I will replace my aging FS/ entry HT with. Right now both work great, but dreaming about future toys is always fun. 

My early short list:

  • Diamondback Sync'r (AL)
  • Salsa Timberjack
  • Kona Honzo
  • Trek Stache (maybe)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, RedRider3141 said:

Curious do you have a Short List of options yet? I'm in a similar conundrum where I wonder what I will replace my aging FS/ entry HT with. Right now both work great, but dreaming about future toys is always fun. 

My early short list:

  • Diamondback Sync'r (AL)
  • Salsa Timberjack
  • Kona Honzo
  • Trek Stache (maybe)

I know it wasnt directed to me but whatever

 My current Short List. All similar Geo to my FS and all can be run SS , because fun

Kona Honzo

Santa Cruz Chameleon (MEH)

Stache (Holy cow--rode one the other night,, not what I expected, wicked fun)

Canfield Nimble 9

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm starting to wish I would have gone down this path instead of recently buying a long-travel 27.5 specifically for Cat Mtn and Spider Mtn, neither of which I've been to in the 2 months that I've had the new bike. This is the bike I really wanted to play around on. Maybe I'll sell my Remedy frame and move the components over to one of these. Frame only option is $1400.

Throttle.PNG

Edited by throet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, AntonioGG said:

I'd love to read your elaboration on this.  I was interested in the Chameleon in SS trim as a future bike for me.

When I was trying to decide which frame to buy I was looking into the Chameleon as well, but looking at the rest of his list he looks like he is leaning toward steel bikes. Except the stache which is an enigma and I also love it! If they made a steel stache man...I would pre order that thing right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, csmceuen said:

When I was trying to decide which frame to buy I was looking into the Chameleon as well, but looking at the rest of his list he looks like he is leaning toward steel bikes. Except the stache which is an enigma and I also love it! If they made a steel stache man...I would pre order that thing right now.

Ill say this about the current Chameleon , You can run her SS or geared. 29 or 27 Plus. That is is kind of like 4 bikes in one. More bang for the bucks. Its geo is relatively similar to my Intense Spider. 

Maybe I need to look closer. 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

Ill say this about the current Chameleon , You can run her SS or geared. 29 or 27 Plus. That is is kind of like 4 bikes in one. More bang for the bucks. Its geo is relatively similar to my Intense Spider. 

Maybe I need to look closer. 

 

Honzo st can do that too. Just saying :). I think I may be biased though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, csmceuen said:

Honzo st can do that too. Just saying :). I think I may be biased though.

And I love the look of the Honzo-- I am shallow maybe but the Honzo looks sweet. So the Big Honzo you can swap wheel sizes? And run that SS?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Cafeend said:

And I love the look of the Honzo-- I am shallow maybe but the Honzo looks sweet. So the Big Honzo you can swap wheel sizes? And run that SS?

 

I have 2017 Honzo ST so that was before the started making the Big Honzo ST. I only run it SS and have had both wheel sizes in there and it rides great/plenty of clearance. Running 2.6x29s currently and still could probably shove a 2.8 in with comfortable clearance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Big Honzo is aluminum and does not have sliders, so setting it up single speed would be sub-optimal.

FWIW, the Honzo has a crazy-long reach for its size. Good if you're into that kind of thing, but at 5'9", a small Honzo with a stubby stem would still feel big to me for the way I like a bike to fit and handle.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

The Big Honzo is aluminum and does not have sliders, so setting it up single speed would be sub-optimal.

FWIW, the Honzo has a crazy-long reach for its size. Good if you're into that kind of thing, but at 5'9", a small Honzo with a stubby stem would still feel big to me for the way I like a bike to fit and handle.

They do make a Big Honzo ST now as well. 5'-9" as well  and I love the reach on my med. Different strokes for different folks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't realize the difference between the Honzo and the Big Honzo is 29 vs B+ wheels. Is that correct? either way, it looks like the alu and carbon ones don't have sliders. The steel one does, as did the titanium one, which appears to be out of production. Probably the same frames with different wheels sizes.

I base how a bike fits on how it handles when standing and wrangling it, which is why long reaches and steep seat tubes don't do it for me. Distance from the pedals to the grips is something I know does not work unless it's within a centimeter of my preferred position, which can't happen with available parts and a reach much longer than 430mm. I only point this out because the trend of super-long bikes does not work for everyone, so it's worth considering what works for you.

Edited by mack_turtle
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

The main difference with the Stache is the super-short chainstays, compared to the Krampus. If you put the same length fork that the Stache has on a Krampus. The BB on the Krampus might be a tad higher and the reach about the same.

That's a good point.  I thought I would hate the Stache because I couldn't get the front wheel up easily.  However, those short chain stays make it a snap to lift the front end which totally changes how you ride the bike.  It actually wheelies pretty damn good too which I'm sure is in no small part helped by the 3" tires.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

I didn't realize the difference between the Honzo and the Big Honzo is 29 vs B+ wheels. Is that correct? either way, it looks like the alu and carbon ones don't have sliders. The steel one does, as did the titanium one, which appears to be out of production. Probably the same frames with different wheels sizes.

I feel like they may have tweaked a couple things, but production wise that would be a pain in the ass...so maybe not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...