A New Breed of Shore Hardtail

In the not-so-distant past, a Shore hardtail may have hosted a huge fork and more than a handful of gussets. These days the capabilities of the long travel 29er approach the same problem with a more elegant solution.

**[Check out Scott Pilecki's custom Chromag Surface...

](http://nsmb.com/5639)**

As a believer in the continuing validity of the hard tail in todays mountain biking world it's great to see something that enhances the venerable hard tail. This would probably be something I would buy on my return to the Vancouver. Great article and lovely pictures.

Couple questions if you don't mind. Can the boys at Cromag put mounting boss on the frame if required? I know this is probably not even a question anymore but have the lateral flex issues of big wheels been solved with the setup you have?

Burly hardtails seem to be quite becoming a popular theme at least here in the UK where the weather is pretty crap most days…. I'm about to build a Cotic Bfe around 110-130-150 fox fork, leaning towards a 1x10 set up and on 2.35 Maxxis…. however still trying to get my head aroung gearing ratios and how it may affect my ride… but great build on the Chromag

I said god damn

The more I ride my Stylus, the less I ride any of my other bikes (already thinking of trading my DH bike for a trials moto). I am not on the 29er bandwagon but if I were, a Surface would be at the top of the list.

that sure is a pretty bike

The more I ride my Stylus, the less I ride any of my other bikes (already thinking of trading my DH bike for a trials moto). I am not on the 29er bandwagon but if I were, a Surface would be at the top of the list.

I'm like you. I had a decent trail bike, I bought a hardtail and started thinking about what bike I should get next, and before you know it, my HT is my go to bike, and I don't want to ride anything else. I'm also toying with the trials moto idea.

Also, Scott's Surface needs a dropper post.

Also, Scott's Surface needs a dropper post.

Yeah, I find my Delirium is fine with the seat in one spot, but I get more out of the Stylus with the Reverb. Especially with a Lyrik up front.

transitioning from squishy bikes to a hardtail is a bit of a shock if you haven't ridden one for a while (even more so if you're oscillating between a dh bike [HTML_REMOVED] ht), but the more i ride mine, the more i really like it. still relevant, for sure. the blend of simplicity / robustness / light weight / value is unbeatable. also provides a fresh riding perspective on the same old trails. fun, certainly.

Yep…goddamn the pusher.
:drool:

Sweet rig w/ a very nice build. A cromo hardtail…the only way I would ever go 29.

I test rode a 13 Kona Satori for a few days and when it was time to give it back and get on my Chromag TRL I decided I would be getting a Surface this spring! For trail riding the 29" wheels made a big difference for me.

Excellent build. I have a spreadsheet on my comp with my planned Surface build I've been working on for a couple weeks. Your build is scary how similar it is. Fork, cranks, drive train even color of the seat QR and the bottle cage.

You have a spreadsheet of your planned build?

So much wrongness in one spot…

A nice read again - and I can only agree to the HT riders. It is more fun, and my go-to bike at the moment. The only issue I have with the HT is that it is not that unforgiving when jumping bike park like tracks - but that is what I have my full-susser for.
But sometimes I am thinking of selling it and buying a 66 for the Stylus with a DH specific wheelset. Just swap forks, wheelset and good to go. It would for sure be interesting.

With a HT I have the feeling that I can shred more and harder, the turns and little pumps are just waaay more fun when riding my Stylus. Kinda more proactive.