NSMB - 2014 – Hardtail Thread

nice. i hear the tagline for those is: all the fun of a honzo, at half the weight ;)

According to mtbr, the Taro frame is around 4 lbs whereas the Honzo is over 6 lbs. But the stock build on the Taro is quite heavy, coming in around 30 lbs, similar to a complete Honzo.

nice. i hear the tagline for those is: all the fun of a honzo, at half the weight ;)

but it's aluminum

but it's aluminum

I find it interesting that steel costs a premium and aluminum comes on cheaper models. That is quite the contrast to the situation 10-15 years ago, where aluminum was only found on higher end models.

With steel the feel is real, man.:smokey:

With steel the feel is real, man.:smokey:

but it's aluminum

i'm a steel hardtail guy m'self, but i'd love to try one of these new school alu 29" hardtails (taro, paradox, yelli, etc.). burly steel hardtail frames, like the stylus or transam - there's really not much of that steel "give" or "twang" to them - they're bloody stiff, in both good and bad ways. and they're not light. i'm curious how much stiffer an aluminum frame would be, considering how much weight you can shave off a given build

Tungsten, the BB height with the Nobby Nics dragged out of the recycling bin at work is a gnats cock over 12", so not too jacked up. Riding down from way above 7th Switchback on Fromme and into the Crinkum Crankum stuff at 5th showed that the bike feels really nice (if you accept it's limitations…), but the $2.50 V brake pad inserts are not exactly up to the job!

i'm a steel hardtail guy m'self, but i'd love to try one of these new school alu 29" hardtails (taro, paradox, yelli, etc.). burly steel hardtail frames, like the stylus or transam - there's really not much of that steel "give" or "twang" to them - they're bloody stiff, in both good and bad ways. and they're not light. i'm curious how much stiffer an aluminum frame would be, considering how much weight you can shave off a given build

I'm also curious about this. Went with a steel mtb hardtail as recommended by everyone, but got an alu cross bike to save cost and weight. The little bit of off road I've done on the fully rigid alu bike leads me to believe an alu mtb hardtail wouldn't be too horrible.
I have no desire to swap out hardtail frames though, so it may be a long long time before I experiment.

As you can see in this thread, I've been between a number of steel and aluminum hardtails over the past few years, plus a few test bikes that aren't on that list. Aluminum always feels stiff and jerky, while steel can be forgiving (but can also be overbuilt). Riding my Rootdown (429 RC) and a Honzo (414 RC) back to back was a bit of an eye opener – the Chromag rides way smoother. If you're riding in BC, you don't want an aluminum hardtail in my opinion.

IMO aluminium only good for full sus.

IMO aluminium only good for full sus.

And recycling!

As you can see in this thread, I've been between a number of steel and aluminum hardtails over the past few years, plus a few test bikes that aren't on that list. Aluminum always feels stiff and jerky, while steel can be forgiving (but can also be overbuilt). Riding my Rootdown (429 RC) and a Honzo (414 RC) back to back was a bit of an eye opener – the Chromag rides way smoother. If you're riding in BC, you don't want an aluminum hardtail in my opinion.

Yup, my chainstays were jammed all the way forward. I'm going to move them back and see if it changes the feel. Nevertheless, the Honzo is overbuilt and is very stiff. I'm honestly not sure if the compliant steel feel is actually felt in the Honzo. I think that if my Hardtail was something I rode more than just occasionally, I'd be looking for a frame with a bit longer RC and a bit more give ie the Rootdown, Surface, Sir 9 (especially for SS) etc…

IMO aluminium only good for holding beer

FYP

As you can see in this thread, I've been between a number of steel and aluminum hardtails over the past few years, plus a few test bikes that aren't on that list. Aluminum always feels stiff and jerky, while steel can be forgiving (but can also be overbuilt). Riding my Rootdown (429 RC) and a Honzo (414 RC) back to back was a bit of an eye opener – the Chromag rides way smoother. If you're riding in BC, you don't want an aluminum hardtail in my opinion.

What about carbon?

What about carbon?

are there any aggressive carbon hardtails? the on one 456c is the only non-xc one that springs to mind. i've never ridden one but all the reviews said it was a hella harsh ride