Hardtail budget £1400

bails87

styxd wrote:

To be honest, it sounds like you dont have a clue. Just buy any of those bikes you mentioned, I'm sure you'll be happy with it. They are all decent.

In the nicest possible way, I kind of agree with this.

OP: you sound very....muddled, and quick to change your mind on what you want, without really knowing why.

If you want a 120mm fast XC/trail bike then go for the Boardman. If you want something a bit more playful then the C456 will be an excellent choice. Don't worry about not speccing it as well as the Boardman, as long as you can get a decent spec on it then it'll be fine.

junglist_matty

bails87 wrote:

Don't worry about not speccing it as well as the Boardman, as long as you can get a decent spec on it then it'll be fine.

Couldn't agree more, these days, most people think its a case of comparing specifications more than comparing how the bike actually feels to ride... By all means get good gear for your bike, but don't forget "upgrading" is a natural process and you will do it on any bike, be it a £2000 lightweight racer or a £500 budget bike.

blablablacksheep

OP: you sound very....muddled, and quick to change your mind on what you want, without really knowing why.

Mainly because of when i think i have a good idea of what bike/frame to get i then get comments like this .....

in my opinion unless ya paying over £1500 for a carbon frame all you are buying is crap carbon, ya better off using the money you have and buying a decent aluminuim hardtail.

It the same sort of stuff you hear on the trails sometimes, and its hard to tell the snobbery from actual good information, thus have to base a lot on reviews from reputable sites like this.

Add in topics about how "pointless buying Steel+Titanium is/Carbon is the best frame material ect" you start to relize where i coming from i hope.

The main issue is this.:, 456 Carbon i will never be able to test ride, as their site is a good 3+hours away from me in London.

Rock lobster /merlin is about 2.5Hours away, so pretty long just to test ride a bike frame.

That means only the Cotic Soul+Boardman are actually able to test ride, but if 456C/Rock Lobster titanium frames are "better" then it may well be worth the "punt" in buying without testing them, if they are good and the reviews describe them well enough you can make a educated guess on their ride quality, right?

This is my dilemma, i dont fancy spending £1600 then finding the frame is actually not that much better than my RocK Hopper frame once im on the trail, or the bike in question falls to bits due to "known" issues(insert BB30 halfords topics)

hope this clears what im trying to explain.

Anonymous

Work out what kind of bike/ride you want first, i.e. what kind of frame, then the material comes second. For me the carbon question is just about weight. It's not about having the lightest bike possible, but if the kind of bike I want is typically heavy then carbon becomes attractive to make it a bit lighter, but obviously weighing up the extra cost.

So on the much (over?) talked about 456 here, it's a heavier bike in its class I believe, but the carbon makes it more attractive. However you can get lighter carbon hard tails for similar or higher prices, but they're all different style bikes, different uses. The 456 is long travel designed with slacker geometry and aggressive style. If you want a super light XC whippet, this is not it. For example. I'm only saying 456 as that's what I've looked at a lot, but given they're all pretty much out of stock now I'll be looking at other brands too. And yeah, test riding them is a pain. Have to find a friend who's got one, or something very similar.

Haven't decided on carbon or not yet. Simple cheap steel hard tail is attractive too.

blablablacksheep

Like i said i not looking for a race bike, this is what is currently putting me off the Boardman, but if i can get a test ride hopefully this will help me decide, but i been told by a friend that Halfords are no longer letting you test ride bikes :x

So that leaves Cotic Soul, and atm i waiting for the response from the only shop anywhere within 3 hours of london to contact me, about if i can test ride one that they have built up or not.... :roll:

This is why it a pain in the balls atm, no 1 seems to want me to buy a bike from them,given their attitudes towards test rides.

Untill i can test ride the Boardman/Cotic not much i can do it seems given they will be the bench marks other than my rockhopper which i really like the geometry and agressive confidence it gives me when i ride off-road.........
.(i know 456 ment to be agressive ect, but 150mm puts me off a bit as i worry that would be overkill as i not doing any jumping at present,and sticking 120mm would be better suited to another frame.)

supersonic

Why not just keep the rockhopper then? Better is very subjective. But what is objective is that carbon builds into the lightest frames for any given purpose.

You can put a 120mm fork on the 456, is will steepen it up a bit, but will still be slacker than the Baordman.

bails87

blablablacksheep
Fair points, but as I said on the other thread, the c456 isn't a slow, heavy brute, it's a perfect trail centre bike.

You need to figure out what you do and don't like about the RH and what you want from a new bike.

Also, if a test ride is so important, forget about all the bikes you've mentioned

blablablacksheep

to me a test ride isnt important as i can work out pretty much what i will like based on the geometry and review descriptions about the ride.

The rockhopper is ok but the fram just isnt good for those all day rides and also really suffers when i go "downhill" or tech parts in trails.

going to try Halfords this week and hopefully i can beat out a test ride from them, and going to pay a vist to the LBS who sells Cotic frames as they dont return any calls ect so maybe a vist will help.

End of the day, as long as one of the frames is comfy and good enough to ride agressive while being not too "far reaching" then il be happy, even if it means spending more on Cotic Soul DIY build over C456/Boardman/RL ti(anyone tried a 120mm on 456 OFI?)

supersonic

Well the Boardman will be no bette for downhillr, so I'd cross that off.

The 456 sounds ideal with a travel adjustable fork, that covers all the angles.

styxd

to me a test ride isnt important as i can work out pretty much what i will like based on the geometry and review descriptions about the ride.

Why are you making a fuss about a test ride then? Just look at the geometry and work out what you want.

but if 456C/Rock Lobster titanium frames are "better"

And whats this all about? Why do you think they are better? What defines the best for you?

Out of all those, the Cotic is the best for me by a distance because I like the geometry, it rides well with short forks and its made from steel.

junglist_matty

Do you want a trail bike or an XC bike? Thats what you are comparing... its like saying:

I like the ford focus ST because its a fast fun car to drive on the road, but comfortable enough for long journeys

I like the ford focus ST stripped out race ready car because its super light, stiffened up, tuned up, very fast and handles like its on rails.... On long journeys its hell.


For someone who's usual driving is a 50mile round commute, but also does the occasional track day..... I think the ST would be better.

For someone who's usual driving is commuting on a push bike and an obsessed weekend track day'er who enters every amateur race going... The stripped out race ready car would be better.


Its two entirely different scenario's.... That's what you are trying to compare... And in the above example, yes, the race ready version is able to drive from one end of the country to the other. Just like the boardman bike would get you round technical singletrack, but it wouldn't be much fun... And in the same way, the C.456 would get you round the race track in a speedy time but just not quite as speedy as the race ready version.


In short: If you want a race ready XC bike, buy the boardman style of bike; if you want a fun do everything and (do it well) bike, go for the C.456 style of bike.