Carbon hardtail....?

miss notax

Hello

This is kind of a 'what if...' thread, but after a cheeky little mtb race at the weekend it reminded me how much enjoyed it and how much I would like to be faster and overtake more people

I usually ride on my 5 which is actually pretty light, but I realise probably not the best machine for the odd weekend xc race when everyone else is on racey hardtails :? It's too bobby and probably not very efficient. But then again more forgiving on line choice etc....

Anyway, have now been thinking that maybe a lightweight hardtail would be a good addition to the Miss Notax bike fleet. I have only ever ridden full sussers off road, so i'm certain it will improve my riding. And it might make me a little bit faster if i'm being competitive. And what the hell, it would just be fun.

Am looking around the £1k mark - and it's a bit 'what if' because i did have some cash saved up until yesterday when the clutch on my car is sticking and my tenant phoned up to say the boiler is playing up

Will probably wait until the January sales, and am currently looking at Focus / Boardman / On One. Ideally 120mm forks. Any suggestions?

bails87

Whippet: http://on-one.co.uk/i/q/CBOOWHIPSLX/on_ ... hippet_slx
The Boardman has got better kit, but if you want carbon it's another £600.

miss notax

Yeah, I like the Whippets - rather tragically I don't think they'll be small enough for me though :oops: I am only 5ft 4 and ride a 14" 5 or a 15" Kona.... I'm not sure whether a 16" frame would be too big for me :?

Do they ever have demo days?

bails87

Not that I've ever seen, and oop North is a heck of a way for you to travel for a test ride!

123oldman

It'd be quite close on a 16", nice short stem could probably put it in contention for your height? Cracking bikes for the money mind

styxd

I think a 16" would be too big for you. I've seen 6' tall people riding 16" On Ones.

What about a Scandal? I think they come in a 14" size, I know they're not carbon, but are probably a very similar weight to the 456 Carbon.

Pudseyp

exotic frame 15" ?

http://www.carboncycles.cc/index.php?s= ... 93&p=1044&

miss notax

Pudseyp wrote:

exotic frame 15" ?

http://www.carboncycles.cc/index.php?s= ... 93&p=1044&

Interesting, I don't know much about these bikes though. Will do some investigating.....

Pudseyp

miss notax wrote:

Pudseyp wrote:

exotic frame 15" ?

http://www.carboncycles.cc/index.php?s= ... 93&p=1044&

Interesting, I don't know much about these bikes though. Will do some investigating.....

You can get a 15" carbon frame on ebay for £225 from China....though I would spend the extra and buy from exotic as you get a years warranty and piece of mind the frames are tested to CE and EN standards.

Kaise

miss notax wrote:

Yeah, I like the Whippets - rather tragically I don't think they'll be small enough for me though :oops: I am only 5ft 4 and ride a 14" 5 or a 15" Kona.... I'm not sure whether a 16" frame would be too big for me :?

Do they ever have demo days?

afternoon!

if you're not too far from bristol there is shop called Bike Science thats a Planet X and On One dealer, you can book a free appointment and they do all the fitting and stuff, without an appointment its a bit shoot, but you can get your hands on the bike in various sizes

anyway, thats if your in bristol.......

miss notax

Oooh, that's good to know! Thanks Kaise

Anonymous

On One's frames are fairly big. The tube heights are still 16, 18, 20, etc, but the frame length is pretty long in terms of reach even with 16. I normally go for a medium / 18 frame, but looking at the specs the 16 was about right for me for the 456 frame I got and it's still slightly more reach than many medium frames.

Good to hear there's a fit service. Didn't know about that. I ended up going by the spec published on their site and comparing it to other frames I know fit me.

grenw

In that 'cheeky little MTB race' you rode in at the weekend was an On One team rider (I assume as her was in a team jersey) on a carbon Whippet. He was flying round the course and was the first person I saw from the 4hr group. Probably all about the rider but the bike looked suited to the course and was a stunning piece of machinery!

supersonic

If you only have a grand, and unless you see a blinding deal, then an Alu framed package may work out lighter. Frames like Zaskars, XTCs and Boardmans are about 1500g in alu. Carbon frames maybe 1200-1400g at this price, but cost a lot more, so the savings on the alu bikes are passed into lighter components.

Pudseyp

I know we said a 15" would probably be best....but how about a XTC Carbon Alliance in 16" ???
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 1b0s2p2291
love mine !

Or womens specific
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... 0s163p2715

supersonic

That Giant is a steal, great find!