Hardcore frame for a big bloke!!

Mayhemwmb

I'm currently riding an Alu GT ZASKER team, however this flexes when i give it beans, I'm a 39 year old 18stone ex front row rugby player, I'm not into massive jumps and all that jazz but enjoy going down trails etc as hard as I can!!!
I'm after opinion on a nice rigid frame, I'll swap the kit off the GT bike, I'm aiming for a machine that's good for general all round stuff, don't need a massive fork etc,

Considered a Cotic BFE, Orange p7 or crush & am willing to look at anything else - not got a massive budget but will pay what's necessary to get the right one..............

Opinions and ideas please....

estampida

check this

viewtopic.php?p=15959932

Mayhemwmb

estampida wrote:

check this

viewtopic.php?p=15959932

Cheers for the link , I've had a look but it's relatively dated - things may have moved on, still open to suggestions

peter413

I'm not far off your weight and I loved my old steel On One 456. Was a great ride, could do really long XC rides fairly easily but could still hammer down the Innerleithen DH trails without any bother. Was nice and stiff and super strong, the paint was crap though, not that that really matters. Was very good at jumping and was very confidence inspiring even on steep stuff. You will want at least some 120mm forks for it though, the handling gets a little funky with 100mm forks. I ran mine with 140mm Float's. Tried it with some F100's and 10mm Tora's and didn't really like it so much.

If I was looking for a new hardcore hardtail I don't think I would look at anything other than the new Carbon 456. Same geometry as the old 456 but way lighter and in theory stronger because it's carbon. I know of a few that have been properly hammered and shaken it all off without a whimper.

rockmonkeysc

I used to be 17 stone and had no problem with most bikes but build is important. I found the On-One steel frames were great to ride, so were the Orange P7, Giant Reign, Giant Trance, Cotic Soul and Specialized Stumpjumper.
Having a bolt through front axle is pretty much essential to keep the front end going in the right direction. Stiff wheels one level higher than you intend to use them for works well (AM wheels for XC, DH wheels for AM and Sun Double Tracks for DH)
I found that coil forks work best with an extra firm spring, air forks didn't feel as good. If you go for a full sus frame, try to find one with a lower linkage ratio so that you don't need the shock pumped too hard or a massively heavy coil.

Mayhemwmb

Cheers for the replies, I will start my searching based on what you've replied with.........

Thanks again

Rippedabs123

Maybe a orange alpine 160? or 5 one of my mates is quite big and he can still chuck the 5 about a load, unless you want to stick to a hardtail that is.