Hardtail frame suggestions

Antm81

Love my trance but a fair chunk of my riding is with my 8 year old and other half, which tends to be fairly gentle and flat so starting to feel its a little overkill for this. Will be keeping it but looking at building a hardtail to complement it.

Already got a few parts from the trance when upgrading it and now regret selling the rebas I took off when I bought the revs.

Anyway looking at going 100 or 120mm, either 1x9 or 3x9 as I've got parts for this already, needs to have qr rear dropouts on the rear too for the wheelset I have in the shed and needs to take a 30.9 seatpost.

Looking to do this cheaply and have no issues with used parts.

So far I'm looking at possibly a 456 or a soul if I can find one cheap enough. Any other options?

rockmonkeysc

I have had a 456 and wouldn't recommend it. They're heavy, harsh and poorly finished.
I would look for a used, light aluminium frame like a Giant XTC or Specialized Stumpjumper HT.

BigAl

A Charge Duster frame (like the one in my sig) can be had from EBay for around £150 (new)

Lovely frame, perfect for quick, non techy runs with the kids.

Edit: it doesn't have a 30.9 seatpost. But, hey sestposts are cheap

Antm81

Got a bit of an urge to get a steel frame, so far I'm looking at

A cotic Soul - probably stretching my budget too far
A BFe
456 Evo 2
45650b - would be a complete build
Ragley Piglet
Charge Duster - the price really appeals to me

Any other suggestions?

The build would be a bit of a mish mash of components to start before slowly upgrading to what I want.

punkatron1

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I have had a 456 and wouldn't recommend it. They're heavy, harsh and poorly finished.
I would look for a used, light aluminium frame like a Giant XTC or Specialized Stumpjumper HT.

I haven't found this to be the case with my 456 summer season or my brothers 456 evo 2. Neither are harsh being used for all day rides in the peak district. The finishing on both is fine, with paint holding up well on the SS after as few years of winter abuse.

The original carbon 456 was a pig on an all dayer, but the new one may be completely different.

Always liked the look of the Charge Duster and it would be nice to have something that you don't see many other people riding.

Antm81

Well after a chat with the other half it seems building a hardtail may not be the best thing for my manhood. However considering the possibility of a second wheelset, probably crests, with faster rolling tyres for family friendly duties to allow a quick swap back to being trail ready for myself. Any thoughts on white crests? This is my bike currently viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12926440 not sure white will look right. Opinions?

cooldad

White never looks right.

Antm81

cooldad wrote:

White never looks right.

That's what I thought. Could get a decent deal on some immaculate white crests. Got some old corratec rims on zzyxx hubs but they're qr and need 15mm on the front, don't think the axle in the hub can be changed. Will have to keep looking for some black crests I think.

borisface

+1 for the duster - lovely, lively frame not the lightest build but hey...

supersonic

White adds 40g per rim too. Why bother?

passout

Antm81 wrote:

Got a bit of an urge to get a steel frame, so far I'm looking at

A cotic Soul - probably stretching my budget too far
A BFe
456 Evo 2
45650b - would be a complete build
Ragley Piglet
Charge Duster - the price really appeals to me

Any other suggestions?

The build would be a bit of a mish mash of components to start before slowly upgrading to what I want.

If you can cope with 80-120mm then a regular inbred (more comfy & lighter than the 456 inbred) or a kinesis decade versa (I have one of these).

passout

Antm81 wrote:

Well after a chat with the other half it seems building a hardtail may not be the best thing for my manhood. However considering the possibility of a second wheelset, probably crests, with faster rolling tyres for family friendly duties to allow a quick swap back to being trail ready for myself. Any thoughts on white crests? This is my bike currently viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12926440 not sure white will look right. Opinions?

Just read this. I wouldn't bother, just stick to your slower pair and think of it as training! Anyway, isn't tyre selection the thing?