Whats the easiest 26er to manual?

pseymour

What's the easiest 26er to manual. I presume we're talking hardtails here. I'm looking for a fun second bike where the front wheel practically wants to lift itself because of the geometry.

supersonic

Look for short chain stays and a high bottom bracket.

rockmonkeysc

Dirt jump or trials bikes.

The Rookie

Scott Voltage or GT Chucker are both jump style frames available in a sort of XC setup that manual very easily, readily available used as well for not much money.

jimothy78

The Rookie wrote:

Scott Voltage

Yep - really regret selling my old Voltage YZ3 frame now - would have made a perfect little play bike.

CitizenLee

My girlfriend has a Scott Voltage YZ30 and whilst they're great bikes for the money, they're certainly not up to the task of proper dirt jumping*. They're far too heavy and parts won't take much abuse, especially the cranks and forks. Good solid frames to upgrade on though. (*I mean BMX style dirt jumps, as opposed to jumping off things in the woods - will be fine for that).

I'd say better off with something from Dartmoor, NS Bikes or Octane One. They're basically BMXs with big wheels so ideal for dirt jumps, skateparks, street and general dicking about. Really regret selling my NS Traffic!

The Rookie

Yeah, but the OP wasn't asking for a proper jump bike (and I agree with what you say), but for a bike that manuals easily.

CitizenLee

The Voltage will be a good choice then

Might also be worth looking at the Nukeproof Snap and DMR Omen (and other 4X bikes) if wanting a playful bike that can still be ridden on trails and stuff.

What's your budget Pseymour?

pseymour

Thanks for all the advice so far guys. The bike will be for trail centre abuse and I'm not really looking for a jump bike, but one that manuals easily. As it's a second bike and i've spent more than my car on my main bike, I'm looking second hand so around £500 but am very flexible on price. Thoughts on a Cotic Soul?

CitizenLee

The Soul is a great frame, so deffo worth considering. Stanton Slackline and Ragley Marley / Pig would be other bikes to look at, along with the Dartmoor Hornet and Primal. All similar to the Cotic, and chainstay lengths and BB heights should be available online for each to compare.

You can manual any bike with enough practice though, just look at RatBoy

Have a look in here for some inspiration...

viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12942583&start=360

pseymour

Well the results are in. A mixed back really and hard to compare some of the bottom brackets as they are measured in different ways. It looks like the Stanton has the shortest chain stays though, so looks to be the easiest to manual.

Stanton Slackline 631
Chain stay length 16.3”
Bottom bracket height 12.4” 31.5cm
Head angle 67.5

Ragley Piglet 16"
Chainstay 16.7 (425mm)

Ragley marley
BB -20 degrees
Chainstay 16.7 (425mm)
Wheelbase 1120mm

Cotic Soul 26 M
BB drop 19.5mm
Chainstay 16.53 (420mm)

Dartmor Hornet 27inch
BB drop 28mm
Chainstay 16.7 (426mm)

Dartmor Primal 27inch
BB drop 30mm
Chainstay 16.7 (425mm)

Qui3tman

Just wondering why manualability is so important?

paul.skibum

Qui3tman wrote:

Just wondering why manualability is so important?

He's worried about tyre wear at the front.

pseymour

Hi Qui3tman. Being easy to manual is a great contrast to my current bike. And I associate it with a 'fun' 'flickable' bike. And decreased front tyre wear of course.

CitizenLee

Pulling a nice long manual is one of the most pleasurable experiences you can have on a bike, especially if you do it at speed on nice loamy trail

Slackline would be a good choice.

pseymour

Am I right in saying that all these hardtails are Steel Framed. Are these easier to manual?

CitizenLee

All are steel except the two Dartmoors.

They do feel different to alu, but shouldn't make a difference to how they manual.