What is the best hardtail frame out there?

cheapie

while i love my klein attitude, it def beats the crap out of my on rough trails. i don't believe i'll ever buy a hardtail again. i demo'd a ellsworth truth a week or so in moab and loved the difference. my klein is very light and climbs like crazy. but i def have to go slower over the rocks and roots than my buddies on full suspension rigs so i'm not sure i gain any time. and i'm more fatigued at the end than i otherwise would be.

Verewolf

The best.............hmmmm........

I'd have to go with the Seven Cycles Titanium Sola.

dragster

anybody has any input on the 05 trek carbon hardtail i believe its called the fuel 80?

triguy98

Carbon and MTB frames don't mix. I like Ti. What the best is, I couldnt say, but the Trek OCLV frames arent it, unless youre sponsored and get em for free.

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OldNickToo

My 0.02

Please somebody jump in if I am wrong.

I have never ridden a dual suspension bike. Suspension makes a softer ride. But I do know that suspension on any vehicle = weight and inefficiency.

That's why a lockup _front_ fork is sometimes a good idea (???). If you don't need the suspension, it takes up power to run it.

IIRC, the theory is that a hard frame will fly over a bump because of inertia, at any pace that allows it, or comes close. It may not quite make it (and then you are either riding properly or it hurts <G>). But the susp forks only have to get the _wheels_ down; no inertia, so they get right to the bottom of the hole, but then they have to come up again. The wheel tends to have to "climb" against the spring, as it comes back up out of the hole, and your body, which wants to keep going in a straight line, is pushing downward to try to stop it. That spring is quite strong. All of this takes energy.

So suspension is to stop you feeling bumps. Dual suspension stops lots of bumps. If you are not hitting lots of bumps, or cannot ride with enough muscle-up to soften them, then get suspension.

I guess if you had suspension that was fully customisable/lockable, you could tune it to be as hard as you wanted in any terrain, and get better efficiency/comfort to suit. But that starts to get expensive.

Soft, wide tyres are not slow _just_ because of friction. Same principle.

Jon Cooper

For me - it is a Rocky Mountain Vertex TO - fantastic paint job and climbs like a mountain goat

Alternative would be a Merlin XLM I guess for Titanium option...

Serbian_SPIRIT

I ride KLEIN Attitude from 1996 (have 2 more bikes) and i think is the best frame ever.

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Jon Cooper

Hi - I am currently riding either a Rocky Mountain Vertex TO (2000) which is absolutley awesome climber - very light and gorgeous paint scheme and as an alternative a Pace F8 - built to sustain any terrain....

Wherbob

Cannondale Furio in my opinion.

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jamesdemien

I have a Gary Fisher and love it...but recently I've started looking at the little custom shops turning out bad ass frames for cheap... I really think my next ride is gonna be a Soma. They're reynolds 631 steel and the welds are beautiful. I just think it would be cool to give the little guy a try... we all know that a Kona or a Fischer or a Merlin kicks ass but for less $$ maybe the little dude kicks ass too...

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davebee

recently got a Giant ATX 680 (or something like that) off ebay for £40. really nice light frame for XC. Doesnt have a rear disk mount but I will soon fix that with an adaptor.

buffin

Got to be a Seven. Haven't got one (yet) but working on it. Big money. but will last a lifetime. Got two Klein Attitudes. One pre-Trek, one post-Trek. The later one is absolute rubbish; heavy (by comparison) useless flaky paint finish (I'm back to the brushed aluminium nearly all over, after just 2.5 years. Yet the original Klein is beautiful, and will serve as the template for a new made to measure SEVEN.

cheapie

why would you want a bike that lasts that long? in my house, it's hard to justify the expense of another bike unless the old one is broken/obsolete.

Mpc350

For me it is a KHS Alite Team. Frame weighs around 2.3 lbs, and is uber responsive. Looks pretty darn good too. Paint is a little on the flaky side, though. My previous bike was fully rigid, and having that as my primer, I cant see the point in going full susser. Unless you are on flat trails, around half of your riding is uphill and a rear shock dosent do much good when you're pushing hard in the granny gears.