Cove Stiffee Alternatives

[tjdixon911]

Considering another Hardtail build, having had a Stiffee in the past, and a lot of my mates riding them, there getting a bit common round these parts, so what is a good alternative.....

[h4muf]

Coltic Bfe? /Soul? Brodie Holeshot?

[shalmaneser]

Maybe some of the Ragleys?

[robpearson]

Yeti ARC? http://www.rutlandcycling.com/32929/Yeti-ARC-Hardt...

[RRS_Staffs]

I paid £450 for a Soul frame which I thought was a lot of money - and it is

But £800 for the Yeti????
It had better be some bike (which my Soul is)

Cheers

[theboymoon]

If you'll consider steel can I highly recommend a dialled PA.

Took mine for its first proper ride at the weekend and

Bombproof hardtail? Fit a 20mm upfront and look no further!



.... and cheap!

Edited by theboymoon on Tuesday 10th May 23:04

[P-Jay]

Spesh P2 all mountains can be had complete for the price of a Stiffe frame, quite rare around these parts and for the money you can upgrade from new without worry.

[shalmaneser]

theboymoon said:

If you'll consider steel can I highly recommend a dialled PA.

Took mine for its first proper ride at the weekend and

Bombproof hardtail? Fit a 20mm upfront and look no further!



.... and cheap!

Edited by theboymoon on Tuesday 10th May 23:04

A riding buddy has one of those, I really really like it.

[Jimbo.]

NS Surge might be worth a go. Seem well-liked!

[mackie1]

Ragley mmmBop maybe?

[curlie467]

Orange Crush or a Santa Cruz Chameleon.

[mackie1]

Evil Sovereign?

They are even more pricey than the Stiffee though.

[a11y_m]

mackie1 said:

Evil Sovereign?

If I could've justified that I'd have bought one - I had a very short ride on one but it was a very, very nice bike to ride.

I couldn't even justify a Cotic BFe, didn't want a Stiffee as I wanted steel, so ended up with an On-One 456 Summer Season @ £165 new. Absolute hoot of a frame to ride, probably verging on being my favourite frame I've owned (and there have been a few: Cotic Soul, "proper" steel Kona Explosif, Genesis Altitude 853...).

Worth checking out the On-Ones IMO.

[mk1fan]

Mythic Scirroco is an almost copy of the Stiffee but 2/3s the price.

I'd be tempted to try P-Jay's suggestion.

However, if you like the Stiffee what does it matter if anyone else rides one?

[Digga]

a11y_m said:

Worth checking out the On-Ones IMO.

Styeel yes, just stay away from the 'bargain' Ti.

If it's bombproof and exclusive (i.e. rarer than a 'common' Stiffee ) you're after, why not try a Nicolai hardtail?

[Mister K]

what he said ^^^^^^ Santa Cruz Chameleon
I've got one in bright orange, fantastic bike.

[tjdixon911]

Thanks for the replies.

Having looked at the suggestions I like the look of the following;

Ragley mmmBop
Dialled PA
Evil Sov.
Santa Cruz Chameleon

What are the Advantages / Disadvantages between Steel and Aluminium?
The mmmBop states it takes a 1.5in headset, would this mean a change of Forks? (as I have a set already)

With the Specialized P2, am I looking at the right bike being this one: http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&amp... Not really after a Jump Bike.

Another frame I have seen is the Identiti AKA - they don't seem that readily available, what are they like?

Thanks

Tom

ETA the Santa Cruz

Edited by tjdixon911 on Thursday 12th May 13:40

[P-Jay]

tjdixon911 said:

Thanks for the replies.

Having looked at the suggestions I like the look of the following;

Ragley mmmBop
Dialled PA
Evil Sov.
Santa Cruz Chameleon

What are the Advantages / Disadvantages between Steel and Aluminium?
The mmmBop states it takes a 1.5in headset, would this mean a change of Forks? (as I have a set already)

With the Specialized P2, am I looking at the right bike being this one: http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&amp... Not really after a Jump Bike.

Another frame I have seen is the Identiti AKA - they don't seem that readily available, what are they like?

Thanks

Tom

ETA the Santa Cruz

Edited by tjdixon911 on Thursday 12th May 13:40

Steel frames flex a bit which is a good thing on a HT, gives an easier ride. Alu is almost completely inflexible but 'should' make for a lighter frame.

All after doing some more research spesh dropped the P. Allmountain (as it became known) a little while back, they sold complete build versions of these http://www.totalfitnessbath.co.uk/products/2008_Sp...

with middish level specs and were pretty cheap for what they were.

In fact, that frame - if indeed they still have some is insanely cheap, much cheaper than you can usually find s/h stiffee frames.

[P-Jay]

Here's a review of one, I saw them being sold at the end of the season for about £600 back-in-the-day.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mount...

[theboymoon]

Another ride out on the PA last night with a couple of boys on Souls... good times!

Have to say that coming from a lot of full suss riding in recent years I'm really glad I went for steel.

Just that bit of compliance to help out ham fisted riding styles!