Best AM hardtail frame

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flag Judders
Posted: Nov 29, 2015 at 11:09 Quote
Hi all,

I am going to be building up an aggressive hardtail with 140 forks but I am unsure which frame will be best. I currently have a few in mind:

Commencal Meta HT
Stanton Switchback
Ragley Bluepig
Cotic BFE

From what I've read online all seem to be good frames but wondered if anyone has experience with them and has some advice.

Cheers
flag jase111171
Posted: Nov 29, 2015 at 12:17 Quote
Mate had a bfe,great frame for the money,rode it,really impressed,never felt too much bike or not enough,if that makes sense
flag selway89
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 4:28 Quote
I have the Commencal Meta SX 26.

Can say it is a blast to ride. Quality of the frame is brilliant too!

If you are going 27.5 then they are essentially the same.
flag Pablo16v
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 5:07 Quote
I liked my old Blue Pig. I had a 150mm Revelation on it then changed it for a 140mm 36 Float RC2 which suited the bike better. The Revelation was a bit flexy and twangy.

I demo'd a BFE and didn't really like it. The seat angle was a bit slack with a long fork fitted (150mm), which made it a pig on the climbs, although it was great pointing down. The Blue Pig has a slightly steeper seat angle which made enough of a difference to make me choose it over the Cotic.

I also really liked my Dialled Prince Albert. It was fitted with a 145mm Manitou Nixon coil fork, was a blast to ride, and I only sold it because the 17" was too small for me and felt cramped on longer rides. They didn't have an 18" version and the 19" was too big. There's also the Dialled Alpine.
flag marxthekittah
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 6:40 Quote
Pretty much any Ragley, NS Surge EVO
flag nordland071285
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 8:35 Quote
I like my Genesis Core
flag north-shore-king
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 12:31 Quote
Specialized Pitch Sport, can't get it in frame only, but if you don't mind dropping $700 on a complete bike and taring the bike down and upgrading the components then go for it. A little heavy but rides DH really well. I'm in the process of taring my Pitch Sport apart and upgrading everything. Big Grin Good luck. (RockShox Revelation RL in 140mm travel will make it ride awesome).
flag a-d-e
O+
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 13:04 Quote
north-shore-king wrote:
Specialized Pitch Sport, can't get it in frame only, but if you don't mind dropping $700 on a complete bike and taring the bike down and upgrading the components then go for it. A little heavy but rides DH really well. I'm in the process of taring my Pitch Sport apart and upgrading everything. Big Grin Good luck. (RockShox Revelation RL in 140mm travel will make it ride awesome).
he said 140 travel - pitch aint built around 140. if a frame is designed around 100mm of travel i would say 120mm absolute MAX or you end up with shitty geometry & high centre of gravity so you may think the bike looks cool n shit with a big man fork up front but in reality it will handle like shit.
OP check the sexiest am enduro hardtail thread. everything you need to know & plenty of opinions to help you decide.
flag TheUnknownMTBR
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 16:11 Quote
if you want to join the 27.5+ revolution (lol), then consider a 2013-2014 Diamonback Mason 29er alloy frame (in 2015 DB changed it to 27.5+); slack HT & short CS with 140-150mm fork, seen frames selling cheap on the PB for sale area, the potential seems to be highly overlooked in general:

This guy claims it's a great setup once he swapped out for wide 27.5 rims and 3.0 tires, at one point he had it at 27 lbs, but not sure it it was before or after the 27.5+ swap, a bare L frame is just under 5 lbs

https://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=168900&pagenum=5#commentid6055062
flag north-shore-king
Posted: Nov 30, 2015 at 18:24 Quote
a-d-e wrote:
north-shore-king wrote:
Specialized Pitch Sport, can't get it in frame only, but if you don't mind dropping $700 on a complete bike and taring the bike down and upgrading the components then go for it. A little heavy but rides DH really well. I'm in the process of taring my Pitch Sport apart and upgrading everything. Big Grin Good luck. (RockShox Revelation RL in 140mm travel will make it ride awesome).
he said 140 travel - pitch aint built around 140. if a frame is designed around 100mm of travel i would say 120mm absolute MAX or you end up with shitty geometry & high centre of gravity so you may think the bike looks cool n shit with a big man fork up front but in reality it will handle like shit.
OP check the sexiest am enduro hardtail thread. everything you need to know & plenty of opinions to help you decide.
True. Still putting 140mm on it.
flag TheTrailSnail
Posted: Dec 1, 2015 at 16:56 Quote
New Ragley Blue Pig should be with me in a few days. I will let you know how it rides after I take it out for a thrashing at Triscombe / BPW. looks darn sexy tho I tell thee!
flag a-d-e
O+
Posted: Dec 3, 2015 at 10:00 Quote
crankrollwahoo12 wrote:
Evo surge 2013
you cant fit a dropper on the older surge, evo 15 or any frame that will take a dropper.
flag ozansefer
Posted: Jan 17, 2016 at 2:24 Quote
I am looking an am hardtail too but I see that ragley and commencal has good frame and constraction but short reaches. I am 5.11" 1.82 tall and need a reach about 440 mm. Now I am usind a scott scale 760 and its reach is ok (443) with 60mm stem. I am looking at nukeproof scout 435mm reach but cant find stack measurement. And wated to buy a dartmoor hornet but some owners has problems with build quality. Thay added photos about asimetrical stays and seat tube. I give up and looking forward. I need a bike for riding trails and make drops near 1 meter, jumps on the stairs bla bla whats your opinion? Asteel hardtail or hardcore aluminium like nukeproof, dartmoor or..
flag passwordpinkbike
Posted: Jan 17, 2016 at 16:57 Quote
ozansefer wrote:
I am looking an am hardtail too but I see that ragley and commencal has good frame and constraction but short reaches. I am 5.11" 1.82 tall and need a reach about 440 mm. Now I am usind a scott scale 760 and its reach is ok (443) with 60mm stem. I am looking at nukeproof scout 435mm reach but cant find stack measurement. And wated to buy a dartmoor hornet but some owners has problems with build quality. Thay added photos about asimetrical stays and seat tube. I give up and looking forward. I need a bike for riding trails and make drops near 1 meter, jumps on the stairs bla bla whats your opinion? Asteel hardtail or hardcore aluminium like nukeproof, dartmoor or..

I wanted to buy a Dartmoor Primal 2016, but like you the quality of the frames got me looking for others options. I got the Commencal Meta HT AM but end up selling it because like you said their frames are short (luckily I sold it for the same price) and with a L size frame I couldn't use a 125mm dropper post. It's a shame because mine was nicely made and I like a lot that type of geometry (atleast in paper). And alos that's why I wouldn't buy a Cotic or Dartmoor Hornet, they have a high BB and a relative less "agressive" geometry unlike the Meta.

By the end of the month I'm gonna buy a Ragley Marley frame, l'm not saying is the best option, but I like the geo a lot, it's slack and long (for me). The 18" frame size would let me use a short stem and a 125mm dropper post. I'm only worried about the quality of the frame, looks kinda cheaply made.
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