Hi, I'd love a review of the El Jefe if you get the chance. Supposedly very similar to the s7 but even more playful. Also completely out of my price range, so I am looking for that voyeuristic experience :-)
That trail just looked like a really fun xc flow trail. I dig how you brought up the rack mounts and mentioned how this would make a great bike packing bike. I feel like bike packing is super under rated.
I’ve always admired Why bikes. They look awesome and I appreciate your review. One thing worth mentioning is they are double butted Ti frames. Not often found on a Ti bike at that price. I would definitely consider buying and building up a Why bike frame.
@@hardmtnbiker hm... good to know. My ti middle child is butted. I'm not sure if its double-butted though. I'll have to check. It's well under $3k. I love it.
hardtail party it’s probably dB main triangle tubes. It looks like an awesome frame too. I do agree that it seems like the USA doesn’t embrace slack hardtail’s like the rest of the world. Anyway, keep the Hardtail Party going, I enjoy your reviews!
Ok, so I've emailed Guerilla Gravity about the "Pedalhead", Ragley about the "Blue Pig", Chromag on the new "Rootdown" And RSD about the upcoming Aluminum version of the Middle-child (although asking RSD somehow seems redundant) My wallet wants the Al Middle-child. My childhood wants steel like my old 85 Redline BMX and maybe a MTB that feels kinda like a BMX.(Is that even possible?) The current 50 yr old body wants plus tires and the lowest stand over possible. Totally appreciate the content!
You rock! Thanks so much. I'd love to test some of those. It means a lot when it comes from someone other than me. Yes, it's entirely possible for an mtb to feel like a bmx. The middle child is the closest I've found. I have a feeling the aluminum middle child is going to be amazing. I have a sergeant v3 thats aluminum, and it's not overly stiff at all. It's a beefy, beautiful bike. The alloy mc is going to be light and cheap, and with plus tires, it should take almost all the sting out. The mc is very bmxy. Such a fun bike with those super short chainstays.
I'm not the right guy to review xc bikes. I will do 30 mile rides on a trail/enduro bike, but I'm not confident/comfortable on xc bikes anymore, especially hardtails
Love your channel and your reviews. just pulled the trigger on a Niner Air9 Aluminum 29er. Its such a vast improvement over my old very entry level xc style bike that i had to have one after riding it. Only improvements i have made so far is i went tubeless and im running 2.5'' wide tires front and rear. Need a dropper still but its in the works. Curious if you have ever ridden one. I feel like we have similar riding styles and was curious what your take on one is.
I've only ridden one niner hardtail. It was aluminum, but I dont remember which model it was. Niner makes nice bikes, but their hardtails lean more toward the xc side of things. I'm not a great xc rider.
@@hardtailparty Yes compared to the geometry of the bikes you are mainly interested in i can see that this would still be considered XC. I do have to say though compared to my old bike this niner feels more like a trail bike to me. Realy short stem,much wider bars, slacker HTA than previous years and a reasonably short chain stay. (420 or 430mm) i think and it jumps well. Ill have fun with it for a few years but i think somthing more aggressive geometry wise is in my future for sure. Im 6'2'' tall and weight 230LBS. do you think Aluminum is compliant enough for a guy my size ? Only reason i ask is because you talk about how some frames just beat the rider up.
Also if your ever in the Prescott, AZ area looking to go for a ride please let me know. we have some super good stuff to ride that i think you would enjoy for sure. Keep up the good work man. Love the Channel.
@@jknepper5097 heavier/bigger riders typically arent as affected by a stiff frame. Some aluminum frames are more compliant than others. I also feel that bigger frames have a bit more flex too, since their triangles are larger than a small.
I haven't ridden the aluminum middle child yet (in a few months I should get my hands on one), but I think I'll prefer it over the chromolly one. I LOVE the middle child geometry and the way it rides. The main downside to the cromo mc is that it's stiffer than a lot of cro-mo frames. That's great for big heavy riders, or people who are going to jump it a lot or huck it off drops. It's not, however, a compliant feel like some other great steel frames. The "steel is real" moniker has some truth to it, but not all steel frames are created equal. Most hardcore hardtails like this have pretty heavy cromo frames. The aluminum frame is 1lb lighter, and even cheaper. Since the steel frame is fairly stiff, I'm not sure we're going to see a huge difference between the ride characteristics of the cromo and aluminum. Time will tell, but if I were pre-ordering one right now, it would be the aluminum one. Now, the titanium frame, on the other hand, is super special. It's 2lbs lighter than the steel bike, and it has the feel of a great steel hardtail. nice and supple. It's not nearly as stiff as the chromo version. Hope that helps. Stay tuned when I get my aluminum MC so I can explain what it's like, and how all three compare.
hardtail party thanks so much for your detailed answer. I preordered the aluminum and super stoked to see more of your vids and reviews! Keep up the amazing work...You rock bro!!!!!!!!!!
@Skots Trails LOLOLOL... that's about how it is when i ride with ANYONE... they're just riding along, la da da.... and I'm huffing and puffing just to keep up XD HAHAHAHA!
it is a do it all kind of bike. I have it, but with 140mm in the front instead of the factory 130 and it takes downhills with ease. It tracks well at speeds and like you said. "the faster you go, the more supple it gets".
I talked to the designer and told him I'd love to see one with a 65-65* hts, but he thought I was crazy. I guess I'm just used to my ti mc and how much fun that thing is.
Thanks for the review. It's fun to see some brands that I had never heard of.... I bought a Santa Cruz Chameleon based on your reviews. I love it! I know that it's old news, but I was wondering if you ever set up yours with 29 x 2.6 inch wheels. Do you need to get different dropouts for it to go 29 from 27.5? Thanks so much! Enjoy the nice weather...
Ill see if I can get one for review. The cromag rootdown is a great bike. It's the bike that's closest to my middle child (only it has a press fit bb, and no sliding dropouts). I've ridden one in the past and I liked it. The sizing is rather different between the cromag and the rsd. It's got a shorter reach than the mc. It has thr same nice and short 415mm chainstays. I prefer the threaded bb of the mc, but press fit isnt a deal breaker. I feel like the mc is more versatile with the sliding dropouts as well, so you can have 415-430 chainstays, singleapeed if you want). They're very similar bikes, and both are fantastic. I chose rsd for the versatility and threaded bb.,
@@hardtailparty you should take a look at the new rootdown geo for 2020. You can find em on the lost co. Website. By the way PF bb is there for a reason, the shell is wider, it give more space to weld chainstays and better tire clearance. Never had trouble with PF on my last 3 bikes, so don't know what the fuzz is all about 🤷♂️.
Yeah, geo looks great. Almost the same as my middle child. Like i said, not a deal-breaker, but I'll always choose threaded nn over press-fit if I can. Chromag makes a great bike.
Great question. I really like the i9 aluminum straight pull spokes (and their aluminum rim). They result in a super light wheel that is nice and strong and doesnt flex side to side. I dont find them to be overly harsh. They're one of my top recommended wheelsets if you dint mind the noise of the i9 hubs. For a hardtails, I feel like most carbon wheels are too stiff. With one exception: the zipp 30 moto. I have a review of those wheels coming up in a day or two.
@@hardtailparty great thanks! I just put a set of I9's on my rootdown and really like them so far but I've been thinking of carbon. Based on your feedback ill stick with my i9 305's
If only Marin had brought one to this event, I would have. For some reason they don't bring their hardtails. I've ridden a san quentin 1 and 2. Here's my brief review: I'm proud of them for incorporating such a slack head angle, but the stack is WAY too low for my tastes, and the reach feels shorter than the numbers suggest. I'm 5'6" and I was riding a large to feel comfortable. I would stay away from the san quentin 1. It's got a qr rear axle (i.e. the frame is different from the 2 and 3). In my experience, QR rear axles are nice and flexy when riding, but they can slip out of the dropouts under heavy pedaling, and they make upgrading to a great wheelset pointless. If I owned one, it would be a San Quentin 2, size large with a 30-40mm rise bar and a longer fork. The front end just feelt so low to me. One cool thing that they don't mention on their website is that they fit a 27.5x3.0 with TONS of room to spare. I had the opportunity to buy a San Quentin 2 at 40% off when Performance was going out of business, but even at that great price, it wasn't worth it because the low stack height was a deal-breaker for me.
I agree, the NS ECCENTRIC looks super-nice! I ride my KONA BIG HONZO every day and i love it! But a slacker head angle would be nice for the steeper stuff... Peace :)
I've ridden one and actually filmed a review for it, but ended up throwing away the footage. I didn't hate that bike, but I didn't love it either. It felt pretty traditional. It'd make a good bikepacking bike though.
Interesting. I'm thinking about getting one. Even though geometry is on the traditional side, the H3 build looks like a great value for the money. Not sure what other hardtail I can find with high-end components for $3k. And bike packing is one of the things I'm looking to do - though mostly local single track.
@@ilyalope see my video on the 5 tips for buying your next bike. Good components are nice, but the frame is the most important. For that, I'd pick a used aluminum chameleon.
YOU - ad among others - made me order one, definitely... I'm just between m and l in size and as I'm fast going against my sixth decade I opted for the l size as i'm more and more sitting pedaling... i'm just not jumpin' around like young piglets anymore :)) But I'm looking forward to a non-nonsense bike with a long wheelbase and a flat steering degree - I've done too long too few...It's time for some changes, even for my boys - big or small - Hotel Mama will look different from now on.
Sorry for all the wind noise friends, it was WINDY that day! Enjoy.
Hi, I'd love a review of the El Jefe if you get the chance. Supposedly very similar to the s7 but even more playful. Also completely out of my price range, so I am looking for that voyeuristic experience :-)
Great review Steve, That S7 Titanium seemed to be a lot of fun. Thanks for the great review.
Have a blast at the party in the mountains and be safe.
That trail just looked like a really fun xc flow trail. I dig how you brought up the rack mounts and mentioned how this would make a great bike packing bike. I feel like bike packing is super under rated.
Thanks for riding with us!
Thanks for having some great hardtails at outerbike. You guys have some beautiful bikes. Cant wait to try a revel next time.
I’ve always admired Why bikes. They look awesome and I appreciate your review. One thing worth mentioning is they are double butted Ti frames. Not often found on a Ti bike at that price. I would definitely consider buying and building up a Why bike frame.
I thought most ti bikes were double butted.
hardtail party most are not, especially the frames under 3k
@@hardmtnbiker hm... good to know. My ti middle child is butted. I'm not sure if its double-butted though. I'll have to check. It's well under $3k. I love it.
hardtail party it’s probably dB main triangle tubes. It looks like an awesome frame too. I do agree that it seems like the USA doesn’t embrace slack hardtail’s like the rest of the world.
Anyway, keep the Hardtail Party going, I enjoy your reviews!
@@hardmtnbiker thanks for the kind words and the great additions. Thanks for watching.
Ok, so I've emailed Guerilla Gravity about the "Pedalhead", Ragley about the "Blue Pig", Chromag on the new "Rootdown" And RSD about the upcoming Aluminum version of the Middle-child (although asking RSD somehow seems redundant) My wallet wants the Al Middle-child. My childhood wants steel like my old 85 Redline BMX and maybe a MTB that feels kinda like a BMX.(Is that even possible?) The current 50 yr old body wants plus tires and the lowest stand over possible. Totally appreciate the content!
You rock! Thanks so much. I'd love to test some of those. It means a lot when it comes from someone other than me.
Yes, it's entirely possible for an mtb to feel like a bmx. The middle child is the closest I've found.
I have a feeling the aluminum middle child is going to be amazing. I have a sergeant v3 thats aluminum, and it's not overly stiff at all. It's a beefy, beautiful bike. The alloy mc is going to be light and cheap, and with plus tires, it should take almost all the sting out. The mc is very bmxy. Such a fun bike with those super short chainstays.
Also wish we could get a Stanton over here.
@@noelwarner8874 you and me both.
Noel, I think you just earned yourself a hardtail party tee shirt. Email me with your shipping info and tee shirt size. hardtailparty@gmail.com
Really? Awesome! Thank you!
Some suggestions: Ragley Blue Pig, Stanton Switchback, Pace RC627. Love your channel! Hardtails4life :)
Ragley Big Al
Im sure thats a nice hub but I think that noise would drive me nuts on long downhills! LOL
I'm not a fan of loud hubs either. My onyx is dead silent, and has even better engagement than the i9
Great reviews! Do you tend to ride trail/enduro style hard tales or are you into XC as well?
I'm not the right guy to review xc bikes. I will do 30 mile rides on a trail/enduro bike, but I'm not confident/comfortable on xc bikes anymore, especially hardtails
Love your channel and your reviews. just pulled the trigger on a Niner Air9 Aluminum 29er. Its such a vast improvement over my old very entry level xc style bike that i had to have one after riding it. Only improvements i have made so far is i went tubeless and im running 2.5'' wide tires front and rear. Need a dropper still but its in the works. Curious if you have ever ridden one. I feel like we have similar riding styles and was curious what your take on one is.
I've only ridden one niner hardtail. It was aluminum, but I dont remember which model it was. Niner makes nice bikes, but their hardtails lean more toward the xc side of things. I'm not a great xc rider.
hardtail party Niner’s are XC bikes. My Sir9 hardtail is used as a grocery getter.
@@hardtailparty Yes compared to the geometry of the bikes you are mainly interested in i can see that this would still be considered XC. I do have to say though compared to my old bike this niner feels more like a trail bike to me. Realy short stem,much wider bars, slacker HTA than previous years and a reasonably short chain stay. (420 or 430mm) i think and it jumps well. Ill have fun with it for a few years but i think somthing more aggressive geometry wise is in my future for sure. Im 6'2'' tall and weight 230LBS. do you think Aluminum is compliant enough for a guy my size ? Only reason i ask is because you talk about how some frames just beat the rider up.
Also if your ever in the Prescott, AZ area looking to go for a ride please let me know. we have some super good stuff to ride that i think you would enjoy for sure. Keep up the good work man. Love the Channel.
@@jknepper5097 heavier/bigger riders typically arent as affected by a stiff frame. Some aluminum frames are more compliant than others. I also feel that bigger frames have a bit more flex too, since their triangles are larger than a small.
A good friend of mine is an investor in why cycles… when I finally use up my steal bike that’ll be my move…
Try out the Commencal Meta AM hard tail if you get a chance...great bike...65 degree head angle 428 chainstay 👌🤘🚴🤙 I run 2.8 tires on mine 👍
I helped a buddy build one up last month. I'll see if he will let me take it out for a spin.
@@hardtailparty I would really like to see a Meta HT review
@@jeff7086 it's on my list to review. I have about 6 bikes ahead of it.
@@hardtailparty I am also very intrigued with the orbea laufey h-ltd.
@@jeff7086 me too! As soon as it stops raining here in Sedona I'll be filming a review of it. My wife has a review on her channel (dusty Betty)
Love your videos you got me stoked to get an RSD - what are your thoughts between aluminum vs Chromoly on muddle child?
I haven't ridden the aluminum middle child yet (in a few months I should get my hands on one), but I think I'll prefer it over the chromolly one. I LOVE the middle child geometry and the way it rides. The main downside to the cromo mc is that it's stiffer than a lot of cro-mo frames. That's great for big heavy riders, or people who are going to jump it a lot or huck it off drops. It's not, however, a compliant feel like some other great steel frames. The "steel is real" moniker has some truth to it, but not all steel frames are created equal. Most hardcore hardtails like this have pretty heavy cromo frames. The aluminum frame is 1lb lighter, and even cheaper. Since the steel frame is fairly stiff, I'm not sure we're going to see a huge difference between the ride characteristics of the cromo and aluminum. Time will tell, but if I were pre-ordering one right now, it would be the aluminum one.
Now, the titanium frame, on the other hand, is super special. It's 2lbs lighter than the steel bike, and it has the feel of a great steel hardtail. nice and supple. It's not nearly as stiff as the chromo version. Hope that helps. Stay tuned when I get my aluminum MC so I can explain what it's like, and how all three compare.
hardtail party thanks so much for your detailed answer. I preordered the aluminum and super stoked to see more of your vids and reviews! Keep up the amazing work...You rock bro!!!!!!!!!!
I would love to see a Reeb Dikyelous2 and Redikyelous review! Great channel, love a good hardtail!!
You're in luck! Tomorrow's video is my review of the brand new Redikyelous.
Sorry to interrupt your final ratings 🤘🏼😂🤘🏼
Dude, I'm glad you stopped me. It's always fun connecting with you. I was stoked it was you when you said hi.
@Skots Trails LOLOLOL... that's about how it is when i ride with ANYONE... they're just riding along, la da da.... and I'm huffing and puffing just to keep up XD HAHAHAHA!
To me this bike sits squarely in the "trail" category. It didnt do any one thing exceptionally, but it was a nice balanced package.
it is a do it all kind of bike. I have it, but with 140mm in the front instead of the factory 130 and it takes downhills with ease. It tracks well at speeds and like you said. "the faster you go, the more supple it gets".
Man, I wish this bike had a slacker HTA 🤷♂️ I’ll see if I can email Sonder so you can review a Sonder Signal Ti 🤘🤞
I talked to the designer and told him I'd love to see one with a 65-65* hts, but he thought I was crazy. I guess I'm just used to my ti mc and how much fun that thing is.
Yes low short slack with good fork offset. I like the Marin san quinton but with 2.8 tyres and wider rims.
Would love to see you review the Pole Taival if you were able to get your hands on one!
I'd love to try one out, but I think it's going to be really tough to get one.
@@hardtailparty Definitely. Maybe Loam Ranger could get you an inside line on one??
@@s0g040 that's an idea. I'd think he would rather review it on his channel though, but who knows.
Right on - good point.
You should review Guerilla Gravity's Pedalhead.
I'd really like to. I've never seen one in person before
Thanks for the review. It's fun to see some brands that I had never heard of.... I bought a Santa Cruz Chameleon based on your reviews. I love it! I know that it's old news, but I was wondering if you ever set up yours with 29 x 2.6 inch wheels. Do you need to get different dropouts for it to go 29 from 27.5? Thanks so much! Enjoy the nice weather...
No, you dont "need" to swap the dropouts, but you can. Congrats on a cool hardtail!
Would like to see the chromag rootdown
Ill see if I can get one for review. The cromag rootdown is a great bike. It's the bike that's closest to my middle child (only it has a press fit bb, and no sliding dropouts). I've ridden one in the past and I liked it. The sizing is rather different between the cromag and the rsd. It's got a shorter reach than the mc. It has thr same nice and short 415mm chainstays. I prefer the threaded bb of the mc, but press fit isnt a deal breaker. I feel like the mc is more versatile with the sliding dropouts as well, so you can have 415-430 chainstays, singleapeed if you want). They're very similar bikes, and both are fantastic. I chose rsd for the versatility and threaded bb.,
@@hardtailparty you should take a look at the new rootdown geo for 2020. You can find em on the lost co. Website. By the way PF bb is there for a reason, the shell is wider, it give more space to weld chainstays and better tire clearance. Never had trouble with PF on my last 3 bikes, so don't know what the fuzz is all about 🤷♂️.
Yeah, geo looks great. Almost the same as my middle child.
Like i said, not a deal-breaker, but I'll always choose threaded nn over press-fit if I can. Chromag makes a great bike.
@@S.Mallard I'd love to try a doctahawk too. That thing looks wild.
@@hardtailparty not sure about the doctahawk ahah. Look a bit weird to me and seem downhill oriented, but might be surprising.
What do you think of the feeling of I9 aluminum straight pull spokes vs others carbon wheels and aluminum wheels?
Great question. I really like the i9 aluminum straight pull spokes (and their aluminum rim). They result in a super light wheel that is nice and strong and doesnt flex side to side. I dont find them to be overly harsh. They're one of my top recommended wheelsets if you dint mind the noise of the i9 hubs.
For a hardtails, I feel like most carbon wheels are too stiff. With one exception: the zipp 30 moto. I have a review of those wheels coming up in a day or two.
@@hardtailparty great thanks! I just put a set of I9's on my rootdown and really like them so far but I've been thinking of carbon. Based on your feedback ill stick with my i9 305's
@@chawkins45ify yeah, personally I I'm a big fan of those i9s. Anything you don't like about yours?
@@hardtailparty trying to save weight since my rootdown weighs 33 lbs....
@@hardtailparty ill probably just save up and get a titanium frame and keep my I9's
Thank you for pointing me to this video. You think this bike could benefit from one of those kits that would slack out the headtube a bit?
Definitely
Any chance for that video of wife new Orbea? :)
I'll be reviewing that in a few months, along with her dv9
Please review Marin san quinton 1,2 and 3
If only Marin had brought one to this event, I would have. For some reason they don't bring their hardtails. I've ridden a san quentin 1 and 2. Here's my brief review: I'm proud of them for incorporating such a slack head angle, but the stack is WAY too low for my tastes, and the reach feels shorter than the numbers suggest. I'm 5'6" and I was riding a large to feel comfortable. I would stay away from the san quentin 1. It's got a qr rear axle (i.e. the frame is different from the 2 and 3). In my experience, QR rear axles are nice and flexy when riding, but they can slip out of the dropouts under heavy pedaling, and they make upgrading to a great wheelset pointless. If I owned one, it would be a San Quentin 2, size large with a 30-40mm rise bar and a longer fork. The front end just feelt so low to me. One cool thing that they don't mention on their website is that they fit a 27.5x3.0 with TONS of room to spare. I had the opportunity to buy a San Quentin 2 at 40% off when Performance was going out of business, but even at that great price, it wasn't worth it because the low stack height was a deal-breaker for me.
Thomson Ti
cool, reminds me retro models...
here is another sugestions
KONA HONZO
NS ECCENTRIC
I agree, the NS ECCENTRIC looks super-nice! I ride my KONA BIG HONZO every day and i love it! But a slacker head angle would be nice for the steeper stuff... Peace :)
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Esker Hayduke
I've ridden one and actually filmed a review for it, but ended up throwing away the footage. I didn't hate that bike, but I didn't love it either. It felt pretty traditional. It'd make a good bikepacking bike though.
Interesting. I'm thinking about getting one. Even though geometry is on the traditional side, the H3 build looks like a great value for the money. Not sure what other hardtail I can find with high-end components for $3k. And bike packing is one of the things I'm looking to do - though mostly local single track.
@@ilyalope see my video on the 5 tips for buying your next bike. Good components are nice, but the frame is the most important. For that, I'd pick a used aluminum chameleon.
YOU - ad among others - made me order one, definitely...
I'm just between m and l in size and as I'm fast going against my sixth decade I opted for the l size as i'm more and more sitting pedaling... i'm just not jumpin' around like young piglets anymore :))
But I'm looking forward to a non-nonsense bike with a long wheelbase and a flat steering degree - I've done too long too few...It's time for some changes, even for my boys - big or small - Hotel Mama will look different from now on.