Nothing like the gears crunching on the switchbacks!! Had my 8 year old son out yesterday on our local single track. Lots of climbing in Wisconsin, and the little guy is crushing it. Im on a 2022 chameleon and hes on a commencal ramones 24. While riding he said man I love this bike. I couldn't be more proud of him!
Your timing of this is perfect. I just saw my friend that is a proud owner of a Hummingbird frame and he was telling me about how much he loves that bike and experience buying it. He said one of the hardest decisions was deciding on the frame color (powder coat) because of all the different colors.
Picking the color WAS the hardest part of getting my hummingbird. Nick was great to work with and I’m so glad i did Steve’s consultation that got me on my Hummingbird.
Back in the late 90s I worked at Marin bikes! A few of my coworkers and I would go ride those trails on single speeds in the dark! It was super fun and spooky!
Great to see 'trail riding' being given its time in the spotlight. I've got to get me some of those trials skills though. Looks fun. Thanks for another great video, Steve.
Picked up my Hummingbird frame from Nick on Monday and I just finished building it up yesterday. The bike is so, so rad. I love the inclusive sizing- for my height I'm on an XXS+. Can't wait to hit some Marin county trails tomorrow!!
@@hardtailpartyreporting back 🫡 I LOVE this bike so much. Even though my small frame has 27.5 wheels I'm having no trouble zipping up and over rocks and roots. I was just up in Truckee last weekend riding some trails with fun rock gardens and rock rolls and I was surprised how confident I felt. The bike practically rides itself. Also, getting shuttled up to the top of the trails isn't my style, so I was super happy to be riding a hardtail because the 10 mile climb to the top of the trails might have sucked on a full suspension. I feel like this bike does it all ❤
I like the point about old school trails. There's a ton of those out there and not many people are riding them... And that does seem like a pretty good bike for exploring forgotten trails.
Can you have a look at the Sram T-type transmission GX drive train? I'm thinking about it for my maniak ( - which I love!! very well done on the design). Specifically for the strength when shifting under load. I'm chewing through Advent cassettes, so wondering about the T-type system. Cheers!
You know way more about what trails to feature, I can watch a lot more of this type of riding. I like the concept of picking a bike that matches up with the trail you're riding.
Biking is so fun. So many trails and so many nice bikes and so many friends provides for alot of variety. It really is amazing that we can even go ride on these trails. We are standing on the shoulders of the hard workers who made these great bikes and great trails. Also, it was nice to see Nick get up so quickly. It's almost like he did a cartwheel. Did you notice how quickly he was on his feet? That made for a good ending to a good day of bike riding. It goes to show helmets are important. Though they cannot protect well enough for all falls. People get head injuries with them on. But helmets do work good enough for alot of falls, and they have saved alot of lives and injuries. Nick just popped right back up it looked like! And he kept riding roots, ruts and all!! This trail reminds me of Mooser Creek next to Bales and Turkey Mountain in Tulsa. Sweet! Thanks for this nice video at the home of mountain biking. I enjoy these videos so much.
Thank you for making this video Steve. Lots of good points, and reminders of why I started mountain biking in the first place. I often look at my buddy who has overforked his hardtail with a 160mm SR Suntour enduro fork. And I’m more often than not able to have the same if not more fun than him on my 120mm Ribbon SL. I just love a good piece of single track 👌🏻
Looked like a great ride! It really helps to see a bike that you speak so highly of on a trail that it was designed for - just completes the picture in a way that is hard to capture in words.
Fabolous Video! The Hummingbird is clearly a 'to-die-for' frame, but us mere mortals who ride smoother trails & can't afford multi thousand dollar frames need some more affordable alternatives.
😂 I was going to take offense to the comment on Marin being the 'birthplace of mountain biking', about to claim that i'd been climbing hills on my bicycles for over 30 years... and then I looked up Marin and about the cyclists there back in the 60s and 70s 😅😂😮 So beautiful to read about the Larkspur Canyon Gang and such. Was a pleasant read. That second half of this video, what beautiful trails yawl rode through. Loved it! Thank you for making this video!
Awesome stuff Steve! Great you made it out to Marin. China Camp is one of my regular rides and offers a lot of rad trails. I still shred my 1993 WTB Phoenix hardtail out there as it handles those trails beautifully. I’d recommend Tamarancho and Soltice if you find your way back to Marin. Keep up the great content!
Looks like the boys gave you a great tour of China Camp and San Pedro Mountain Preserve. THE trails where I learned to ride. Great to see you enjoying them on a namesake steed.
Excited for the hummingbird I have coming this month! working with nick to spec it out has been great. Hopefully it will be as good in the north east as it is in NorCal.
Just caught this one. Those trails were one of the after work riding spots when I was part of the Mike’s crew ( that includes Nick for the record) .. watching this I was thinking how fun it would be riding my Maniak on those trails😊. IMO the slacker HA would be worth it for the rock line on the backside and those chutes ! ( and of course for Solstice)
Head injuries are no joke. I took what looked like a rather mundane fall and ended up with a concussion. I had symptoms for close to 2 months and it really sucked. Back to normal now but they are some of the worst injuries. Fortunately I didn’t hit my head hard enough to pass out or forget my name. Those are ones where you really gotta start worrying
Man! The Hummingbird is one of my dream frames. If you like those trails, you should come East. Similar but a bit more chunky. Fall is a fantastic time to ride out here.
Thanks so much Steve! Going to have to copy that after i sell a kidney. Looks so good! Would look even better on my Mash Hardtail (you should review this frame btw).@@hardtailparty
I know you love the hummingbird since it was the 2022 bike of the year for you, but have you had a chance to try out the titanium build? I see it on their website now
@@hardtailparty awesome man! Can’t wait to see future videos of it. Thank you so much for your hard work and your passion to continue providing content for us! ❤️
Those guys you rode with seem super nice Steve. From behind you reminded me a çot 9f Elliot from ET when he was riding his BMX on that epic scene where they went flying! Very nice looking handlebars too... titanium?
They're awesome guys. I am so fortunate to be able to ride with rad people. Yes, these are roost ti bars in a 5dev ti stem. Neither is essential to enjoying a bike ride, but they're very nice quality and they'll still be going strong for decades to come.
First off love the channel! I’ve only been pedaling consistently for a few months now. I’m hooked! I’m in the market for a my own hardtail as I am borrowing a friends. I have 2k saved, if only had 2k which hardtail would be your choice? Appreciate your time and keep the content coming.
Do you know what fork offset the bike you rode had? I'm looking at similar bikes / frames (halfway between XC and "modern trail") and trying to understand why some frame builders still recommend 51mm offset forks for their 67-68 deg head tube angle bikes. I like the calm steering of 44mm, but then I can only test it with slacker frames. If this bike had a 44mm fork then it clearly proves that one can still perfectly ride curvy singletrack on them... (ps. the Neuhaus website doesn't specify fork offsets either.)
How does titanium bars compare to carbon bars? I have the OneUp carbon bars on a Banshee Paradox V3 and was thinking to switch to titanium ones. Thank you.
It depends on the trail and the goal of the rider. I do my bike consultations/comparisons over on patreon. I'd be happy to help you over there. Patreon.com/hardtailparty
There are a few fire roads you can ride on Tam, but most of the singletrack is hikers only. There are a lot of persnickety old rich people in Marin who made it that way.
Nothing like the gears crunching on the switchbacks!! Had my 8 year old son out yesterday on our local single track. Lots of climbing in Wisconsin, and the little guy is crushing it. Im on a 2022 chameleon and hes on a commencal ramones 24. While riding he said man I love this bike. I couldn't be more proud of him!
@@YouFearMe what? It’s summer. And even if it wasn’t we ride as often as we can. I hope your trolling me.
SO freaking cool. I am so jealous of your ride with them and of those titanium cockpits!
There are some amazing humans in this industry. The guys from Neuhaus were top notch
Your timing of this is perfect. I just saw my friend that is a proud owner of a Hummingbird frame and he was telling me about how much he loves that bike and experience buying it. He said one of the hardest decisions was deciding on the frame color (powder coat) because of all the different colors.
This frame has raised the bar to what a modern trail hardtail should (and can) be. It is perfection on trails like this.
Picking the color WAS the hardest part of getting my hummingbird. Nick was great to work with and I’m so glad i did Steve’s consultation that got me on my Hummingbird.
@@kylemusgrove1804 wow, that’s awesome! Steve’s content has been so insightful. I especially like the small builders stuff.
Back in the late 90s I worked at Marin bikes! A few of my coworkers and I would go ride those trails on single speeds in the dark! It was super fun and spooky!
Great to see 'trail riding' being given its time in the spotlight. I've got to get me some of those trials skills though. Looks fun. Thanks for another great video, Steve.
This motivates me to make a trail here through an area I saw on the train route.
Picked up my Hummingbird frame from Nick on Monday and I just finished building it up yesterday. The bike is so, so rad. I love the inclusive sizing- for my height I'm on an XXS+. Can't wait to hit some Marin county trails tomorrow!!
Please report back, I have a feeling you're going to love it. I've ridden so many bikes and it's one of my all time favorites.
@@hardtailpartyreporting back 🫡 I LOVE this bike so much. Even though my small frame has 27.5 wheels I'm having no trouble zipping up and over rocks and roots. I was just up in Truckee last weekend riding some trails with fun rock gardens and rock rolls and I was surprised how confident I felt. The bike practically rides itself. Also, getting shuttled up to the top of the trails isn't my style, so I was super happy to be riding a hardtail because the 10 mile climb to the top of the trails might have sucked on a full suspension. I feel like this bike does it all ❤
I like the point about old school trails. There's a ton of those out there and not many people are riding them... And that does seem like a pretty good bike for exploring forgotten trails.
Soooooo good. Thanks for the reminder that we’re not alone out here 😊.
Alaways fun seeing you on different trails!!! Steve your the number 1 ambassador for hardtails and this video tells us why, great job 👍👍
I’m loving my Humingbird up here in CT. Thanks for that review that got me to get it.
What epic trails should I feature next on the hardtail?
Can you have a look at the Sram T-type transmission GX drive train? I'm thinking about it for my maniak ( - which I love!! very well done on the design). Specifically for the strength when shifting under load. I'm chewing through Advent cassettes, so wondering about the T-type system. Cheers!
You know way more about what trails to feature, I can watch a lot more of this type of riding. I like the concept of picking a bike that matches up with the trail you're riding.
@@mtford72 yes, I've got it coming soon. I need to get paragon's new udh sliding dropouts for the maniak
Maybe a Nordest Bardino?
@@pfaedu I'm asking about epic trails.
That's exactly the type of riding that I love to do.
Heck yeah. Vibes. Terrain. Whips. This video hits all the high notes.
Couldn't agree more Steve.. Love that stuff!
This one gets an immediate like, any Neuhaus Metalworks content is bound to be awesome!!
Love it too. Now I have to go to the garage. Bikes to work on.
It is great to see the inspiration for the frame design.
Biking is so fun. So many trails and so many nice bikes and so many friends provides for alot of variety. It really is amazing that we can even go ride on these trails. We are standing on the shoulders of the hard workers who made these great bikes and great trails.
Also, it was nice to see Nick get up so quickly. It's almost like he did a cartwheel. Did you notice how quickly he was on his feet? That made for a good ending to a good day of bike riding.
It goes to show helmets are important. Though they cannot protect well enough for all falls. People get head injuries with them on. But helmets do work good enough for alot of falls, and they have saved alot of lives and injuries. Nick just popped right back up it looked like! And he kept riding roots, ruts and all!! This trail reminds me of Mooser Creek next to Bales and Turkey Mountain in Tulsa. Sweet! Thanks for this nice video at the home of mountain biking. I enjoy these videos so much.
Thank you for making this video Steve. Lots of good points, and reminders of why I started mountain biking in the first place. I often look at my buddy who has overforked his hardtail with a 160mm SR Suntour enduro fork. And I’m more often than not able to have the same if not more fun than him on my 120mm Ribbon SL. I just love a good piece of single track 👌🏻
Looked like a great ride! It really helps to see a bike that you speak so highly of on a trail that it was designed for - just completes the picture in a way that is hard to capture in words.
Fabolous Video! The Hummingbird is clearly a 'to-die-for' frame, but us mere mortals who ride smoother trails & can't afford multi thousand dollar frames need some more affordable alternatives.
Nice one. Some greenery !
😂 I was going to take offense to the comment on Marin being the 'birthplace of mountain biking', about to claim that i'd been climbing hills on my bicycles for over 30 years... and then I looked up Marin and about the cyclists there back in the 60s and 70s 😅😂😮
So beautiful to read about the Larkspur Canyon Gang and such.
Was a pleasant read.
That second half of this video, what beautiful trails yawl rode through. Loved it!
Thank you for making this video!
This just show how much fun hardtails are !
Awesome stuff Steve! Great you made it out to Marin. China Camp is one of my regular rides and offers a lot of rad trails. I still shred my 1993 WTB Phoenix hardtail out there as it handles those trails beautifully. I’d recommend Tamarancho and Soltice if you find your way back to Marin. Keep up the great content!
Reminds me of riding my Gary Fisher Paragon when I lived in the Bay Area. Good ol days. Still have the frame.
Excellent video. Thank you.
I love these trails i was just there this past weekend
They're amazing on a hardtail.
Looks like the boys gave you a great tour of China Camp and San Pedro Mountain Preserve. THE trails where I learned to ride. Great to see you enjoying them on a namesake steed.
Epic trails. I've missed bay area riding (but I don't miss the poison oak). I grew up riding the bay area and Tahoe in the 90s
I too moved away but try and make it back to visit as often as I can - a unique experience for sure!
Excited for the hummingbird I have coming this month! working with nick to spec it out has been great. Hopefully it will be as good in the north east as it is in NorCal.
Snagged a prototype Neuhaus EWB because of your Solstice review. It's slacker and a shorter rear end. Crazy fun bike!
My perfect kind of trail.
Happy to say I have hardtails from Steve AND Nick! :D
Your recommendations for a new bike for me where spot on for the northern California trails I ride. Thanks!
Just caught this one. Those trails were one of the after work riding spots when I was part of the Mike’s crew ( that includes Nick for the record) .. watching this I was thinking how fun it would be riding my Maniak on those trails😊.
IMO the slacker HA would be worth it for the rock line on the backside and those chutes ! ( and of course for Solstice)
The Maniak was a blast on solstice trail
@@hardtailparty Do you have a video on Solstice?
Looks a nice place to ride bikes!
nice trail and bikes. gnarly fall though..
got my hummigbird this year. absolute epic bike, pedals incredible. would love a solstice to compliment
The hummingbird is an amazing hardtail. I wish everyone had the chance to ride one.
Head injuries are no joke. I took what looked like a rather mundane fall and ended up with a concussion. I had symptoms for close to 2 months and it really sucked. Back to normal now but they are some of the worst injuries. Fortunately I didn’t hit my head hard enough to pass out or forget my name. Those are ones where you really gotta start worrying
Man! The Hummingbird is one of my dream frames. If you like those trails, you should come East. Similar but a bit more chunky. Fall is a fantastic time to ride out here.
Ive ridden va, Texas, and North Carolina so far, but there's a lot more I'd like to explore out there.
Looks like a great ride!
Awesome, China camp rules!! I ride here all the time.
That Hummingbird Trail, and literally all those trails are what I like to ride. I prefer natural terrain over machine built.
Same here
@hardtailparty This is why I love your channel, great reviews, trail rides, and of course HT's.
what cockpit setup is that? (bars, stem, top cap) super clean and love the silver look.
thought those bars looked TI...... roost titanium bars. now what about the stem and top cap???
5dev ti stem, custom brass hardtail party topcap by my friend the dark bike co
Thanks so much Steve! Going to have to copy that after i sell a kidney. Looks so good! Would look even better on my Mash Hardtail (you should review this frame btw).@@hardtailparty
I know you love the hummingbird since it was the 2022 bike of the year for you, but have you had a chance to try out the titanium build? I see it on their website now
I've pedaled one around a parking lot but I haven't had one on the trail yet. They're sending me one soon so I can get some seat time on it.
@@hardtailparty awesome man! Can’t wait to see future videos of it. Thank you so much for your hard work and your passion to continue providing content for us! ❤️
Those guys you rode with seem super nice Steve. From behind you reminded me a çot 9f Elliot from ET when he was riding his BMX on that epic scene where they went flying!
Very nice looking handlebars too... titanium?
They're awesome guys. I am so fortunate to be able to ride with rad people. Yes, these are roost ti bars in a 5dev ti stem. Neither is essential to enjoying a bike ride, but they're very nice quality and they'll still be going strong for decades to come.
First off love the channel! I’ve only been pedaling consistently for a few months now. I’m hooked! I’m in the market for a my own hardtail as I am borrowing a friends. I have 2k saved, if only had 2k which hardtail would be your choice? Appreciate your time and keep the content coming.
I do my bike advice over on patreon. I'd be happy to help over there. Patreon.com/hardtailparty
@@hardtailparty fair enough. And what is my buy in for your opinions? Or what option do I need to buy into, the $100?
Do you know what fork offset the bike you rode had? I'm looking at similar bikes / frames (halfway between XC and "modern trail") and trying to understand why some frame builders still recommend 51mm offset forks for their 67-68 deg head tube angle bikes. I like the calm steering of 44mm, but then I can only test it with slacker frames. If this bike had a 44mm fork then it clearly proves that one can still perfectly ride curvy singletrack on them... (ps. the Neuhaus website doesn't specify fork offsets either.)
I ride mine with a lower offset fork. It's 46mm I think. I have no desire for a 51mm offset. I prefer the lower offsets.
How does titanium bars compare to carbon bars? I have the OneUp carbon bars on a Banshee Paradox V3 and was thinking to switch to titanium ones. Thank you.
How does the asymmetric fork feel? At 3:10 you see Nick riding a single shock fork (left shock only)
See my thoughts of this fork on my Cannondale scalpel ht review.
Which do you prefer Steve,
The hummingbird or the Stanton Sherpa?
It depends on the trail and the goal of the rider. I do my bike consultations/comparisons over on patreon. I'd be happy to help you over there. Patreon.com/hardtailparty
Hummingbird is out of my price range. Would the Sherpa or Japhy be almost as compliant?
GT Zaskar next??
When’s the Habit 1st ride dropping?
These look like fuuun trails on rigid as well!
How come Hummingbird Trail doesn't come up on Google for the Marin area. And why did they say you'll get a ticket on Mt. Tam for riding a MTB?
There are a few fire roads you can ride on Tam, but most of the singletrack is hikers only. There are a lot of persnickety old rich people in Marin who made it that way.
@@mcndjxlefnd Oh okay. Makes sense but thats how its been. I always stay on the fire roads there. I just pass by them juicy single track trails lol
China Camp?
slap some sliding dropouts on there and you have the frame of the decade.
Nick can do that on any one of his frames.
🔥🔥🔥
NO BRUNCH! Haha!
Did I hear that there's a FINE for riding Mt Tam/Repack?
Much of the singletrack on mt tam is illegal and they'll write you a ticket if you're on it. Most of the fire roads are still open though.
No fine for riding repack. And you can ride most fireroads in mount Tam. Not allowed on singletrack. I think the fine is 400+
Noi-house is more like how to pronounce Neuhaus. It is not Newhouse.
Nick Neuhaus himself was there on this ride and I pronounce it the way he does.