Rigid Frame for DH - indulge my fantasy

I do quite a lot of hardtail DH on my old 06 Norco Sasquatch with drop off 4 long travel forks couldnt recommend a better rig for the job she takes anything i can chuck at her. They can be had so cheap these days too
 

scblack

Leucocholic
I'm gunna chuck in my 2c and say don't do it. Back when I had my Bullit, I got tired of DH with it eventually and sold it. My plan was to beef up the STP a bit and use it as a DH sled when required. I found it did not work. I HATED riding DH with that thing, and moved onto the Norco A-Line as a real DH bike.

I guess you are looking at slack angled bikes though and that will improve the hardtail thing. The STP just simply didn't have the steering geometry to hit proper DH lines without hanging on for sheer death hoping that the front wheel didn't hook up.

Just my experience that I found a hardtail was not for DH, for me.
 

smitho

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Further 2c - do it! When getting back into riding I had a norco Sasquatch built up with 180mm BOS N'dees and a few old bits and pieces. Did wonders for my technical skills - genuinely felt quicker and smoother before swapping back to the dually and getting lazy.

Fairly sure there is a sasquatch or rampage floating around in the trading area at the moment. They're simple, rock solid and built for a long travel fork.

Best part is that when you're quicker than people you can be smug, and when you're slower you have a sound excuse.
 

Hyped

Likes Bikes
Check out the OnOne 45650b, I've been resisting temptation to build one up for ages. Steel, slack, raw finish looks tough as. They have a deal where you get frame + headset, stem, seatpost..etc for around $500 delivered to aus.
 

spoozbucket

Likes Dirt
Check out the OnOne 45650b, I've been resisting temptation to build one up for ages. Steel, slack, raw finish looks tough as. They have a deal where you get frame + headset, stem, seatpost..etc for around $500 delivered to aus.
I am an opinionated arsehole so here goes, a 430mm back end is pretty long for a 650b which makes manualling a bit shit(my current frame is 415 to 430mm), reach on a large frame is under 400mm which is just retarded short, the seat angle is 71 degrees so you will get awesome abs and solid forearms from trying to keep the front down on climbs.

How On-One gets a cult following I'll never know, in the old days they were one of the only AM frames out there so the slightly odd angles and shit build quality was acceptable, these days however you can get far and I mean far, better frames in terms of geo and build quality for not much more money.

I know people will disagree but I have had four frames from that shitty stable and every one had at least one thing wrong with it.
 

deletude26

Likes Bikes
If you want something that will really hold up to abuse I would go with something like an NS Surge. Steel, slack, can be fitted with 170 or 180 forks for a dh hardtail, but personally would go max 160, otherwise you start screwing with geometry.

Plus chuck on a dropper and you can ride back up as well.

Been wanting to build one up all year, but can only afford one bike at the moment, so it'll have to wait.
 

Hyped

Likes Bikes
Fair enough. My old inbred was a great bike! The angles on the 456 look fine for bombing down shit at a budget, which was what OP requested.
 

spoozbucket

Likes Dirt
That doesn't really match up with Johnny's dh wet dreams...
The frame would, sell the other bits and you'd have a frame for probably ~$200.
Even as it is still far better suited to DH(maybe not the fork) than any of the old bikes mentioned in this thread. Good geo, sensible weight and they supposedly ride quite well, if I wasn't so poor I'd buy it.
 

will2

Likes Dirt
I am very close to buying that bike. But kinda wouldn't mind seeing what the 2016 Ragley stuff looks like.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
The frame would, sell the other bits and you'd have a frame for probably ~$200.
Even as it is still far better suited to DH(maybe not the fork) than any of the old bikes mentioned in this thread. Good geo, sensible weight and they supposedly ride quite well, if I wasn't so poor I'd buy it.
I beg to differ..., but the frame would be workable. and the rear tyre has a pinch flat from all the sharp edged bumps presented by the pavers.
 

spoozbucket

Likes Dirt
I beg to differ..., but the frame would be workable. and the rear tyre has a pinch flat from all the sharp edged bumps presented by the pavers.
What do people look for in a DH hardtail then if a Blue Pig isn't really up to the task? I know the fork on it is most probably shit as it looks like a 32, I've grabbed a couple of X fusion Vengeance forks on here for ~$300 each so upgrading later isn't all that pricey.
 

dcrofty

Eats Squid
Craftworks rail?

I have one in my shed that ill probably never throw a leg over again. Its got gussets on its gussets.

I got an evil imperial for $700 a while ago. Surprisingly light and very fun to ride.
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
Craftworks rail?

I have one in my shed that ill probably never throw a leg over again. Its got gussets on its gussets.

I got an evil imperial for $700 a while ago. Surprisingly light and very fun to ride.
i used to race HT DH on a crafty rail, and im on the wrong side of 100kegs!..awesome frame, cant speak highly enough of them...had 5' manitou shermans on the front, used to follow my mates on SC Bullits and Norco A-Lines down stromlo on it..fun times
what colour, i had the shrek green one
 

dcrofty

Eats Squid
i used to race HT DH on a crafty rail, and im on the wrong side of 100kegs!..awesome frame, cant speak highly enough of them...had 5' manitou shermans on the front, used to follow my mates on SC Bullits and Norco A-Lines down stromlo on it..fun times
what colour, i had the shrek green one
I have the more understated grey/silver version. Did everything from the occasional DH race to freeride tracks to 100km races.
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
Nearly all in that list are short, tall, steep and overly stiff compared to modern AM frames. Quite a few are just old dirtjump frames with basically small XC bike geo. Times have changed, there are heaps of all-day capable bikes which would belt the stuffing out of most of them downhill.
No Cove Stiffee on that list??
 
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