Who makes the best mountain bike XC hardtail frames? I would like to build one up.?

Question

Is Specialized and Giant the best? Any suggestions would really help.

Answer 1

This totally depends upon how much money you want to spend.

If you are serious, and want a top notch frame, look at an Ellsworth, Turner, or Ventana.

Specialized and Giant are fine. They offer mass produced, larger scale production bikes/frames, typcially made in Taiwan/China. I wouldn't consider them the best by any stretch, but all the major manufacturers have their plusses and minuses. Building out a custom Giant wouldn't make your bike particularly unique.

Look, you can spend a fortune building out your own bike. You have to decide early how long you want to mess with it, how serious you are, and what your budget is.

As a compromise, you might consider a Santa Cruz. They'll build out a "custom" bike for you that will likely be cheaper than if you try to do it all yourself with the same components. You can even choose the color and graphics.

You might also benefit from spending time at your lcal bike shop, especially if they will let you demo a particular manufacturer's bike. It helps to know what you are getting into (geometry, construction, and later drive train, brakes, etc.)

Answer 2

It depends on your budget, and what you would consider best. I would think that probably a steel or titanium hardtail would be great options.

There are several options you have depending on personal preferences and budget. Titus and Moots have excelent frames. Titus can even adjust the bike for your sizing, as well as other companies can. It's just that this won't be too cheap, to say the least.

Santa Cruz has the Chameleon frame, which is very versatile in the way that you can build it very different depending on forks and stuff, but it won't be too light.

I don't know if Ventana offers hardtails, but they're also very, very good at building full suspension bikes, so I don't know about hardtails, but worth a look.

Also, budget wise, consider that probably the frame will be like 30-40% of the total cost of the bike, if you buy everything new.

Answer 3

There isn't really a good answer to your question because there is a lot of personal opinion involved. Most of the higher-end bike manufacturers all have good frames and make XC specific bikes, be it Trek, Giant, Specialized, Cannondale, Gary Fisher, etc. etc. etc. Then you can include some of the smaller manufacturers and custom frame builders, again, all with very good frames.

What you first need to decide is how much you want to spend on a frame and how much you want it to weigh. Do you want carbon fiber, titanium, aluminum, steel? After all that, you need to figure out what bike fits you best.

Sorry I couldn't really answer your questions, but for every person you can find that loves one specific manufacturer, I can find another person who thinks those bikes are trash.

Answer 4

Give Dean Ultimate Bicycles in Boulder, CO a call. They make custom, handbuilt titanium frames with the best welds in the industry and a lifetime warranty. Since they've been around more than 20 years, they know what they're doing and will treat you right.

Titanium is probably the best materials for a hardtail, because it's light, forgiving and has an amazing fatigue life.

Answer 5

If you want to choose one of those i would go for Specialized but I love my Klein Adriot Pro which I think is better. I also have a Trek that is really good too. It all depends of how much money you have to spend on the bike. Some Cannondales are really good but they are pricey. If you want a titanium frame Litespeed is the answer. Kona also makes great bikes, they are tough but not light like trek's carbon frame, Klein, Cannondale or even some specialized models.

Answer 6

Best Xc Hardtail

Answer 7

Specialized are very reliable and sturdy.

Answer 8

Klein, if not them then Specialized

Answer 9

try Kona, elsworth, or specialized