Are hardtails obsolete?

[mjbabcock]

What is it?!?

[doomridesout]

Looks like a Black Cat to my eye. Really nice looking bike.

[htono]

yes! black cat it is.

[s_curran]

Bought another honzo today. Worth noting its my fourth, OG blue one (2012), Carbon one stolen off my doorstep, Steel 2018 (rust one), and now alloy. Kona is FINALLY offering the Alloy version as frame only. It also is slightly more progressive. I think I'll appreciate the 66 degree HTA (actually 66.5 since I will run 130mm), but will not appreciate the steeper STA, but we'll see, sort of bought as an experiment for future custom.

My issue with the steep STA is that I think it will make it too short and upright on the hard fast seated riding. To get the TT length I want, I would need 540 reahc, which obviosly no one is going to make and it would probably feel like a boat. I think my future bike would have a 515 reach and a more traditional STA, but we'll see what I think.

This is where my strange endurancy racing and downhill backgrounds are apparently a bit at odds.

[Will Neide]

Bought another honzo today. Worth noting its my fourth, OG blue one (2012), Carbon one stolen off my doorstep, Steel 2018 (rust one), and now alloy. Kona is FINALLY offering the Alloy version as frame only. It also is slightly more progressive. I think I'll appreciate the 66 degree HTA (actually 66.5 since I will run 130mm), but will not appreciate the steeper STA, but we'll see, sort of bought as an experiment for future custom.

My issue with the steep STA is that I think it will make it too short and upright on the hard fast seated riding. To get the TT length I want, I would need 540 reahc, which obviosly no one is going to make and it would probably feel like a boat. I think my future bike would have a 515 reach and a more traditional STA, but we'll see what I think.

This is where my strange endurancy racing and downhill backgrounds are apparently a bit at odds.

How tall are you? I agree with you on STA and I stuck with a more traditional 73 deg on my bike. HTA is 66 with a 140mm of travel. My bike is a single speed, so a STA for climbing didn't matter since I'm almost never seated to climb.

[suspectdevice]

“slacker” traditional seat angles are the way to go for singlespeed use.
Steep angles definitely get in the way out of the saddle unless you use the dropper every single time you stand up, and having to use a dropper for standing climbing just seems... anti singlespeed.

[s_curran]

How tall are you? I agree with you on STA and I stuck with a more traditional 73 deg on my bike. HTA is 66 with a 140mm of travel. My bike is a single speed, so a STA for climbing didn't matter since I'm almost never seated to climb.

I'm 6' 4", but with a longer torso, and want to be a bit more stretched out, puts me a bit further outside the norm. For CX bikes for instance, I ride a 59.5 TT (bigger than the largest stock frames, unless they are made to be run with a short stem) with 110 stem, and honestly feel I look a bit more upright than most.