Help! BFe , moxie or grim ripper!

[Zephyr Speedshop]

need some help choosing a new frame.

I fancy seeing what all the fuss is about steel frames and want some a little more capable than my scandal. but still able to do bigger days not just laps of the country park .

I've settled on these 3 frames there all pretty reasonable price and seem to be really well regarded. and tough enough to do uplift days

plan to swap, the bits over from my On on scandal. so 140mm forks, and 29er wheels.

can any of you guys give me some honest feed back on any of these frames

Cotic Bfe

Pipedream Moxie mx3

Radical bike co Grimm ripper


geometry comparison.



or maybe toy think i should stick with the scandal nothing wrong with it i just fancy trying steel and something a little more capable



thanks Andy

[numtumfutunch]

Cotic is somewhat divisive

He rode a wave of positive online energy with the original Soul as did a bike shop in the Peak district neither of whom really deserved the adulation in my opinion

Dont mention the fact that he's an "engineer" and ridiculous online rants about disc brake mounts which eventually capitulated into an acceptance that he was wrong although he never really publicly said so

And same for gravel bikes and integrated cables and similar for ebikes. Its great to be a maverick brand however if you lose your credibility you run the risk of alienating your customer base.

COI: I have a Mk2 26" Soul which was/is a whole lot of fun however the industry has moved on massively. Cotic gravel bikes are basic at best and for less cash my new gravel ride has a carbon frame and integrated cables with Di2 both of which he slags off on his IG channel and coincidentally or otherwise he cannot offer on his own frames. MTBs are equally inelegant compared to 'supermarket' brands

Cheers

[vxsmithers]

I have a Moxie, I like it, although it is quite aggressive but very stable so depends what you want it to do.

I'm 5'11 and have the long, probably should have got the longer size but a longer stem would sort that as I'm running the pacenti zero stem

Also, the customer service has been shockingly poor since it got taken over earlier this year so that is something to be careful of. Frames are really good, but there have been a lot of delays for the S6 so I assume its the same for the Moxie frames, and zero updates on orders, or failed delivery deadlines from what I read on the FB Pipedream group

[vxsmithers]

My moxie

[Zephyr Speedshop]

I went round and round. But settled on the Grim ripper. It's totally leftfield and the reviews are good for their chilli dog (not much on the ripper) but it's very similar geo.

You guys are not the first to mention the pipedream delivery issues. That put me off about. And the ripper is similarly 'radical' in its geo to the moxie.

Any way can't wait to get my hands on it.

I've gone for green like this one

Steel is real! Or something

Edited by Zephyr Speedshop on Saturday 15th November 22:20

[Hugo Stiglitz]

I must admit (personally) I think steel mtb frames lost it when they became beefy and became solid, jarring things.

Whats the point of a hardtail frame that weighs as much as a sorted suspension frame?!

The original Kingdom X2 ti frame was good.

[Zephyr Speedshop]

My last steel bike was my azonic steelhead jump bike about 30 years ago when I was a kid. Just fancy giving it ago, and I keep riding more difficult terrain. So makes sense for me to build some a little more capable.

I see hardtails as being like driving a manual in a world of DCt's and PDK's there flawed and superceeded . But the just give you an experience that can't be replaced with technology.

This bike will be worse on my local evening flatish xc loop but will shred in the trail centre,bike parks and Alps.

[Pablo16v]

Congrats on the purchase, I love a long travel steel hardtail having had a few over the years. Currently happy with my Bigwig, but would happily have any of the three you listed as a replacement

[vxsmithers]

Zephyr Speedshop said:

I went round and round. But settled on the Grim ripper. It's totally leftfield and the reviews are good for their chilli dog (not much on the ripper) but it's very similar geo.

You guys are not the first to mention the pipedream delivery issues. That put me off about. And the ripper is similarly 'radical' in its geo to the moxie.

Any way can't wait to get my hands on it.

I've gone for green like this one

Steel is real! Or something

Edited by Zephyr Speedshop on Saturday 15th November 22:20

She's a beauty! hope the wait isn't too long!

[Tickle]

Zephyr Speedshop said:

I went round and round. But settled on the Grim ripper. It's totally leftfield and the reviews are good for their chilli dog (not much on the ripper) but it's very similar geo.

You guys are not the first to mention the pipedream delivery issues. That put me off about. And the ripper is similarly 'radical' in its geo to the moxie.

Any way can't wait to get my hands on it.

I've gone for green like this one

Steel is real! Or something

Edited by Zephyr Speedshop on Saturday 15th November 22:20

Only just saw this thread, love hardtails! Ex-Stanton steel and current Kingdom Vendetta X3 rider.

I've posted the Ripper before on other threads, that would have been my choice. A 130 Ripper Ti is something that interests me if I fancy something with a little less travel. Lovely bikes, steel or Ti.

I've also been made aware of carbon wasp pinion hardtail, again much want!

[thekingisdead]

numtumfutunch said:

Cotic is somewhat divisive

He rode a wave of positive online energy with the original Soul as did a bike shop in the Peak district neither of whom really deserved the adulation in my opinion

Dont mention the fact that he's an "engineer" and ridiculous online rants about disc brake mounts which eventually capitulated into an acceptance that he was wrong although he never really publicly said so

And same for gravel bikes and integrated cables and similar for ebikes. Its great to be a maverick brand however if you lose your credibility you run the risk of alienating your customer base.

COI: I have a Mk2 26" Soul which was/is a whole lot of fun however the industry has moved on massively. Cotic gravel bikes are basic at best and for less cash my new gravel ride has a carbon frame and integrated cables with Di2 both of which he slags off on his IG channel and coincidentally or otherwise he cannot offer on his own frames. MTBs are equally inelegant compared to 'supermarket' brands

Cheers

Im on the other side of the divide having had a Mk1 Soul - a fantastic single track HT and currently have the Escapade (gravel bike)
Cotic's are more functional than aesthetic - I dont think Cotic make any apologies for that. They're still great riding bikes, IMO.

I have a Mason for something with a *little* more elegance.

From my perspective - anyone buying steel has already decided they dont want or need the fastest / most aero bike out there. once you've accepted that, things like internal cable routing become of secondary importance!

YMMV

[Zephyr Speedshop]

Absolute beast. Can you tell SWMBO is away tonight

Fitted full frame protection buy hand as there's not kits available for these. And swapped all my bits over.

I've got a shorter stem coming. And need to decide if I'm colour coding the fork graphics. Or maybe go for gold. And a gold chain?

[Tickle]

Zephyr Speedshop said:

Absolute beast. Can you tell SWMBO is away tonight

Fitted full frame protection buy hand as there's not kits available for these. And swapped all my bits over.

I've got a shorter stem coming. And need to decide if I'm colour coding the fork graphics. Or maybe go for gold. And a gold chain?

Yeah, that's nice.

[Craikeybaby]

Nice - I love an aggressive hardtail, and need to finish building mine up.

[mattvanders]

Zephyr Speedshop said:

Absolute beast. Can you tell SWMBO is away tonight

Fitted full frame protection buy hand as there's not kits available for these. And swapped all my bits over.

I've got a shorter stem coming. And need to decide if I'm colour coding the fork graphics. Or maybe go for gold. And a gold chain?

That looks lovely, be good to hear your thoughts on it after a few rides. I’ve ended running a winter hardtail (to save the full sus maintenance) for the last 15 years. Went from an xc build to an aggressive hardtail that I did end up using as my main bike for a for a few summers.

[Zephyr Speedshop]

mattvanders said:

Zephyr Speedshop said:

Absolute beast. Can you tell SWMBO is away tonight

Fitted full frame protection buy hand as there's not kits available for these. And swapped all my bits over.

I've got a shorter stem coming. And need to decide if I'm colour coding the fork graphics. Or maybe go for gold. And a gold chain?

That looks lovely, be good to hear your thoughts on it after a few rides. I ve ended running a winter hardtail (to save the full sus maintenance) for the last 15 years. Went from an xc build to an aggressive hardtail that I did end up using as my main bike for a for a few summers.

Some nice bikes there is the first one a Gonzo ESD?

You can't beat a hardtail. I can't think of anything I've ridden that needed a full sus. this will be wow fully under used but I'm tempted to try some local enduros next year so that should be fun.

[Zephyr Speedshop]

mattvanders said:

Zephyr Speedshop said:

Absolute beast. Can you tell SWMBO is away tonight

Fitted full frame protection buy hand as there's not kits available for these. And swapped all my bits over.

I've got a shorter stem coming. And need to decide if I'm colour coding the fork graphics. Or maybe go for gold. And a gold chain?

That looks lovely, be good to hear your thoughts on it after a few rides. I ve ended running a winter hardtail (to save the full sus maintenance) for the last 15 years. Went from an xc build to an aggressive hardtail that I did end up using as my main bike for a for a few summers.

Some nice bikes there is the first one a Gonzo ESD?

You can't beat a hardtail. I can't think of anything I've ridden that needed a full sus. this will be wow fully under used but I'm tempted to try some local enduros next year so that should be fun.

[mattvanders]

Zephyr Speedshop said:

mattvanders said:

Zephyr Speedshop said:

Absolute beast. Can you tell SWMBO is away tonight

Fitted full frame protection buy hand as there's not kits available for these. And swapped all my bits over.

I've got a shorter stem coming. And need to decide if I'm colour coding the fork graphics. Or maybe go for gold. And a gold chain?

That looks lovely, be good to hear your thoughts on it after a few rides. I ve ended running a winter hardtail (to save the full sus maintenance) for the last 15 years. Went from an xc build to an aggressive hardtail that I did end up using as my main bike for a for a few summers.

Some nice bikes there is the first one a Gonzo ESD?

You can't beat a hardtail. I can't think of anything I've ridden that needed a full sus. this will be wow fully under used but I'm tempted to try some local enduros next year so that should be fun.

Yep, kona honzo esd. Living in the south we don’t really have much rocky terrain but can still have some spicy trails if you know where to look over Surrey Hills area. An aggressive hardtail still coped. The one change I did do was run clipped shoes which I haven’t done before to stop the feet jumping off the pedals - definitely worth do though I do ride terribly if on blind trails and clipped in.

I would say the only thing I can see changing on your is going from 34 to 36 as stacker bikes put more stress on the fork and binding it.

[Tickle]

mattvanders said:

I would say the only thing I can see changing on your is going from 34 to 36 as stacker bikes put more stress on the fork and binding it.

I went for 36, agree, some additional forces due to the slackness. Guess it depends on the trails it's used on though.



Oh, nice Extra Slack Dude too

[Zephyr Speedshop]

Tickle said:

mattvanders said:

I would say the only thing I can see changing on your is going from 34 to 36 as stacker bikes put more stress on the fork and binding it.

I went for 36, agree, some additional forces due to the slackness. Guess it depends on the trails it's used on though.



Oh, nice Extra Slack Dude too

thats beautiful,

you guys are probably right about the 34's but no dramas today on it. i don't think its as slack as the geo chart, because in 27.5 radical suggest 150-160mm travel. where as im at the recommended 140 for a 29er.