Singletrack

VERDICT
In a marketing landscape that’s dominated by pricey carbon
fibre wunder-bikes and hyper-long geometry sleds, the
humble hardtail regularly misses out on a lot of the media
attention. Which is a shame really, because we like hardtails.
As we’ve rediscovered during this group test, today’s hardtail is
far, far more capable than those that have preceded it.
Modern technologies have certainly taken the hardtail’s
performance a long way. Bigger wheels, fatter tyres, dropper
posts, and stiffer forks have all played their part. But without
doubt, it’s the new-school frame geometry that has upped the
ride quality stakes and enhanced the speed capabilities of each
one of these bikes we’ve tested.
Whether you’re looking to get into the sport for the first
time, or you’re after that N+1 bike to accompany you through
a wet and muddy winter season, or you just want the fastest
and most responsive bike you can get for cutting up snaky
singletrack, chances are that there’s a hardtail here that’ll
answer your needs.
Made right here in the UK and from every diehard
mountain biker’s favourite material, steel, the Trillion Prime
ticks all the right boxes for a hardcore hardtail. It’s slack,
can fit semi-chubby rubber, and comes equipped with a
cartoonishly long travel fork that will have downhill riders
eyeing it up as a potential winter silly bike. Being a prototype,
however, our test bike was far from perfect, and there’s some
refining required both on the finish and on the geometry
before the Prime is ready for its time in the spotlight.
Nukeproof originally wanted to get us the higher-end
Scout 290 Comp model, but, due to availability, we ended
up testing the cheaper Race spec. Despite a twisty fork and
soft brakes, the £1,099 Nukeproof Scout impressed all testers
with its composed attitude and surprisingly stable descending
manners. It’s the perfect example of how far entry-level
hardtails have come, with its tough frame, slack geometry and
grippy rubber possessing masses of capability that’ll allow your
skills and confidence to grow with it. It’s a terrific beginner’s
bike with loads of upgrade potential.
On the other side of the price spectrum, the Kona Honzo
CR Trail DL is no cheap proposition. There are certainly bikes
with a better spec list than this for the same money, and some
of those bikes have rear suspension too. Price aside though,
the Honzo is just pure and simple wickedly fun. It corners
on a penny, it blasts downhill way too fast, and rides with
a gung-ho attitude that I have never experienced with any
other carbon hardtail. Sure it’s lightweight and race-capable
for all but the most elite World Cup level athletes, but it’s the
Honzo’s responsive handling and on-trail feedback that makes
it so addictive to ride.
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This feature was created in association with Innsbruck Tourismus, which enabled us to shoot
this Bike Test on location in Innsbruck, on the Nordkette Singletrail and at Bikepark Innsbruck.
For more information, visit: innsbruck.info and bikepark-innsbruck.com
Check out singletrackworld.com for our follow-up travel feature.