How tough are "urban HT" bikes???
- Thread starter V10 PA
- Start date
There really are two differnt styles of Urban H-tail, ones for dirtjumping and tech stuff and the big burly drop anything hardtails with a big 5"+ fork on them. The STP really fits in the former category and is more of a finesse bike, while something like a Banshee fits in the latter.
I have a minuteman, so far it's withstood a good amount of dirt jumping, drops, and stairgaps. I keep my drops to flat to a minimum, but I weigh almost 200 lbs. It still gets along a trail pretty well too. My advice is to go for a steel frame if you're going to be really abusive. As the bmx industry learned long ago, steel gives you more warning before it fails. Aluminum tends to stay stiff right up until it lets go. Also, I haven't had the best luck with aluminum headtubes.
I agree that steel is the way to go. Set-up, especially a sturdy fork and cranks, is pretty key, too. I wouldnt say that you necessarily need a lot of travel (more than 4 or 5"), just something that wont break. I mostly ride dh or dj on my ht, but my set-up is still pretty urban; steel frame, 4" Z1 Dual, profiles, etc.
I did stuff about this size on a pretty regular basis on it at one point. There's a local kid that hit this on the sketchiest stock P3 I've ever seen, so make what you will of that.
I did stuff about this size on a pretty regular basis on it at one point. There's a local kid that hit this on the sketchiest stock P3 I've ever seen, so make what you will of that.
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Steel does not make for a good bike, so don't blindly buy a steel bike just because of the tubing material. There are lots of aluminum bikes that are as tough or tougher than many of their steel competitors.
There are plenty of good steel bikes, plenty of good aluminum bikes. Pick a geometry you like and find a bike that matches it - the current crop of burly hardtails to choose from is very diverse and most of them are extrodinarily strong.
There are plenty of good steel bikes, plenty of good aluminum bikes. Pick a geometry you like and find a bike that matches it - the current crop of burly hardtails to choose from is very diverse and most of them are extrodinarily strong.
The P.series bikes will - I've got a couple buddies with them and they do good urban drops all the time. Given that the STPs are built like the P series (which I believe they are), I don't see why not.V10 PA said:
Steel slides better, especially in the harsh concrete urban environment. One of my main reasons for wanting a steel frame.binary visions said:
V10 PA said:
Its all about being Smooooooooooooooooooth.
Of which, I know nothing about
My point is that a crappy bike is a crappy bike, and cannot be rescued by good material. Likewise, a good bike can be worth it even if it's not the material you may desire.Rik said:
If you find a good bike, and it comes in steel, that's great. But steel has become some kind of magical material that causes any bike to be good, and I think people overlook the fact that an aluminum frame can be just as nice a ride.
hey i ride a banshee morphine. i use it for everything from urban to fr to dh to park. the p seires bikes are good bike i just recently got to see and ride the stp from giant and that thing is killer. they used many things to make the thing really strong(should take a lot of abuse even those unsmooth landings) and if it does break, giant has the best back warrenty bar none. i personnally love the feel of the alum. hardtail because it has a really solid feel at one point in time a had a steel hardtail and on occation i had a disconneced feel. which is never good. but i'm sure not all have that. do not let the material the frame is made out of make your decision for you. 
let the feel of the bike do that
peace
let the feel of the bike do thatpeace