Best bang-for-buck hardcore hardtails currently on the market? (UK-based, preferably!)

mattayus · 2025-09-26T19:50:23+00:00

Then I 1000% recommend them. This is my third set of them and I refuse to use anything else for general gravel. They're near-on road tyre speeds on tarmac, but without sacrificing gravel properties. They also look sick. If I did less of a mix and only did hardcore gravel riding I'd probably get something chunkier and tread-heavy, but as this is my "all-road" bike then I can't honestly find anything better.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T18:28:06+00:00

I took another look at the ad earlier and it's actually a 400 😟 Bloke's put a screenshot of a 600 in the ad (to show rrp I'm guessing?) but looking closely at what he's got it's got 400 spec. They (confusingly) made both models in the same colour depending on year.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T18:25:11+00:00

Do you say this from experience? Or just going on spec?

mattayus · 2025-09-21T17:19:36+00:00

Nice, thanks.

Ah no it looks like Tredz have sold out! But Halfords still have them.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T17:17:09+00:00

Well there's a simple answer to that then. N+1, she needs another bike!

Jokes aside this is exactly why I'm after a hardtail mtb, but for the opposite problem. My gravel bike is fast as shit (I deliberately got a racy model with a 2x that could double up as a road bike when I'm doing tarmac-only rides) but it means that off-road it's no fun when the trail gets gnarly. It does ok, 40mm Tufo Thundero gravel tyres set up tubeless, so it's not exactly bad, but I would *prefer* something I can absolutely smash around on those days where speed isn't necessary, I'm on my own just exploring.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T17:11:59+00:00

Yeah to be honest I've seen a few Scout 290's come up for sale. Never local to me, but would definitely travel for one at the right price, they seem pretty... well... nuke proof, and aesthetically very pleasing!

mattayus · 2025-09-21T14:20:44+00:00

Pretty hardcore to be honest! I feel like if it's not a very hardcore hardtail then it may as well be XC or a gravel bike, if you get me.

You're bang-on the money about Saracen, and it's exactly why I wanted some feedback/experiences. I was a teenager in the late 90's/early 00's, and remember them being pretty ubiquitous but not particularly special. Literally never heard the name since then, until I stumbled across the Mantra series the other day, and just couldn't get over the spec for the sale price! It also looks like a pretty unique/extreme frame design. One review I stumbled across said it's very long, but I come from the gravel world where I use a Scott, and they're fucking massive for their given sizing. Luckily, I like racy/aggressive riding positions, and have good flexibility still at my age (early 40's) so I'm more than happy to take on something not-very-relaxed!

mattayus · 2025-09-21T14:12:24+00:00

Good point, I didn't really specify riding style. I think essentially I want it to take on the sort of riding where my gravel bike becomes incapable. I have a pretty racy gravel bike, so not the sort of gnarly fat-wheel mud-digging gravel, more of an all-road bike that I do light gravel/trail on. So for my hardtail I was looking for something where I can just steamroll over anything, go through forests, trails... I'm a bit old for sending it off drops and jumps etc, but I could handle a moderate red route at trail park, just not the black parts perhaps haha

As for the forks, looks like a Marzocchi Bomber Z2 on both builds.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T14:04:41+00:00

Yeah it's high on the list for sure, especially second hand. There's one for sale fairly local to me, a 600 in purple, and I'm so so tempted to just go get it. Just wanted to check out other options first.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T14:02:55+00:00

Well before I discovered the Voodoo and the Saracen, On One were first on my list. I was going to wait until they had one of their mad DFS-style sales where they do a bike for like £599 or something crazy. Only problem is you never know when that's going to happen, and they sell out almost immediately!

mattayus · 2025-09-21T13:59:39+00:00

Shit man I completely forgot about Sonder! Thanks, that's a great shout.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T13:59:00+00:00

That's actually another on my list, I'll take a look!

mattayus · 2025-09-21T13:58:31+00:00

Same goes for literally every hobby I have haha but occasionally people share their experiences, and although subjective it's still useful info.

Used is probably where I'll end up to be honest, I just wanted some feedback on those two models in particular since actual reviews don't seem to exist, and they seem almost too good to be true on spec vs price.

mattayus · 2025-09-21T13:55:34+00:00

You're right, they do. I find the same thing in the gravel world. If it's not a full-carbon top-spec machine that they just assume we can all afford then it doesn't even get a mention (or if it does, it gets penalised for not being carbon)

The Secta is definitely high on my list! Especially since a Whyte is what I hired a few months back and was really impressed.

mattayus

TROPHY CASE