Sussex-MTB

Some of you may be surprised to hear it, but I have had the Hummer six months now. I’d kind of held off writing anything about it initially for two reasons, one – I wanted to get to know it properly, two – I wanted to make sure I’d got it how I wanted it. This has proved to take a little longer than I had originally anticipated!

So why the hummer? Well previously I had a Kona Hei Hei and a Cove Stiffee. I’d had the Kona since 1994 and it cost me a shedload back then! We’d done thousands of happy miles together, but when I bought the Cove Stiffee I realised there was more to life than ’90′s race geometry and 80mm travel forks.

Cove Stiffee

Kona Hei Hei

The Cove Stiffee was bought as a plaything really, but it changed the way I rode forever and there was no going back, I wanted the playfullness of the Stiffee and the comfort of the Hei hei. Enter the Hummer……..

Cove Hummer

My Kona had been built up really light, whereas the Stiffee had been built up quite burly. I wanted to go in between the two, dependable kit that wouldn’t hold me back, but reasonably light with it.

The bike in it’s current state weighs 27.5lb, some may say that is a tad heavy for a Ti hardtail, but at the end of the day I know I can ride it how I like and it’ll come back for more.

So what’s it like?

Well somewhat like my Kona when I first got it, it took some getting used to. Lighter and comfier than the Stiffee, but also slightly steeper angles which make it a bit more agile with it. So it took a bit of adjustment, but it was noticably quicker uphill and through singletrack, but slightly more nervous downhill. With the addition of the Pike up front with it’s bolt through axle you can happily plough through roots and obstacles without too much trouble.

The Verdict:

It was exactly what I was looking for and I’m very pleased with it, however it’s a lot of money to pay for a frame. The 2009 price hikes have put it up to £1595!! Is it worth that much? Well if you want a bulletproof singletrack muncher that should last you for ages then yes, but you could also get yourself a sweet full suspension frame for that sort of money.

Jimbo

I found myself questioning my own sanity when I recently rode a Marin Rocky Ridge hardtail, this bike was a lot of fun and yet the complete bike was less than my Hummer frame.

But I’ve always loved the ride qualities of Ti frames, so for me it was worth it, I’ve got the bike I want and it rides the way I want it to, hopefully it will last the 14 years that the trusty Hei Hei did…..

Jimbo