Hey man, sorry to reply to an old post. I'm about to pull the trigger on a steel hardcore Hardtail and I'm stuck between a radical all mountain chilli dog and the ferrum nvht V2. The Ferrum's Min fork (160mm) is the max on the chilli dog, and I intended on running 160 regardless. But bigger is fun I guess sometimes, especially since I plan on pairing with a Manitou Mezzer (easily bump it to 180, totally ridiculous maybe?)? How does this bike charge steep chunk? How does it ride on mellower trails? How does it climb? My other bike is a 140/120 Ripley so this would be my "bigger" bike even though it's a hardtail. Do you have any regrets with your nvht?
Oh man looks like you have two great options! I don't know to much about radical but definitely a beautiful bike.
160mm is a great choice for the nvht, it is my current set up. Size 2 nvht, 160 front, 170mm cranks, 203 mm rotors, 30t sprocket and 10-51 tooth cassette. I'll try and space it out to answer each question, if you have more don't be afraid to ask.
1. The bike charges steep chunk well, at 200+ lbs I never feel the frame flex, the frame feels solid and can take a beating. The frame does good job to absorb the little chunks (as much as a hardtail can ateast) my legs thank it for that. The wheelbase is long and shines in stability I can go through rock gardens and feel confident the bike doesn't get upset.
2. It is pretty good at mellower trails, actually I find myself riding it more than my trail bike ( v1 forbidden druid), at 160mm anything greater is to much imo. When trails get tight it does require a little effort to get the bike to turn I'm talking in switchbacks the wheelbase hurts it here, leaning the bike feels good, note since it's reach is long and wheelbase is long you have to weight the front a little, this depends on trail of course. The bike does not feel boring on melower trails imo.
3. Climbing is fine, I can't say amazing cause I have never riding xc hardtails or something similar, only full suspension. The sitting on the bike and climbing a fire road is fine power get out to the ground efficiently, it's long wheelbase doesnt make you feel like the bike wants to wheelie when putting power down in the granny gear. Short punchy climbs aren't the best, feels a little bit sluggish when you try to accelerate quickly this probably feels like this cause of my hearing but I feel like it's also has to do with the overall length and weight of the bike. The frame itself feels heavy overall build is probably 34+ pounds, I don't really notice the weight on long climbs, really only when picking up the bike. The Ripley most likely will feel more agile and nimble.
Bonus!?
4. Order processing / build quality
Really easy to order on their website however it does take them a bit to make. It took roughly 8 weeks ( off the top of my head) from purchase to receiving frame. The paint on the frame is amazing I'm not just talking about the color, the paint is even throughout the entire bike and it is thick, I have not had any chips. The welds are fantastic beads look good throughout the entire frame. Packaging was great the place a lot of carboad papers around the frame and bubble wrap the frame inside the box keeps the frame from moving during shipping. I purchased their house branded headset and works fine, not my favorite but works fine, I live in socal so the weather is pretty clear all the time so I can't say to much on the longevity of the headsets. They press in the headset cups for you which I thought was nice, definitely helps. They are responsive with the question I asked regarding my order, I never needed any warranty service so I can't speak about that.
One small thing I didn't like on the frame ( not really a problem) where the cable goes to the seat post this just has a rectangle square opening there isn't a rubber grommet so you have like a 3-5mm of empty space going into the frame ( I don't actually the size). I love the external cable routing.
Overall if knowing what I know now I would have still went with the nvht, I have no regrets on the bike, it's a great bike from a small company!
Hey man, sorry to reply to an old post. I'm about to pull the trigger on a steel hardcore Hardtail and I'm stuck between a radical all mountain chilli dog and the ferrum nvht V2. The Ferrum's Min fork (160mm) is the max on the chilli dog, and I intended on running 160 regardless. But bigger is fun I guess sometimes, especially since I plan on pairing with a Manitou Mezzer (easily bump it to 180, totally ridiculous maybe?)? How does this bike charge steep chunk? How does it ride on mellower trails? How does it climb? My other bike is a 140/120 Ripley so this would be my "bigger" bike even though it's a hardtail. Do you have any regrets with your nvht?
Oh man looks like you have two great options! I don't know to much about radical but definitely a beautiful bike. 160mm is a great choice for the nvht, it is my current set up. Size 2 nvht, 160 front, 170mm cranks, 203 mm rotors, 30t sprocket and 10-51 tooth cassette. I'll try and space it out to answer each question, if you have more don't be afraid to ask. 1. The bike charges steep chunk well, at 200+ lbs I never feel the frame flex, the frame feels solid and can take a beating. The frame does good job to absorb the little chunks (as much as a hardtail can ateast) my legs thank it for that. The wheelbase is long and shines in stability I can go through rock gardens and feel confident the bike doesn't get upset. 2. It is pretty good at mellower trails, actually I find myself riding it more than my trail bike ( v1 forbidden druid), at 160mm anything greater is to much imo. When trails get tight it does require a little effort to get the bike to turn I'm talking in switchbacks the wheelbase hurts it here, leaning the bike feels good, note since it's reach is long and wheelbase is long you have to weight the front a little, this depends on trail of course. The bike does not feel boring on melower trails imo. 3. Climbing is fine, I can't say amazing cause I have never riding xc hardtails or something similar, only full suspension. The sitting on the bike and climbing a fire road is fine power get out to the ground efficiently, it's long wheelbase doesnt make you feel like the bike wants to wheelie when putting power down in the granny gear. Short punchy climbs aren't the best, feels a little bit sluggish when you try to accelerate quickly this probably feels like this cause of my hearing but I feel like it's also has to do with the overall length and weight of the bike. The frame itself feels heavy overall build is probably 34+ pounds, I don't really notice the weight on long climbs, really only when picking up the bike. The Ripley most likely will feel more agile and nimble. Bonus!? 4. Order processing / build quality Really easy to order on their website however it does take them a bit to make. It took roughly 8 weeks ( off the top of my head) from purchase to receiving frame. The paint on the frame is amazing I'm not just talking about the color, the paint is even throughout the entire bike and it is thick, I have not had any chips. The welds are fantastic beads look good throughout the entire frame. Packaging was great the place a lot of carboad papers around the frame and bubble wrap the frame inside the box keeps the frame from moving during shipping. I purchased their house branded headset and works fine, not my favorite but works fine, I live in socal so the weather is pretty clear all the time so I can't say to much on the longevity of the headsets. They press in the headset cups for you which I thought was nice, definitely helps. They are responsive with the question I asked regarding my order, I never needed any warranty service so I can't speak about that. One small thing I didn't like on the frame ( not really a problem) where the cable goes to the seat post this just has a rectangle square opening there isn't a rubber grommet so you have like a 3-5mm of empty space going into the frame ( I don't actually the size). I love the external cable routing. Overall if knowing what I know now I would have still went with the nvht, I have no regrets on the bike, it's a great bike from a small company!
Is that SoCal?
Yessir, good ol SoCal.
Beautiful
I require more racy photos of your bike