Steel Hardtails

Teased at this year’s Sea Otter Classic, the freshly updated Ritchey P-29er is a modern XC mountain bike that builds on the brand’s longstanding P-series history, and it looks perfect for tight and fast trail rides. Find the details here…

The Tall Tale is Sklar’s second production bike, designed around a Chromoly steel frame, 29 x 2.6″ tires, a 130-150mm travel fork, and geometry inspired by a decade of custom framebuilding. Find photos, specs, and ordering info on the Sklar Tall Tale here…

Designed to offer an engaging and spirited ride for folks venturing beyond gravel and onto trails, the UK-made RAW is Mason’s first dedicated flat-bar mountain bike. It has proven its capabilities at events like the Highland Trail and Dales Divide, and we were curious how it would handle multi-day bikepacking trips, trail riding, and everything in between. Find Miles’ long-term review of the Mason RAW after countless unloaded rides around the Pacific Northwest, a route-scouting trip to Idaho’s Sun Valley region, and a handful of close-to-home overnighters here…

The 2023 Marin Pine Mountain was just updated with fresh paint, improved geometry, new build kits for the year ahead, with completes starting at just $1,500. Find more details and photos here…

The 2023 Esker Japhy features tweaked geometry, a new frame color option, and two dialed build kits to choose from. Learn more about the latest version of the brand’s rowdy 29er here…

At first glance, the Pipedream Sirius S5 may seem like just another steel hardtail, but it marches to a different beat than any other bike we’ve tested to date. Logan finally tuned in to this bike’s unique frequency after several spins, and it ultimately became one of his all-time favorites. Find out why in this detailed long-term review…

After months of trail riding and bikepacking on his first British “hardcore hardtail,” Logan weighs in on a bike that’s been on his radar for a while, the Cotic SolarisMAX. Read more on that and find out what ultimately led him to buy it for keeps in this long-term review…

With the new Holt, Fairlight Cycles drops into the mountain bike game with a gorgeous bikepacking-friendly hardtail. Find photos and details on the UK brand’s latest steel frame below…

Released last summer, the Chromag Surface Voyager is a Canadian-made rowdy steel hardtail with several new tricks that make it look pretty appealing as a backcountry bikepacking rig. Miles has been testing one for nearly five months, from hot laps in BC to scouting new routes in the American Southwest. Read his in-depth review here…

Canada’s Panorama Cycles released their first hardtail mountain bike, the Taïga, last summer. With a Reynolds 725 steel frame, clearance for 29 x 2.8” tires, sliding dropouts, and lots of mounting options, we were interested to see how it stood up against other similar steel hardtails. After riding the Taïga for several months with both a 120mm travel fork and with Panorama’s own rigid carbon fork, Miles shares his full review here…

The all-new RAW from Mason Cycles is the brand’s first dedicated flat-bar mountain bike. Learn more about this UK-built trail hardtail with a number of bikepacking-friendly provisions here…

The new Chromag Surface Voyager is a completely redesigned version of the standard Surface. It’s positioned as an aggressive hardtail adventure bike and looks perfect for some rough and rowdy backcountry singletrack trips. Check out all the details here…