A list of Progressive Hardtails in 2023

Over time mountain bikes have changed dramatically in how the different angles of the frame come together. These angles together create the “geometry” of a bike, and have a major impact on how the bike handles on different types of trail. In general, the MTB trend has been for more “slack”, or “progressive” geometry over the past few years. That means shallower head tube angles and steeper seat tube angles. While most full suspension mountain bikes have gone this direction, many hard tails have not. This is sometimes intentional to make XC race bikes that are easier to ride long distances on different trails (e.g. BMC Twostroke, Ibis DV9, Giant Advanced, Scott Sparc), but if you really want to get into riding features and fast downhills, slacker will probably suit you more.

This list is of bikes that we feel most riders wanting to hit actual MTB trails will find preferable. The shallower head tube angle puts the suspension fork in a better position to absorb hits and lengthens the wheelbase adding stability for downhill sections. The seat tube angle puts your weight more over the wheels while you are in your saddle and pedaling uphill.

The Slack Hardtail List

Our criteria to make the Progressive Hardtail list:

• 66.5 degree or less head tube angle
• 73 degree or more seat tube angle
• Front suspension
• Full bikes only (no bare frames)

Maker	Model	Standout feature	HTA	STA	WB	Starting Price	Price Range
Marin	San Quentin	Stocked across dealer network	64	75	1203	$999	$999-$1999
Marin	El Roy	Old school steel frame with super slack geo	63	78	1252	$2399	$2399
Marin	Pine Mountain	Steel frame especially for bikepacking	66	75	1177	$1500	$1500-$2400
Specialized	Fuse		66	74	1162	$1500	$1500-$3000
Nukeproof	Scout	Long time leader in hardcore hardtail	64.5	~73	1183	$1600	$1600-$3800
Trek	Roscoe		65	~74	1181	$1200	$1200-$2800
Trek	Marlin Gen 3	Entry level is now more progressive	65.5	73.4	1163	$900	$900-$1300
Canyon	Stoic	Direct-to-consumer value brand	65	75	1193	$1200	$1200-$2200
Kona	Honzo ESD	Steel frame hardcore hardtail	63	77.5	1216	$3100	$3100
Kona	Honzo DL	Long travel hardcore hardtail	65.5	76.5	1185	$2700	$2700
Kona	Honzo	Less extreme Honzo	66.5	75	1176	$1900	$1900
Rocky Mountain	Growler		64	75	1210	$1400	$1400-$2200
Voodoo	Bizango, Bizango Pro, Horde, Braag, Wazoo, Soukri	Range of levels on same frame	66.5	74.5	1172	$748	$748–-$1258
Devinci	Kobain		65.5	75	1191	$1629	$1629-$1929
Santa Cruz	Chameleon		65	74	1184	$2099	$2099-$2999
Commencal	Commencal Meta HT		64	74.5	1202	$1650	$1650–$4200
Norco	Norco Torrent		64	~76	1199	$1900	$900-$3800
Giant	Giant Fathom	27.5 only	66	75	1174	$1500	$1500–$1850
Liv	Liv Lurra	Women’s progressive hardtail	66	76	1159	$1500	$1500–$1850
Orbea	Orbea Laufey		65.5	75	1174	$2000	$2000-$3000
Salsa	Salsa Timberjack	Changeable dropout means the chain stay and wheelbase can be lengthened	66	75	1164	$2099	$2099-$2899
GT	GT Zaskar LT	Classic old school model with modern geo	66	75	1205	$1725	$1725–$2025
Ibis	DV9	Short wheelbase	66.5	75	1145	$3500	$3500-$8700
Motobecane	Motobecane Fantom29	Online value brand from Bikesdirect.com	66	73	1166	$499	$499–$1999
Sage	Powerline	Handbuilt titanium	66	~73	1173	$6051	$6051
Sage	Flow	Titanium hardcore ht	64	76	1222	$5331	$5331
Radon	Cragger		65	74	1186	€1176	€1176-€1589
Sonder	Signal	Aluminum and Titanium version	66	74	1149	$1700	$1700-$5850
Giordano	Intrepid	Walmart value	66	74	1180	$650	$650
Ghost	Nirvana Trail Universal		66	74.6	1177	€1,999	€1,999
Chromag	Rootdown	Steel or titanium frame	64	76	1202	$3277	$3277 – $7093
Bird	Zero29		64	74	1201	£2,484	£2,484
Bird	Zero AM	27.5 long travel and hard core. Geometry data not published.	64			£1,937	£1,937
Ragley	Blue Pig	steel frame, 27.5	63.75	74	1194	£2200	£2200-£2500
Ragley	Marley	27.5	65.5	73	1186	£1400	£1400-£1600
Ragley	Mmmbop	27.5 long travel	63.75	74	1192	£1600	£1600-£2000
Ragley	Big Wig	29er long travel	64.5	74	1197	£2200	£2200-£2500
Ragley	Big Al	29er Marley	65.5	74	1197	£1400	£1400-£1600
Ragley	Piglet	27.5, 130mm travel	65.5	73	1163	£2200	£2200
NS Bikes	Eccentric	Steel and Aluminum options	66.5	~73	1157	€1350	€1350-€2600
Orange	Crush		64.5	75.5	1229	$2300	$2300-$3200
Orange	P7	Steel Crush	65	74	1230	$3400	$3400
Guerilla Gravity	Pedalhead	Steel frame	65	74	1218	$3000	$3000-$4800
Jamis	Dragon	Steel frame	65	76	1220	$2500	$2500
Jamis	Komodo		65	76	1219	$2000	$2000
Lynskey	Live Wire	Titanium frame	66.5	74	1185	$4980	$4980-$5250
Knolly	Tyaughton	Titanium or steel frames	64.5	75	1221	$3000	$3000-$6200
Production Privée	Shan	Steel frames, short wheelbase	65.5	74.5	1144	€2462	€2.462-€4575
RSD	Middle Child	Aluminum, steel or titanium frames	64.5	74	1205	$2650	$2650-$4400
RSD	Sergeant		65.5	74	1219	$2250	$2250
RSD	RS-291	Hardcore HT in titanium or steel	63.5	75.3	1240	$3050	$3050–$5250
Qayron	Spyro	Aluminum and steel framed Czech bikes	66	73	1187	€1150	€1150-€2100
Neuhaus Metal Works	Hummingbird	Handbuilt in steel	66.5	74.1	1146	$5040	$5040+++
Neuhaus Metal Works	Solstice 29	Handbuilt in steel	65	75.5	1198	$5030	$5030+++
On-One	Scandal		65	74	1185	$1490	$1490-$2450
On-One	Wrekker / Hello Dave	Titanium-or-steel hardcore	62	77	1295	$1376	$1376-$4074
Pace	RC627	Steel 27.5	64	75.5	1225	£3200	£3200-£4240
Ribble	HT Trail		65	74	1195	£999	£999-£1999
Ribble	HT AL, Ti, 725 (steel)	27.5 trail bike	64	74	1187	£1,299	£1,299-£2,199
Crossworx	ZERO290	Up to XXL size	64	75.5	1225	€3490	€3.490
Prevelo	Zulu (14-26″ kids bikes)		66	74		$469	$469-$1100
Stif	Squatch	Radical geo house brand	64	78	1208	£2,100	£2,100-£3700
Saracen	Mantra		64	75	1201	£1,899	£1,899-£3,399
Poseidon	Norton	Affordable hardtail with a thru axle	65	75	1189	$999	$999
Norco	Fluid HT	Rare bike that has HT and FS versions of the same model	66.5	74.5	1166	$1100	$1100-$1600

• Notes:
  • Actual (without sag) measurements where possible
  • Price is MSRP in all cases except where bike is always “discounted” (e.g. Motobecane)

If you know of others or have experience to share on one of these, post in the comments.