I just got home from my first ride on my brand spankin' new Colony Hell Stallion and I am psyched on it! I bought the 21.25 version in black this morning from ForTheRiders in Browns Plains. I' had been looking for a new frame for a while and it had come down to a couple of options. In the end it was a toss up between a Hell Stallion and an S&M LTF. I picked the Colony for 2 reasons. Number one being that I think the warranty is a bit more reliable and two obviously being the price.
Geometry wise I think the frame is great. Within 10 minutes at the skatepark I was already feeling comfortable if not more comfortable than my old Superstar. I was a bit worried at first about the steep headtube angle but I think it feels better. Hops feel a bit more snappy and it really helps with spinning off the ground. 3 hops feel easier and I learnt 5 cabs which I thought I'd never be able to do. I also tried a few nosewheelies as apparently a steeper head angle makes them easier but the verdict is they still scare the shit out of me.
The next thing I was worried about was the low standover height. Theres been a fair bit of talk on the internet about frames with lowslung top tubes but that debate can be left for another time. Personally I think it looks sweet. It felt a bit weird at first because on some tricks you're used to feeling your leg push against the frame but I guess this is a good thing.
One of my main motivations for getting a new frame, and this sounds pretty OCD, is for better working brakes. The 990 mounts on my Superstar had a ridiculous amount of flex and it made my brakes feel disgusting. I was a bit concerned about the removable mounts and cable guides but I was overjoyed when I squeezed my lever for the first time. Almost no flex at all. Maybe the thread that the mounts screw into reinforce it a bit more but all I know is that it feels amazing. I know not many people that buy Liam's frame are going to be running brakes so I'm really stoked they work so well. One thing I didn't like about my old Superstar was that I feel like the brakes were overlooked and just thrown on as an option so as not to alienate some of the market. I guess this is why the Hell Stallion comes with removable brake mounts but at least in this case the brakes aren't just an afterthought.
Overall I couldn't be happier with it, the paint feels high quality, unlike my Superstar which started peeling basically straight away, and the graphics are fresh as. Finally a frame I'm not going to peel the stickers off straight away. My only gripe is that I miss running a good old seatpost clamp, but I guess thats what kids want in a frame these days so I can't blame Colony for that.
Overall I'm going to give it a 9 out of 10. If it had of had the option of a seatpost clamps and maybe inbuilt chain tensioners it would have been an easy 10 but I can't go giving out a 10 on my first review can I? Oh I forgot to mention the weight. Who cares?
-Mitch
1 comment:
do you still have this frame and if you do are you still riding it? im SOOO desperate for a hell stallion and i was wondering if you were intrested in selling it?
Post a Comment