…BUT if we did they’d look something like this, The Chumba HX1.

We’re always being asked ‘when we will start making frames like The Vendetta and The Foia in alloy or steel.’ It’s not that we haven’t wanted to or even tried to, but finding a factory that can deliver quality in low numbers is very hard indeed. We know we’ve tried.

After spending most of 2011 on a 29er the idea of a 26″ alloy Foia/Brigante hybrid had been brewing again in my mind, so whilst on a recent internet intel gathering mission, I stumbled upon a little gem, the HX1 from Chumba.

The HX1 instantly stopped my mouse fingers clicking; the lines of the frame, the flow everything looked just right. Digging deeper into the specifications and geometry I realised this is almost exactly how a alloy Kingdom Bike long travel hardtail would look.

Cue sound of  penny dropping. I suddenly realised ‘Why bother making an alloy frame when there’s already a damn good one out there that I want to ride.’

So, I contacted Simon from Progressive bikes in the UK and found that not only did he have HX1′s in stock, but this frame is currently retailing for a ridiculously low price of £299.

So there it is, not only do we not make alloy frames, but we won’t be making any long travel alloy hardtail frames in the future, at least not while we can hoon about on the rather excellent Chumba HX1. We salute you Chumba…

Anyone interested in getting their hands on a long-travel hardtail and titanium is out of your price range, then I would recommend taking a look at Chumba’s HX1 and get your mouse finger over to the Progressive Bikes website asap.

More on Progressive Bikes and the HX1 click here.