Description:Hand built right here in BC, each weld on the Handjob is perfect, finished with a paint job that will last forever. The Hand Job features high performance, sloping top tube geometry suited for riders who like to spice their XC riding with technical downwardness. It’s geometry and construction is so Shore proven, depending on how well you take care of yourself, this bike could outlive you. Using custom Columbus tubing, the Handjob incorporates the dynamic flex profile and strength of steel to work everything from lighting fast ridgelines to heart-thumping descents—at a price that leaves room for a lot more lovin’.
Submitted by
Radam77
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle Date Reviewed: October 31, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Tokul/Tolt
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At:
BTI
Strengths:
Geometry, looks, bottle oppener drop out,tube set, price because I work in the industry.
Weaknesses:
Decals, customer service at Cove is pretty retarded but they make great bikes so what ever.
Similar Products Used:
Stumpy hardtail.
Bike Setup:
Maverick Sc32 (soon to be a Magura Menja), Easton stem and bars, Maverick ft hub, King rr, XT cranks, XT brakes, Nevgal 2.1s, WTB rims, WTB saddle, Atac pedals
Bottom Line:
I wish I bought a steel hardtail earlier. This bike is an awsome XC trail/race slayer. People love to check it out. It has the perfect balance of flex and stiffness. The geometry is awsome and so far its lasted well. This is a true trail bike that can handle small drops and ruff stuff with ease. The two gentalmen that wrote bad reviews must be real hacks because I am 6'2" 220 and ride fairly hard. Yet to have any issues all though I do agree with the less then stellar customer service, they just have a bad attitude when you call and never answere email but they do help when you call. The guy who bough his off egay, come on dude! You bough a used bike and got burned. Cove did the right thing by offering you a crash replacment, what a cry baby!If your thinking about buying one then do it now.
Hey MTBR why is this in the freeride section?
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Submitted by
cannon 16
a Weekend Warrior
from northumberland uk Date Reviewed: May 11, 2008
Favorite Trail:
squamish BC
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$500.00
Purchased At:
chain reaction
Strengths:
light, comfy, strong, handles great
Weaknesses:
not the best paint job, cove stickers an aquired taste
Similar Products Used:
loads of quality hardtails and full suss
Bike Setup:
zocchi AM SL1. built for abuse
Bottom Line:
Wow. been on dualies for a while bar a few forays on Felt, Rocky M and Kona hardtails. Blown away by this one tho. So fast, briliant handling if you like stable carving bikes rather than squirally XC ones. Really comfy too, just seems to float over rocks. Super pumpable. Easy to build up. I use this as my winter/second bike but I absolutely love it. Seems like it will be nice and strong for hard trails, tho I've yet to drop it as If I'm gonna huck I'll take the dualy. The perfect hard trails hardtail. No need to go spending silly money on Ti which rides little better than steel for 4x the price. Well worth the price in the UK compared to some made in the far east stuff for which people have the nerve to charge more than this little beauty. Cotic. cough.
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Submitted by
Andre
a
from Gainseville, FL Date Reviewed: March 20, 2008
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$500.00
Strengths:
-indestructible frame -solid powdercoated paint job -very light for a cromoly -no flexing, absorbs impacts extremely well -cornering and acceleration -rock solid welds
Weaknesses:
-non-replaceable derailleur hanger -cheap stickers on frame -question of long term warranty support (not that i've needed it) -is it a 2006? hell knows, it was sold to me as an 06, but doesn't quite resemble the 06 on the web site
Similar Products Used:
old bontrager OR frame
Bottom Line:
i have abused this frame constantly for two years. i'm a rather heavy (200#) rider and have used it on anything from basic single track XC to very technical AM trails. it's been over water crossings, snow, mud, and sand. there is no rust, the welds are intact, the powdercoat barely shows a scratch dspite being bounced off of trees and rocks. this bike handles and feels so good, i've refused to buy a soft tail and rahter have been rebuilding the component group around it--since it refuses to break despite being trashed on 30-50 miles of trails a week.
about the only gripes are the lack of a replaceable derailleur hanger (i've sheared one rear derailler off on a rock, and it hasn't broken, but i dread what will happen if it does... SS anyone?), the cheap stickers (i've taken them off), and whether cove may be around to honor the warranty in the years to come. but honestly this frame is as good as my old bontrager OR frame and spoiled most of the other cromoly hard tails for me.
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Submitted by
Stuart Faulkner
a Weekend Warrior
from Notts Date Reviewed: October 8, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Black Combe
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$1000.00
Purchased At:
ebay (complete bike)
Strengths:
This steel frame is strong, unfussy and looks great
Weaknesses:
mainly lack of skill on my part!
Similar Products Used:
Trek 7000
Bike Setup:
White frame + black logos, rockshox 100mm recons, deore groupset, lx hydro brakes, fire XC pro tyres, easton ea70 bar, thomson stem
Bottom Line:
For a simple do anything, go anywhere bike, this would a great starting place. If you want a uncomplicated hardtail that will put a smile on your face then I can't recommend this enough. It goes up better then my old Trek, then as you point it down it feels alive and just wants to go down even faster. It just loves shredding forest single track and handles anything I've thrown at it.
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Submitted by
pete simon
a Cross Country Rider
from alaska Date Reviewed: May 22, 2007
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$400.00
Strengths:
Awesome XC hardtail
Weaknesses:
None at all
Similar Products Used:
Rocky Blizzard - sweet too but too expensive
Bike Setup:
Fox Talas wound down to 125mm, Race Face bits, Easton, Intense tyres
Bottom Line:
Sweet XC hardtail. New 07 version is pretty burly and totally nails the descents. Also a suprisingly agile climber - have done 4 to 5 foot drops on the new 07 version - rode the 05 for a couple of years but wanted more travel up front. The Handjob is a sweet bike - for the money I can't imagine anything else will come close
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Submitted by
john d
a Cross Country Rider
from Delta bc Date Reviewed: March 4, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$400.00
Strengths:
Sweet do anything hardtail rig
Weaknesses:
none - handles 4 foot drops, 12 foot doubles which is about my limit as an XC jey boy!
Similar Products Used:
Kona
Bike Setup:
Rock Shox forks, Race Face cranks and bars, SRAM gears, Hope (GB) brakes
Bottom Line:
Impressive steel ride for the money. Devours the downhills and is easy to whip around the singletrack. Jumps and handles drops comfortably, at 210lbs it's important to have confidence in your rig and I have every confidence in the Handjob. Climbs impressively too considering I've got a 130mm travel fork on the front. Perfect all-mountain thrasher at the weekends but probably a good XC race bike too.
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Submitted by
John Rokosky
a Cross Country Rider
from Du Bois, PA USA Date Reviewed: June 4, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$225.00
Purchased At:
E-Bay
Strengths:
Smooth ride of steel, clearance for wide tires.
Weaknesses:
Decals peeling off,IT BROKE !
Similar Products Used:
GT HT,Cannondale HT,Surly SS,Jamis Dakar FS,On One HT.
This was a 2003 frame bought used on e-bay.After riding for only 2 months the frame broke at top & down tubes about 4" back from head tube. To be honest it was a 2yr old frame that I do not know how it was built or ridden before i got it.I rode rough XC,no big drops.I'm 6'3" 180# and used a 105mm fork. I e-mailed Brian from Cove bikes who replied promptly.He said that I was not the original owner so they would only sell me one at a reduced price. Bottom line,this frame is NOT indestructable and warrant is not what it used to be.
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Submitted by
John Paul Turnbull
a Cross Country Rider
from Maulds Meaburn, Cumbria. UK Date Reviewed: April 24, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Castle Craggs
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$314.00
Purchased At:
Bonthrone Cycles
Strengths:
Superb position and ride, comfortable when the terrain is rougth. Steel - lets face it alluminium is crap.
Weaknesses:
possibly weight at 4.25 lbs but you won't notice in the ride.
Similar Products Used:
Rock Lobster (UK - Taiwanese version) very poor build quality when compared to others. Merlin R8 Reynolds 853 - fantastic bike from about 98, lovely understated frame. rare and recently stolen. If you see one let me know (Kona P2, lx, xt, riser bars).
Bike Setup:
Full XT disc groupset, Use seatpost, WTB saddle, Easton Bars, V8 pedals, Kona P2 forks, DT 4.1 wheels.
Bottom Line:
I was waiting for the charge bikes reynolds 853 frame and it just kept getting put back due to production problems, redesign and now possible a different type of steel.
Whe looking for an alternative I wanted an 853 frame but I saw the Handjob and it looked great. The ride is a revelation to me it really handles the tough conditions well. It is fun.
Thank god the Charge bike never came because this has exceeded all of my expectations I love the Cove ride.
I got this in the sale for £314 the new retail price is £369 but looking at the opposition at the higher price point and it is still a bargain. Hopefully I will still be riding this in 20 years - that is the beauty of a quality steel frame.
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Submitted by
Pimp Master of the Jazz
a Weekend Warrior
from London, UK Date Reviewed: March 20, 2006
Favorite Trail:
The Wall, Murcia Region, Spain
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$550.00
Purchased At:
Silverfish
Strengths:
Relaxed geometry for descending and playriding goodness. Reasonable weight and steel feel for all-day riding and enduro goodness. Low standover and high bottom bracket for singletrack carving goodness.
Weaknesses:
The front end can get very light when climbing, but it's a price you pay for more relaxed geometry. The graphics aren't the bext in the world.
Fox Vanillas (100mm), Easton EA50/70 front end (90mm stem), SDG Bel-Air Ti on USE Alien, XT kit inc. HTII, Hope Minis on Hope hubs, Mavic X617s and a tyre choice ranging from Bontie Revolt SS's to 2.35 Maxxis High Roller STs through 2.3 Conti Verticals.
Bottom Line:
Steel is real my friend, and the Handjob is steel.
The frame may not be completely made of Italy's finest CroMo, but it's a good, comfortable ride with the flex that makes steel the choice of champions. I chose this bike over the ground-breaking Stiffee because of this – the Stiffee was just too, well, stiff.
Construction appears to be fine – good, clean welds and details that matter in the rather damp UK such as forward facing seat-clamp and lots of clearance for big tyres and the ever-present mud. It's also the '05 model so there's no brake bosses which makes for clean lines.
I've ridden this bike over 24hr events, a 2-day trans-Wales offroad adventure (carrying everything needed for a bivi out), the Dusk 'til Dawn 12 hour enduro and down singletrack on some very, very big hills in Spain where we've all padded up at the top. It's been hammered through rocky singletrack where everyone else is on 6"+ sussers and through the snakiest, loamy flat singletrack that Thetford forest can throw at you and it's dealt with it all marvellously. It's a classic adaptable hardtail, reminding me quite why I ride bikes – the kind of thing that should feature in a photoshoot in Bike magazine with some Canadian peaks in the background while the sun is on its way down and the credits have started to roll.
I would never describe this bike as a 'freeride hardtail' as it isn't (but it's no twitchy-ass-in-air XC whippet either), but it is a tough bike that will take everything a half decent rider will throw at it and come out smiling. It makes me want to ride, which in my mind is the biggest compliment I can give it.
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Submitted by
Sam Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Knoxville, TN Date Reviewed: June 25, 2005
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$349.00
Purchased At:
Deep Cove
Strengths:
For a free ride hardtail, I think the slack geometry, long top tube, and ample bottom braket height would probably make this bike the bomb. Build quality is reasonable for the price paid. The bike is very stable and descends well.
Weaknesses:
Personal preference - I like a bike that handles a little quicker. To that end the "XC" moniker in the name seems misplaced. Cable routing is best for disk - you do need inserts for rim brakes. I used 5mm housing for both the brakes and derailleurs; just about any shop should have inserts available. Ditto for the Soma and a Interloc steel hardtail I built for a friend. No clearcoat, but that makes it easier to take the "Handjob" decals off. Finish has held up fine.
Similar Products Used:
Soma, Cannondale, and Fisher Hardtails
Bike Setup:
Duke XC 100mm, 90mm stem, Shimano drivetrain, and Avid brakes.
Bottom Line:
Not such a great bike for tight, twisty singletrack but I can't really knock off points for that. Probably makes a great Urban Assualt or Freeride bike it that's your thing. It's not perfect, but you get what you pay for. For what it's worth, my frame arrived damaged. Packing consisted of tossing the bike in a box. Cove was, however, quick to send out a replacement and even called several weeks later to see how I liked the bike.
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Submitted by
CulBaire
a Weekend Warrior
from Victoria, Australia Date Reviewed: April 25, 2004
Favorite Trail:
YouYangs, Stockyards
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$950.00
Purchased At:
adam@southshorebikes.com
Strengths:
-Steel Tubing: it really is real, the frame looks like it'll last a while.
-Geometery: Very simular to my current bike, I wanted something simular as I am well comfortable my old bike.
-Made in Canada: Where all real bikes come from.
-Support: I haven't had any troubles with CoveBikes or SouthShore Distribution, regarding questions etc...
-Frame: looks light and tight, well made dispite a few minor blemishes.
Weaknesses:
-No Clear coat: You expect it to have some form of protective coating, especially since it's steel. Atleast I can get new stickers when I want :-)
Similar Products Used:
GT (Pantera, Zaskar), Diamond Back (Zetec), Avanti (Montari, Hammer, and Aggressor), Giant (XTC, and AC).
It's not perfect, but you cant complain for the price. It seems judging by what others have said in the other (2003) reviews, COVE really needs to step up their Quality Control program.
Underneath all the QC critisism is a very capable bike, it's light weight and strong, with a pretty good finish dispite the lack of ClearCoat. The welds look well done, and the design of the frame looks well though out. It rides nice too, fits like a glove.
If your after bang for your buck, this is a good place to look in my opinion.
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Submitted by
Karl T
a Cross Country Rider
from West Des Moines, IA Date Reviewed: December 4, 2003
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$370.00
Purchased At:
JensonUSA.com
Strengths:
Made in North America (Canada)
Weaknesses:
Finish, cable-stops
Similar Products Used:
Bianchi Kingbee, Specialized Dirtjumper
Bike Setup:
WTB, Kore, Truvative, Aheadset, etc
Bottom Line:
Well, I have yet to hit the ground on this bike just yet. Problem started before I purchased- 2 emails to Cove went unanswered. (shoulda been a clue). Ordered & received from Jenson- when frame arrived I noticed was NO clear-coat on finish. To me a steel frame should be to help with rust and to protect finish and decals. Next thing I noticed is final rear disc-brake cable-stop was bent. Can tell by lack of cracks that it was that way prior to painting. I don't run discs, so I didn't worry about it. When I attempted to install headset the build-up of paint was so heavy I had a bear of a time installing cups. (didn't want to void warranty filing edges) Seat-tube was also built-up. Then when I went to run brake cables the center set of top-tube cable stobs are too wide to hold cable. So I sent Cove an email asking if there should be inserts; No reply. I sent another email; No reply. I sent another email; Finally an answer. (said they were moving and couln't repsond to email. apparently no employees have a PC at home...) Told me they would send-out inserts 'right away'. 10 days later no stops so I send another email. I get a ONE WORD reply 'Sent'. Well that I night I get a notification that they had just been sent-out by UPS, which means they were not sent out 'right away' nor when I was told 'Sent'. Sent email to Cove & Jenson that I was happy and did not want frame. Cove offered to refund, but also sarcastic message that I should have 'researched' this prior to purchase..... HOW was I suppossed to know the stops would not fit properly? And HOW does that excuse Cove NOT reply to email and NOT sending parts when they said they would. I replied. Received another sarcastic message that "Disk Brakes are the Standard these days... That is the end of that.." Really. So essentially take my Avid 7's and eat dirt? Customer service has been horrible. Thinking I'll go Kona.
$ 369.00
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