Review - January 31, 2019

Pipedream Moxie Hardtail Review

The Pipedream Moxie first came on our radar at Eurobike last year: in a sea of hydroformed and homogenised full suspension frames, the bright pink, steel hardtail, stood out like Sid Vicious at Buckingham Palace.

This bike is part of a group test: The best hardcore hardtail you can buy – 7 bikes in review

Pipedream design their own tubing for the Moxie, custom butting the heat-treated 4130 chromoly so that they can produce a super tough, long frame with no external gussets. The results are stunning and the long and low Pipedream looks fantastic with its clean and flowing lines. Designed in Scotland, production has been moved to Taiwan to keep costs down and meet customer demand. The Moxie’s finish remains excellent and the frames are fully treated against corrosion before spraying so the steel won’t rust.

The boost 148 mm stays feature the neatest CNC machined chainstay yoke in the test: it adds strength and allows plenty of room for the 27.5 x 2.8 Maxxis Minions. The Moxie will also run 29 x 2.4 as long as the external rim width is no wider than 28 mm. With 29 x 2.5 on 30 mm +/- internal rims becoming increasingly popular, Pipedreams may have to rethink this going forward. The Sliding, replaceable dropouts provide +16 mm of adjustment from an unbelievably short 415 mm to a very short 431 mm. Cable routing is kept simple and all external and under the top tube, there is the option of an internal dropper and this set up works just fine.

Geometry of the Pipedream Moxie

Size	Long	Longer
Seat tube	420 mm	420 mm
Top tube	624 mm	664 mm
Head tube	95 mm	95 mm
Head angle	65.5°	65.5°
Seat angle	76.5°	76.5°
Chainstay	415+ mm	415+ mm
BB Drop	60 mm	60 mm
Wheelbase	1199 mm	1239 mm
Reach	470 mm	510 mm
Stack	641 mm	641 mm

Riding the Pipedream Moxie

The Pipedream Moxie makes you want to ride full gas, ripping chunks out of every trail. With 160 mm travel fork, 2.8s and a nice amount of vertical compliance from the skinny stays, the wheels glue themselves to the ground allowing you to confidently plough through almost anything. This traction, plus the steepest seat angle on test at 76.5˚, also gives the Moxie a climbing ability well above it’s pay grade; the steeper and more technical the climb, the better the Moxie seems to perform.

The adjustable stays work best in the longest setting as 415 mm option is far too rear biased and the bike feels unbalanced. With the stays at 431 mm, the riding position still favours the rear wheel and – with the 510 mm reach – you need to physically get over the front to get the most out the Moxi’s cornering abilities. The Moxie shines on the really steep stuff; with the rider weight forward the Moxie is super composed with seemingly unlimited traction. However, the downside to the Moxie’s geometry is that it’s a tricky customer to manual – a trait that should be a given for a hardcore hardtail – testing even our seasoned tricksters who had to roughly manhandle the Moxie into showing its hooves.

Conclusion

The Pipedream Moxie is a beautiful bruiser of a bike but it’s not particularly playful in character. For aggressive riders who want a hardtail to winch and plummet enduro style trails the Pipedream Moxie is a great bike: the attention to detail is fantastic, it climbs like an eMTB and descends like a runaway steam train.

Price: £629 frame only

Strengths

Sticks to the ground like an angry limpet
Clever custom tubing results in clean lines
Superb climber

Weaknesses

Short or shorter chainstay options means rider weight isn’t centrally balanced
29er wheel option is limited to 2.4 on 28 mm rims.

For more info head to: pipedreamcycles.com

All bikes in test

Back to ENDURO Mountainbike Magazine