CURTIS AM9

£5,200 (custom build), £1,450 (frame only) Can Curtis's handmade steel shredder live up to its heritage and price tag?

- Tom Law 

Curtis have been hand-building bikes here in the UK for over 50 years and offer a range of stunning-looking steel frames. The AM9 is the brand's heavy-hitting trail/enduro hardtail, designed to combine nimble handling with rowdy-terrain control.

THE FRAME

Rather than welding the AM9's tubes together, Gary and Brian from Curtis fillet-braze them. They claim the benefit of this method is that the tubes are airtight (apart from the seat tube), so won't rust from the inside out like welded steel frames, which require 'breathing' holes to avoid corrosion.

On this frame, the front triangle is made from Reynolds 853 steel (with a 631 seat tube), while Columbus and Dedacciai tubing is used for the chainstays and seatstays. Curtis cherry-pick the tubes based on the rider's weight, size and riding style T45 steel is sometimes used for the down and seat tubes for heavier riders.

They'll build the frame with any geometry figures you like at no extra cost, or you can choose from five stock sizes. Our standard large bike features a moderately slack 64.5-degree head angle, steepish 75.5-degree seat tube angle, 475mm reach, 440mm chainstays and a 460mm seat tube. Cable routing is external, except for the dropper cable, which enters the seat tube above the BB.

THE KIT