Have just demoed a niner, and (I think) decided against 29" wheels - so I'm on the point of ordering a Soul.
One thing though - I enjoyed the singlespeed Niner I tried, and I'm thinking singlespeed might be a nice option to have.
Are there any frames out there what are very Soul-like in weight and usage, but offer the option of gears or singlespeed?
There's the Pipedream, but they seem to be out of stock...
Decade Virsa, might be a bit heavier than a soul though
Nice frame that, hadn't come across it before.
Carbon 456... Fair bit lighter but very similiar in what it does, though with differences in how it does it. Ragging it around with the short fork in reminds me so much of my old Soul.
Some of P7s came with adjustable dropouts. Not sure if current version does
Current P7 is a lot heavier than the Soul, though.
Whyte 19 Trail - 631 rather than 853. Perhaps a bit heavier than a soul. Not sure whether you can get them frame only either.
Carbon 456 doesn't really do it for me, aesthetically...
Haven't loooked at Orange, must do so now.
Pretty sure the Whyte can't yet be had frame only.
Pace 104 xc - love mine, not swappable dropouts but slideable instead...
honourablegeorge - MemberCarbon 456 doesn't really do it for me, aesthetically...
Yeah, I think I failed the taste test on that. good bikes though
My Whyte 19 trail frame... medium.
I saw a cotic simple on ebay and in the description it said that it came with spare dropouts to run it geared! Same geometry as a soul i think....
...looks nice.
Whyte 19 looks pretty tidy, I get that.
I think those P7's and Pipedreams (and whatever else has those huge sliding dropouts), are all pretty heavy and not really much like a Soul, apart from the fact their steel and british. I think thats why lots of people recommend them, but in reality there not that similar.
@lamo - Yeah, have mailed Cotic to ask if the sliding dropout thingy from my roadrat would fit a Simple frame.
Meanwhile, I'm having a wobble about the blue loveliness that is the Genesis Alpitude. Too heavy, no singlespeed, too much bike, but look at it.....
@davidtaylforth - The Pipedream is pretty close to the Soul in intent, it's not a long travel bike - 100-130mm recommended (Soul is 100-140), both 853 steel, the Scion (Pipedream without the sliding drops) is . That said, I think the sliders add fairly significant weight, the Soul's probably the more elegant bike.
I might have a shiny new large green decade for sale soon
I've a Litespeed obed I'm selling.
That kona looks very slack at the front.
I have some chain tugs that have a gear hanger attached. No idea where i got them from but that could be another option. I suppose it depends how much faffing you want.
What about the transition trans am. takes longer forks can take gears or single speed and comes in bright green to boot.
Had looked at the TransAm - it's over six pounds, to the Soul's four and a bit. It's too much a hardcore bike for my purposes.
The decade versa is great and a fairly reasonable price too. Just one thing though if you do get one just wait for a few weeks as i have had two that have had to go back under warranty with split seat tubes, this they are addressing with a beefier tube for new models.
There is no alternative to a soul.
I'll prob get banned, but how about the Chumba HX2, if you are open to the idea of alu?
It has an EBB rather than slidey drop outs though. 105 off if you use the voucher code 'discount10' on our website.
Zzzzzz
Ye, i liked the look of the genesis frames but new if i got one i would always wonder if i should have got a soul....got a soul and its all i could want in a steel hardtail
I want to order something tomorrow, which probably rules out the Kinesis, then. No interest in the Chumba.
I keep coming back to the Soul.
Whyte 19. The bottom bracket is a little higher but the headangle is a little slacker which works well. I like both, the Whyte edges it for me with better behavior for gnar, and the swivel dropouts are brilliant, as is the cable routing. Six months back I wrote something comparing my Whyte with a bling Soda... worth a search.
what size you after?
Large, probably - but a frame only.
I think that's my problem with the medium Whyte I have for sale. At six foot I found the large too big when I tried it, but having bought the medium it was too small... such a shame. The soul is longer so the medium Soul worked for me... but I preferred the angles of the Whyte.
I'm 6'1", like a longish TT and shortish stem. What length stem on your Soul?
70mm on Soda and Whyte. But I'm now on a 50mm on an 18inch Mmmbop and loving it. Have you thought about a Blue Pig X? You might think 150mm is too much for a trail hardtail... but it is awesome (if you have the trails).
See, I have a Spicy for that kind of lark, so the Soul/whatever would be for less hectic stuff (although I'd thrash it now and then, to keep it on it's toes)
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