I haven’t got unlimited cash like some people on here seem to have, I do cycling on a budget and I run things until they give up but I don’t mind shelling out for quality that will last. At the moment my hardtail is a diamondback apex which is very capable & I’ve had it all over this fair nation. Over time I’ve managed to upgrade the components, got some arch ex wheels and most of the chain set is XT, just the frame to upgrade and the forks left really.
If buying a frame I’d much rather buy new, you know you’re getting quality then and with a warranty. I’d really like a soul but at 500 quid it’s a bit restrictive and the inbred at 140 is very tempting, you get what you pay for I reckon and will the inbred break or bend or just generally disappoint? Another thing to consider is that if I do nd up buying a soul I will need a new set of forks as it’s tapered whereas the inbred is still being made to accept a straight steerer.

I had that dilemma and just bought my second 26 Inbred for pennies. 120 Reba too which is well capable of you’re skilled enough, using it as a hardcore hardtail is strong work.Watch out sticking 140 on it though. If that’s your intention, save for the Soul.

Just a frame swap for me and the build weighs 25lb.

You can always get a soul and do a swap in the future.

How about a second hand mk2 Soul frame as they are non tapered and still a great frame?

I went through a load of HT frames and have finally settled on exactly that.

Nice bike and rides well, although I don’t ride mine too much.

I had a Piglet which was probably similar to an Inbred. It felt good downhill but was a bit ‘dead’ through singletrack.

All down to the individual tbh but I doubt you’d be unhappy with a Soul.

You can fit the straight steerer forks to the soul, just need the right headset. I have a soul, really like it, but I’d question whether it is 360 quid better than an inbred.

I haven’t got unlimited cash like some people on here seem to have

Try spending less on chips to balance on your shoulders 😛

Second hand Soul.

The Inbred is good value for money and you won’t break/bend it…its built tough and will be a fair bit heavier than the Soul. You’ll more than likely enjoy riding the Inbred if you went with that but overtime you get that niggle as ‘Wonder if I should have gone with the Soul?’ Sounds like you like long term commitment with your bikes rather than a serial swapper…treat yourself, it sounds like you be living with the frame you get for years, you only live once etc etc get the Soul 😀

Another thing to consider is that if I do nd up buying a soul I will need a new set of forks as it’s tapered whereas the inbred is still being made to accept a straight steerer.

Nah you won’t need new forks, just a headset that suitable for 1 1/8th steerers. Hell, for ‘future proofing’ in case you end up with tapered forks, you can get a tapered headeset for the Soul and pop a hope hs136 on to your existing forks to convert them to 1.5″

What about another option? If you plan on doing the forks too it could be the perfect time to move up to 27.5 wheels.

http://shop.18bikes.co.uk/m5b2s586p2326/GENESIS-Latitude-Frame-2015/RS_GB/10697

Run it with the kit you have for the time being and then you could easily be 2/3 of the way to 27.5 for the cost of a soul frame.

Ever thought that the some people on here who seem to have unlimited amounts of cash work hard and save up for the best quality kit they can afford?
Maybe you should do that too and go for the soul. You did say you wanted quality

What don’t you like about your current frame?

My middle of the road East of thinking thinks there must be an option between the price points.

My final thought is face for a Soul as I’m not convinced the Inbred is an up grade

I was in a similar situation and bought a 456 when I really wanted a Soul. Never settled on the 456 and became even more unsettled after a test ride on a Soul so when I was offered one at a good price I jumped. Well worth it! So my advice would be to look for a second hand Soul which do crop up regularly in the classifieds, but it won’t be mine, it’s a keeper.

[vote for what you own]

I’d recommend an Inbred. Don’t for one minute think it’s a bad frame; it’s made of a lower budget steel, it’s a touch heavier and the paint is often a bit wayward, but it’s certainly not a poor product. The geometry is great for trail riding. You’ll never break it, and you can spend the remaining £360 on a new hat. You’ll get one hell of a hat for £360.

[/vote for what you own]

That said, if you’re looking to save a few quid, you could always take your gears off…

Always stick to your gut feeling on these matters.
I was in the same situation 2 years ago, I had an old Marin Bear valley which I’d owned from new bought in 2001. Upgraded it over the years. But it got to the point where it needed new wheels as the breaking surfaces had become worn so the breaks where all but useless.
I went for the cheapest route and bought a 2nd hand inbred frame and a wheel set from people off stw.
I love the inbred, my only gripe is the weight of it.
I would have just had a disc brake tab welded on the Marin had that worked out cheaper. I’m a real tight arse 😀
I’m thinking the next time I change the frame, I’d like to make it myself!

I have an Inbred 26er set up SS and rigid. I love it.

I have a Soul 26er set up 1×10 with 140mm. I love it.

The Soul is lovely but if I was short of cash I would be very happy with a well specced Inbred as my only bike.

I hope that helps. It probably doesn’t though.

Comprise on a BFe perhaps?

Cheaper than the Soul, same geo, weighs about the same as the inbred (I’m assuming this btw).

Bit of an insulting first sentence for someone asking advice…

Do as a lot of us do and buy a 2nd hand frame. It’s a steel hard tail so you have a lot less worries IMO than other frame materials and full sussers.

If it breaks it’s cheap and easy to fix. It’s unlikely it will though.

Personally I would rather the carbon 456 over the Inbred. Priced in between the two but a lot comfier and lighter. Also better choice of dropper posts due to 31.6 seat tube. Older souls, like inbreds, have 27.2mm.

Well there are multiple ways of “financing” your hobby, some people are prepared to get a new bike every year selling their “old” on on and taking the hit of a loss in value over the 12 months. Others prefer to keep their bike for a while. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. But in general you are right – it’s not a cheap pastime.

Unless you go to the *really* cheap end of the market you are unlikely to get a truly bad frame these days but also consider that if the geometry is wrong for you then even an expensive frame isn’t going to feel right. There’s lots of questions that only you can really answer, in your case price is obviously one of the main ones, but are you intending to stick with 26″ wheels or do you intend to try 650b or even 29ers?; what type of riding do you do?; Is weight more important than strength? How long are you prepared to wait to get a new frame?

As others have said, if you went for the Inbred, you might keep having that doubt of “should I have gone for the Soul” nagging away at you, then again, the Inbred might be all you need.

You haven’t said how much (if any) cash you can put aside each week or month. I’d be inclined to hold off any purchase for now and run your existing setup over the winter and save up as much cash as you can. If possible try and ride both bikes – if anyone has a demo bike then it could well be worth dropping a bit of cash to hire those for a day – (maybe a bit on the expensive side for a £140 frame though).

A bit rambling, sorry, but if you are looking as spending a substantial proportion of your disposable income then you are right to consider all the options and take your time.

I’ve always prefered the geometry on inbreds, I could never quite get my soul right. I still ride an inbred.

If it were me I’d get a 2nd hand inbred frame (main thing to look for is chain-suck marks), and spend the extra on some nice wheels. You’ll feel the benefit of light wheels more the you’ll feel the difference between the two frames.

If you aren’t in a hurry then keep a lookout for 853 inbreds. These are a bit lighter than the standard frames.

Haven’t ridden either but here’s my ha’pennyworth any way 🙂

When I came back to mountain biking about 5 years ago I wanted a Swift but bought a Rockhopper because it was cheaper. The Rockhopper was a good bike but I still wanted a Swift. Fast forward to 4 months later, test rode a Swift, put a deposit down when I finished the ride and sold my Rockhopper for a loss.

So my advice is follow your heart, save you pennies and buy the bike that you really want. Doesn’t matter which one people here think is ‘better’ you won’t be happy with a compromise.

I wanted a Soul but the £500 was a lot. But then I bought an ex demo frame from cotic for £300. A used mk2 Soul will be about £200 so I would go for that or a Genesis Altitude/Latitude. If you stick with 26 there should be loads of bargains around.

I bought the inbred, all be in in 26″ form then in 29″ form and they’re excellent frames.

Neither!

PP Shan or Slackline 631. There are some deals on at the moment.

After crashing and bending my Rock Lobster 853, i got an inbred. It is a decent frame, but fairly heavy and the geometry is a bit old. I find the BB height my main gripe. It’s tough though and fun, and excellent value.

I’ve found that I miss many things about a quality steel frame – the inbred is not very lively or zingy like 853. So you may go for the cheaper option but end up still hankering for the Soul. One advantage though, is that you don’t have to be so precious with a cheap inbred, as it takes the knocks and it doesn’t matter.

Don’t rule out other options in alu or carbon though, plenty of other good, cheap rides to be had (er, so to speak).

They both do the same job but not really in the same way- the Inbred’s a pretty solid bike, lots of steel in it so it’s really not got much of that “steel feel” which people get excited about. Bit of a lump. So if that’s what you’re looking for from the frame, it’s maybe not ideal. But if you just want a decent performing allrounder, it’ll do the job, really well for the money

I’d buy a used Soul if I was you, since you don’t need the tapered steerer. As long as you keep the fork under 130mm you can use even older versions, which are much cheaper. I loved my Soul, it took me ages to find anything to match it.

Inbred is a great frame imo. I’d get that, forget about all the ‘what-ifs’, and just ride it. Having a bit of spare cash leftover could be useful to keep you riding if/when stuff needs replacing anyway

YGM

I’ve got a couple of mates that have/had Inbreds. The shorter of the two loves his. He’s had it SS (Great), 3×9 (Didn’t like, made the bike too heavy) and finally with an Alfine hub (Likes it). He’s about to go back to SS as he’s going to get a Parkwood for trail duties. The other, who’s a tall lad, liked his but has just sold it as the headtube is stupidly short on the big frames meaning he had to use loads of spacers to get a comfortable position. Consider this if you are tall.

Personally I would not get a new frame with 1 1/8th headtube if I planned to keep it a while as the frame will out last your forks and decent new 1 1/8th forks are getting harder to find.

You would be nuts to spend £500 on a new frame for 26″.

Steel frames are one of the safest things to buy secondhand anyway IMO.

And you realise you can use a straight steerer in a tapered headtube no problem, don’t you? Hope do a nifty little adaptor.

+1 for 2nd hand Soul, or Dialled Prince Albert or Sanderson Life

My Soul was bought in 2006 – it’s such a nice bike that I don’t feel like buying anything else – which over the long run makes it a lot cheaper!

Loads of great replys and I thank you for every one. I want to put 120 forks on it and I also think 2nd hand soul is the way to go but I’d want to buy local so I can check it over thoroughly before parting with cash. So if anyone has a large black one in staffs or cheshire or shropshire at a push, then please get in touch. 🙂

What about the 456 EVO 2? I have one and it is brilliant. I bought it as a direct result of a mate buying a Soul. The new bike jealousy was too much to bear and for £225 they are a bargain. I have never felt like he has more bike than me, plus you can use a wider range of fork with it, but you are restricted by the old-school non-tapered steerer tube. But there is the 650b version, which by all accounts will happily take 26″ wheels until you can splash out on some of the bigger ones, and has a tapered steerer.

But the Soul is a bloody good bit of bike, and there is always the BFe for a slightly cheaper Cotic.