Yeah, I had the exaxt same decision… I had a go of the Soul at the glentress demo day and tbh it just felt perfect, but it’s a lot of money. So I was looking for similiar alternatives, and obviously 456 comes up. It’s a full lb heavier, if that bothers you (it bothers me, I’m still recovering from a busted leg and 6 months on crutches so light is good). And the finish isn’t as good either I reckon.
But at 130mm the geometry runs really similiar to the Soul- half a degree slacker or thereabouts, top tube for mediums is a quarter of an inch longer, and I think the chainstays are about a quarter longer too- and of course you’ve got more options too since it’ll deal with a 160mm fork if you decide you want that. It’s a tricky decision. But the Soul just felt perfect from the first moment and I don’t want to risk missing whatever that special ingredient was. After 5 minutes on it I was more comfortable on it than I am on my Scandal after about 4 months.
So, I figure screw it 😉 I’ve been looking for a used medium inbred or 456 just to try in the meantime, though. I might still do that, still kind of doing battle with the whole idea 😛