…and has anyone ridden and compared the two?

Looking for a new steel hardtail frame, had a go on a Sovereign and was blown away how much faster I was on it than my regular full sus. Totally planted feel and soooo stable and fast when pointed down! Trouble is, it’s £600 for the frame alone so, looking at other options and the Bfe stands out. LBS also has a good deal on the Transition Transam but, as I regularly take both wheels off when transporting, and like gears, I’m thinking the dropouts look a faff.

Persuade me otherwise?… Thoughts and opinions appreciated folks. S.

Why would you want a heavy steel frame if going faster on a stiffer chassis is your main concern?

Why would you want a heavy steel frame if going faster on a stiffer chassis is your main concern?

Not sure I actually said that it was my main concern, although I did say I was faster…

Had an aluminium hardtail before I got the full bouncer, very harsh ride, tried other alu ht’s before going fs, some were even more rigid than the Evo4 I had…

I didn’t say I wanted anything stiffer than the Sovereign, I simply want to know if it is more, or less, stiff than the frame I rode and enjoyed.

Weight not a concern, fun is. Steel ht, so far in my biking lifetime at least, is the most fun I’ve had on a pushbike and I want some more!

I’ve ridden a sov and a Bfe.. couldn’t tell you which was stiffer, but then I couldn’t tell you the tyre pressures of each.

I’d try way more frames before making the decision steel is the “be all and end all” material for you

I have ridden both and own the sovereign. The bfe is a great frame, but the added stand over and adjustable chainstays where what did it for me. I’ve ridden a load of hardcore hardtails and the sovereign is the best of the lot IMO. It is also stiffer than the bfe, but I am not fussed as the geometry is better.

Cheers GW, just trying to gather other opinions from folk who may have had more experience than me first.

kudos, how did you feel the rides differ between the two, if much at all? The geometry looks similar on both… Appreciate your feelings about the Sov, honestly struggling to get my head around what a riot it is!

Couldn’t tell you much about those two frames, but have a look at the NS Surge and Stanton Slackline as well if you’re after a hardcore hardtail. I’ve had a Surge for about 3 years now and absolutely love it.

Surge for about 3 years now and absolutely love it

Surge was my favorite up until the Sov.

@ Op. The bfe has a bit more ‘ping’ to it and is probably a better all rounder, due to being lighter and less stiff. TBH, both are brilliant, but the sov has something magical about it. If you are into manualling, jumping and drifting go for it. Otherwise the bfe is a great frame and is better value than the Sov.

I didn’t really spend enough time on the Sov to have a fair opinion, can’t comment on stiffness but it really felt ordinary to me… Easy to manual, sure, but that’s about it. Can’t really understand what the excitement’s all about.

That said, I was un-dazzled by my BFe too. Loved my Soul but all that extra metalwork seemed to take away what made it great.

Thanks kudos, I really like the look of the bfe (especially in gritstone) but having read a few reviews was a bit worried that it would be more rigid than the Sovereign. Coming from a full bouncer I don’t want to be jarring my back over every twig in the same way as I’ve experienced with ally ht’s.

Thanks for the suggestions stee, there are certainly a lot of frames out there, very few are anything short of excellent which really makes choosing between them difficult. Kind of a case of examining the finer points to be able toss a few of the options aside.

Pipedream cycles recently made a prototype ‘hardcore’ Sovereign style frame with adjustable dropouts and a dropped braced toptube, I’d love a Sov myself but cant justify £600 on one when my Bluepig does pretty much the same.