Hi all,
Whats the major difference in the 2 frames other than £105?
I understand that the soul is more XC orientated than the BFe, would the BFe make a tidy ‘all rounder’?

I’m asking as I would love a Soul but struggling to justify the extra asking price!!!

Just over a pound in weight, and the BFe is a stiffer ride also.

Both share the same geometry

For some, the most important difference is the seat tube diameter.

I have 2 riding buddies who have had Souls and Sodas in the past and who have gone for the BFe just because they can fit a Reverb dropper post in it.

Other than that, and the ability to carry a longer fork, not a fat lot of difference. Still a superb bike.

I purposefully don’t have a Soul due to Cy saying repeated 2′ drops to flat were a bad idea on them (not to me personally). I found this out after having bought one second hand and chose to replace it with something more versatile…and without that headbadge.

I ride a Dialled PA with a Gravity Dropper in it 😀

BFe will never be a true allrounder – I have one with a set of lyrics and it’s a bit of a pigbeast after a few hours in the hills. Did a trailquest on it and was crying by the end, but I guess that’s as much down to fitness as anything else. It is reasonably versatile, though – a couple of hours xc at normal pace is absolutely fine.

Think the fork choice would really define the bike. Too wee and you basically should be on the Soul. Too hefty and you’ve got a more limited bike, albeit a very good one. Maybe there is a golden mean available?

My BFe does versatile pretty well, u turn pikes on mine and 2 sets of wheels – one xc ish and one dh ish with appropriate tyres for each.

I would basically strip my Orange crush for parts, using the Fox Vanilla R 140mm forks.

Im not at all disappointed with the Crush but really fancy a shiny new steel frame! 😆

get both! that’s what I ended up doing.

BFe is stiffer and tougher and better for gnarly 1-2 hour blasts, Soul is lighter, more supple and better/comfier for mixed trail stuff.

For anything less than 2 hours I always grab the BFe though.

the bfe is stronger, stiffer and heavier, has iscg tabs, not as fancy drop outs and no seat tube bottle mounts so you can slam the saddle.

BFe will never be a true allrounder – I have one with a set of lyrics

Obviously if you run it wil stupid forks it might not be, but if you build it up right then its the perfect all round hardtail. Ive used mine for xc, dh in the alps, dirt jumps and pump tracks. Its probably the best all round hardtail frame there is.

A few things Cy said to me: The BFe was made to handle going off drops the size of buildings – the Soul is absolutely fine with normal drops (2’+) – it’s a very strong frame. And that the hardcore abilities of the BFe distract people from its abilities as a trail hardtail like the Soul but at lower cost – it’ll still build up pretty light.

And some thoughts of my own: The compliance of the Soul is definitely a nice thing when I’m riding hard – my previous frame was a very lightweight aluminium frame yet with the same fork, wheels and tyres the Soul felt smoother and less buzzy. I’m running higher tyre pressures than before because it pumps better but doesn’t kick around excessively. With bolt-thru 140s, wide rims, big tyres, double+bash and a dropper post I can’t see mine being insufficient bike for me unless I venture into full-face territory (not the terrain, the speed too). And the whole stiffness/compliance perception totally depends on how much you weigh, how strong you are and how hard you ride. I’m pretty middling on all fronts but I’d treat any strong opinions with a pinch of salt. 27.5lbs of awesomeness for my build. If I was braver I’d have bought a BFe instead but I can’t see myself breaking this before I break me again…