Hi all I’m looking for a short travel 29er frame probably second hand . It needs to have a qr rear end but tapered front is fine. Ive just tried out a Stanton sherpa frame and it was lovely and rode very agile but my back can’t take ht for too long so i would love to find a fs frame with similar traits. My budget is around £600 and I’m five ten so any advice would be great thanks.

Got to be a Spearfish 🙂

Mostly because I own one…

Could also be a CUBE AMS frame I guess.

I’ve tried a spearfish and it was too on the ground for me. Very fast capable but my rides are only an hour or so and I’m looking for a short chainstayed poppy bike if possible.

check out the like of the Salsa Horethief, whyte t-129/m-109 (tend to come as full bike but occasional frames come up), Orange Gyro or push you budget up to a new Hammerhead Thumper

Some excellent recommendations so far, though the majority won’t tend to come up frame only within your budget sadly.

This one is worthy of consideration though, and not just cos I’m selling one… The Ghost AMR 29er…

That’s the one I was riding until I upgraded not long ago. Fits your requirements exactly (QR back end, shortish stays at 440mm, tapered HT, sizes to fit average people etc.), and they don’t fetch much 2nd hand. It also has a nice 68.5 degree head angle with the 120mm fork fitted (as pictured) and is a good laugh to ride.

If you’re interested (I’m same height as you) could sell frame only, or any combination of parts to build the bike up. Certainly would be looking at less than £1k for a complete bike.

Giant anthem .love mine and the low spec ones were not much more tban a grand new…

Giant anthem, brilliant.

Salsa horsethief for £550 in the classifieds.

Would you describe an Anthem as plush? Never ridden one but feel I should own one at some point.

I also love my anthem 29er but sounds like the exact opposite of what the OP is looking for – a poppy, wheels off the ground bike you’d throw around for an hour? It’s nothing like that IMHO.

Thanks for the help so far guys .

I went with anthem because..
short travel. Yes 100mm
29er. Yes
Agile. Yes mine climbs like a goat and is 26lbs so you can really move it about, lift it up over roots and rocks and easy to manhandle. Did the devils staircase on it for instance. It aint an off the ground bike though so maybe picked up wrong?

I guess I’m trying to find the most 26 inch like 29er full suss you can find without spending a fortune in case I don’t like it . Moon on a stick maybe I just don’t know .

If you can get hold of a Whyte T129 then do. I’m starting to get well into my new to me 2014 version. It replaced a Trek Stache which was fun but this is better. The Whyte is know for its short chain stays and I reckon it makes a big difference.

The only issue so far is limited rear tyre clearance. So I’m working out my options as currently a 2.3 Specialized Purgatory won’t fit without rubbing on the drive side under load.

I chop and change daily between a full sus 29 and 26. The 26 used to feel twitchy but that was due to the 29 having 740 bars and the 26 680. Now I have wide bars on the 26 they feel the same.
I’ve put some really light wheels on the 26 and can now feel the extra weight of the 29 wheels on short , sharp climbs.
I am contemplating going back to the 26 full time.
If you are happy with your 26 stick with it. If you can afford a new bike buy one regardless!

mboy, what size is your Ghost. Could you email me some details (address in profile) as my brother is also looking for a FS 29er in this price range

Just built a t-129 scr works frame up, limited rear clearance indeed but this makes for snappy short stays, seems like an absolute missile.

That does look good scandal42.

Another vote for the Whyte 129.

Had mine for 3 months; it’s seriously fast and very capable

I’m finding they are a little tricky to find frame only which is a shame. Patience isn’t one of my virtues 🙂

Me too, I ended up buying a full bike and now have a mix of a full bike worth of parts to clear out.

I was quite lucky to drop on this one I think