I love many things about my soul, the forgiving ride and geometry are pretty much spot on, but I am sick of the flex when I stomp on the cranks. In fact today it caused me to crash when I got out of the saddle to power up a short climb, and its not the first time its happened to me.

So what’s similar to a soul in geometry but much stiffer.

Think the Genesis Altitude is similar. Still flexes of course but I didnt have too much trouble with mine with 17 Stone and a big leg on the crank

It was lush as well. I am an idiot for selling it

I don’t think steel is the material that will resolve the issue.

I am thinking more along the lines of a SC chameleon, but without the concentric BB.

MSP – Member

So what’s similar to a soul in geometry but much stiffer.

BFe?

With that sort of leg power surely you should be riding the Tour de France?

What cranks are you using?

With that sort of leg power surely you should be riding the Tour de France?

Well if I had my leg power and was about 30-40 kilo lighter, I would destroy them. 😈

Let me get this straight, you are saying your leg power is so awesome it caused the frame to flex sufficiently to cause a crash which otherwise wouldn’t have occurred ? You sound like a woman who needs an Unobtainium frame.

The frame flexed enough to make the gears jump, which as I was out of the saddle with my weight pushing down caused me to crash.

Is that really so hard to grasp?

Maybe you don’t need a new frame, just to be smaller or sit and spin or less awesome.

As someone said above, a Bfe, because its well you know Beefier than a Soul with a bigger seat post. I have a Soul and if I really rag the cranks – like a Tour de France sprint finish – I can make the chainstays touch the tyre. Although to ride like that off road I would probably fall off due to the nature of riding like that anyway.

MSP – Member
The frame flexed enough to make the gears jump, which as I was out of the saddle with my weight pushing down caused me to crash.

Is that really so hard to grasp?

Or to put it another way, “my gears jumped”

Well it would be difficult to be less awesome 8)

I usually spin at around 85rpm, but being a big bloke with size 50 feet, spinning can be quite a wasteful method.

Anyway, doesn’t everyone get out of the saddle from time to time to keep momentum going over a short climb. I wasn’t slogging up an alpine pass.

The frame flexed enough to make the gears jump, which as I was out of the saddle with my weight pushing down caused me to crash.

Is that really so hard to grasp?

I’d be amazed if the frame was at fault.

I have a bfe with saint cranks and it seems stiff to me, not that I ever felt the middleburns that were on before flexing

I sold my Soul because I didn’t like the frame flex either. I tried a Pace RC303 – a bit similar (but not flexy), needed to be moved around more to come alive than the Soul did. The sizing was awkward (the large was not very large), then it cracked. More recent models have changed the bit of the frame that cracked considerably, though!

Next up I tried a ScandAl. I think at that point they were still partially Scandium. It was never as happy being a trail bike as the Soul or the RC303 were, it was obviously wishing it had 100mm travel forks instead of 130mm travel forks and set up in a bit more XC way. It wasn’t as direct as the RC303 but not flexy like the Soul.

Then I got a Chameleon and this is what I kept. The EBB is a faff and it is really rather stiff. It’s slacker than the Soul but as the years have gone by I’ve come to be OK with that, it’s no slouch on singletrack and more confident on steep stuff. The frame weight’s not great and neither was the original paint but it’s probably the hardtail that I’ve been happiest with. The stiffness is only a slight issue at places like Drumlanrig where the constant bumping over roots can get a bit tiring.

Interesting. Which bit of the frame is ‘flexing’ to cause the problem? Surely it can’t flex enough to cause the gears to jump unless there’s an inherent design flaw?

I was taught to stay seated keeping weight over the rear wheel and hence maintaining traction. I find if I stand on anything remotely technical the rear wheel spins.

Whats the problem with an ebb?

I don’t notice mine unless I’m going no gears (chumba hx1)

Whats the problem with an ebb?

The one on my Chameleon is prone to creaking unless it is completely slathered in grease and as I don’t run it singlespeed it’s annoying useless weight.

Sounds more like a problem with your cranks to me. I’m a big heavy bloke and while if I really try to twist the frame I can, I’ve never managed to get enough flex to do anything like that on any Cotic, or other proper bike to that matter. I’d second the Bfe though if frame flex really is the issue.

My soul skips occasionally but I just replace worn drivetrain and its fine. 😉

Any slack on the drivetrain would be taken up by the mech anyway to ensure the drivetrain retains the desired tension

Cranks are xt htII, drive train is all fine and dandy.

Thinking about a cove stiffee, anyone run one with a 120 fork?

I’ll skip being opinionated about your diagnosis of the cause here, but if you’re a big strong bloke who likes his Soul then I can’t see a better option than a BFe with stiffer cranks (and maybe BB) That’s kind of why Cy created it AFAIK

I’d get a BFe. Same geometry but over twice as stiff according to some quick sums.

Yep, BFe for you.