Cotic bfe or Santa Cruz chameleon
I have a Soul and a Chameleon. Love them both. Both very different. Stick something insane like 36’s on a Chameleon and you can do anything. 🙂 Soul’s a lot more comfortable for long rides but same geo as BFe. Cy is of similar height to you, I believe… Chameleons run small. You’d want XL i think, maybe L at a push.
Tonight I discovered 2Souls for the first time.
Want * infinity / bike poverty = sadness.
Pretty bikes. Not sure I needed to see that…
There’s a lot of choice in hardtails. Geometry, tyre clearance, fork rating and material are the obvious biggies before you get to looks, weight, bling etc…
The BFe is probably a better choice than a Soul for mini DH bombing. Chameleon would be good this too. Both do Enduro like champs. Both will do 160mm if you want. Chameleon is brutal with its tail… in a good way.
As to the 29’er… as I understand it, the UK is ‘odd’ in that we didn’t go nuts for them. 27.5 might be a better big wheel option for big downs, but I’m assured there are 29’ers that go down techy fast stuff very well – just not all of them.