For the last 9 months or so I’ve been riding a very nice but very old Marin. I’ve put a fair bit of new kit on it (inc. a new XT drive train) and it’s got be back into MTB after a ~10 yr break but I’ve decided it’s time to get something new.

I’ve got £1,500 and can’t make my mind up between buying a Soul and sticking some new 120mm forks and wheels on it along with my current XT stuff or keeping it and buying a Canyon Nerve XC 7 and having two bikes?

Most of my riding is XC but I’m 15st so want something fairly tough. Going FS for the first time is something that appeals (esp to my back) but I can’t be @rsed with the extra maintenance.

Thoughts?

Souls are lovely. The new Solaris 29er will be lovely too – and being a 29er will be a bit kinder to your back (not that the soul is in any way harsh). Personally, unless you ride a lot of more challenging terrain, I think you might be disappointed by a full suss in comparison – fun, feedback, responsiveness, speed etc.

FS is minimal extra maintainence. Two bikes seems excessive at this stage. If you sold the Marin plus your £1,500 you could get a pretty nice FS bike. If you put all the money into a hardtail you get a very nice bike. Alternatively you could spend say £1,000 on a hardtail swapping over some of your kit and spending the rest with Jedi and on a road trip or two.

buy a 2nd hand on one 456 and some 2nd hand rebas -£220ish quid? transfer all your old bits onto it, probably have to buy a few other bits so say £400 all told and a few beers for someone to build it. Spend the remaining £1100 on a high quality barely used 2nd hand FS. keep the old marin and use it to learn about bike mechanics and build a cheap singlespeed pubbike with a few cheapo bits off classifieds. 3 very different bikes for your money. That’s what I’d do anyway.

you don’t need to buy one if you’re a fat ginger

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-Owf9U19Nc[/video]

they are a great frame by the way 😀

I’m ok with maintenance, it’s more the extra ongoing costs – shock servicing, bearings etc – that put me off along with the lack of ‘feel’. That said, it’s been yonks since I rode a FS so hopefully they’ve got passed the ‘built of cheese’ issues.

I’m thinking Soul + Revs + Superstar wheels + XT brakes and drive train.

Or possibly one of these and keep the old HT going as well.

The new Solaris 29er will be lovely too – and being a 29er will be a bit kinder to your back

Really?

Buy a Soul. One of the few bike purchases I’ve never had the slightest moment of second thoughts over, unlike the Soda, the Roadrat…

Forget Soul, the Bfe is such good value right now and there is little disadvantage. I just built a Bfe (nearly new frame) for around £400 using used parts from my old bike and the classifieds – and that with 130 Uturn revs.

Because of the price the Bfe is very in vogue at present.

Judicious buying and you can have Bfe and FS for 1500

– I dont agree that FS is minimal extra maintenance, maybe at first but it catches up with you.

Been out on my Soul the last two nights. Can’t think of a single reason why you shouldn’t buy one, they’re just bloody great.

I’m 15 stone and have no problems with my Soul. On twisty xc singletrack far, far more responsive than my full susser helped by keeping it at 24lbs. £1500 can build you a very nice Soul.

My Soul is my second proper mtb and to be honest haven’t ridden much else for comparison. I do however really, really like it and it’s so much more fun and comfortable (a lot to do with geometry I think) than my old Cube Ltd. (I’m very tempted to post a picture, but won’t) 🙂

Carbon 456.

Either buy the full bike or the frame. Both options would be under budget.

p.s. I don’t think 15 stone is an issue with a carbon bike, especially with the on one warranty in the unlikely event it starts to unravel.

I’d ignore the 456 suggestion, I have had two 456’s and while I enjoyed them, I’d not recommend them….for me they were too long on the tt, the bb was too high, the front end too low and they thus tend to feel better with 150s up front, but that compromises the climbing…and I never really felt totally secure letting rip downhill on them either.

I have ridden a Soul which was a size too big for me and I liked it but I think I’d be minded to give the Bfe a go if it were me.

OP – those revs at 150mm are too much for the Soul (max travel is 140mm) and the consensus is around 120mm is the ‘optimum’ balance between the ups and downs.

You’d be fine on a Soul at 15 stone. Coming from an old marin I’d’ve thought the Soul would be better than the Bfe (which is more of a ‘hooligan’ frame, fine if you really are intent on using it as such) and its not known for being fragile. Personally I’d sacrifice something else which will wear out…

Can’t really comment on FS as I rarely keep one for as long as year…

456 / Whippet or Bfe / Soul (and others) its all well rated geometry depending on your preferences and the way you are going to set it up.

At that price point the carbon On One bikes are great value and you’d have to have a look.

metalheart – Member
OP – those revs at 150mm are too much for the Soul (max travel is 140mm) and the consensus is around 120mm is the ‘optimum’ balance between the ups and downs.

Very easy job to drop revs to 140 or 130 with supplied spacers.

I like mine at 140

Probably.

Yes. Love mine. 16 stone. Bike is better than I am. 130mm Vanillas, but I reckon 120mm may well be the sweet spot.

yes

for a big lad, if you ride hard, then a BFe sounds better, and cheaper.

Soul is good but the BFe is ace.

(I have both)

sugdenr
I dont agree that FS is minimal extra maintenance, maybe at first but it catches up with you.

I’ve had my Reign 5yrs and it has required zero FS related maint (ie no bearings). I’ve had the shock serviced once. I appreciate that the shock service should be more frequent but where has your experience differed ?

Don’t need to spend that much on a Soul, I bought mine off here for £250 ish, then got some revs for about the same. £250 for some used Hope Hoops……done. One of the best singletrack bike I have ridden and thats with a 140mm upfront, still climbs with ease, great bike.

That leaves £750 for a full susser, get trawling the forums I reckon 😀

Thanks metalheart, any suggestions for a 120mm fork?

any suggestions for a 120mm fork?

I like my F120’s but they would blow your budget. Ideally you’d want an adjustable fork between 100 and 140 so you could find out for yourself what suits you best. Personally I prefer 100-120 max. YMMV.

I’d probably be trawling through merlin, on-one et-al to see who has what cheap (which probably means Rock Shox, revs or SIDS most likely i would’ve thought). That’s what I did in preparation for my Solaris…

Lol@jambalaya

My soul with 150 revs dropped to 130mm

love it

and this is my 2nd.

P1040284 by eastham_david, on Flickr

OK, so I think it’s Soul time but I’m struggling to find some sensibly priced 120mm forks that have a 15mm axle. Anyone seen anything out there?

I prefered my Inbred to the Soul. A tad heavier but the Soul just seemed too flexy, I was over 15st at the time. Never really settled on a bike till my clown wheel Inbred came along. I’m not a trail centre fan though. BeFe does look a good buy, & given your brief it would be worthy a test ride. Try a clown wheeler also, you never know… 😉