youngest daughter has £700 of hard earned cash to spend on a new frame, at 17 yrs old she wants a slack xc frame…..a head angle around 69 degrees, possibly less.
wants full suss for a change to date has ridden hand me down hardtails from family. Doesn’t want more than 120mm travel….wants the point is her view…….and wants it lightish no more than 28lbs
She has a 120mm Magura Durin fork with travel adjust and lock out bontrager racelite wheels and mainly slx/xt kit, she thinks her options are

Orange ST4….worried about frame weight
Titus racer x ….. likes weight but not the angles but with a 120 fork it will slacken off

anything else out there?

and options on the above?

Advice welcome, especially from owners

Trance (pre tapered headtube) and an angleset.

we had a mk 1 trance and the frame was a heavy old beast….we ahd it with pikes and it was a blast.

Specialized FSR XC/ Camber is 68.5 HA I think.

I’d be looking at Trance or Stumpjumper. Does she want new or happy at S/H?

ideally new but happy with a s/h if it is the right frame

How about some of the Trek/Spec female geo ones?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-orange-five-5-ritchey-wcs-shimano-ultegra-5

Perfect buy for her to join the STW massive that frame.

Helllllooo
camber
or
st4

Rorschach

yep those are the ones

but which is better

she thinks orange but weight is hefty………….not a five too much travel

camber what are they like?

WSD good call but all my dauhters and partner have tried but prefer a longer top tube and shorter stem.

Get a Five and fit a shorter shock? Should be able to get it really slack… This, or offset bushings might work on any number of frames that are too steep/too much travel.

Cambers are NOT slack. Possibly the only bike I’ve ever ridden and wanted to get off.

You’ll do well to get a better deal than these IMHO;

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Orange-ST4-Frame-4310-0-0.html

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Orange-ST4-Diva-Frame-4562-107-0.html

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=66813&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom

http://www.realcycles.com/m48b58s301p1856/COMMENCAL_Super_4_carbon_frame_shop_soiled_/RS_GB/4177

http://www.commencal-store.com/PBSCCatalog.asp?ActionID=67174912&PBCATID=1697112

Good luck!

carbon commie for 1/3 its RRP…. thats where my money would be going.

Look no further than a scoot spark. Tick all the boxes, apart maybe the price.

Tick all the boxes, apart maybe the price.

That’s a pretty bloody important box, Juan 😀

That’s a pretty bloody important box, Juan

For anything else there is mastercard 😉

Morewood Zula or Pivot Mach 4

Theres been a few for sale in the classifieds recently I think

Cannondale Prophet SL seemingly meets most of her requirements, except maybe the weight (I simply don’t know what they weigh built up), if she can live with the stigma of it being a little ‘older’. A complete bike should be affordable for the budget mentioned for just the frame. A relatively simple change of shock/fork will give her a 140mm bike for more AM stuff

Boardman FS?

i bought one for the GF a few months back and for 850 pounds it’s a steal.

it’s also relatively slack at 68.5° (according to thier website). sell the wheels if she alread has a decent set plus the any other bits she doesn’t want (reflectors, for example).

thanks folks perhaps not Juan….suggesting mastercard, 😕 it would be mine that would be hit.

the morewood have been larges i think not seen a pivot though

any thoughts on the titus options

Camber is definately going to be worth a look. Sure it’s not slack slack, but it fits your bill perfectly.

I really couldn’t see the point in the ST4, and tbh I expected to love it. But it climbs not much better than a Five and descends worse. I guess it got away from the “overbiked” thing but that was about it. Very disappointing.

How much is weight an issue?
She could get a meta 4. Not technically 120mm of travel but will behave like one.
Then maybe you could help your daughter toward the purchase?

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FRTITXCARRS-M-WHI-RSM/titus_x_carbon_frame_and_monarch_shock

commencal all the way, I had a meta 4, nice and slack with 120mm forks. super4 is lighter and similar.
girlfriend has a trek fuel ex6, 68deg head angle, feels awesome, should be worth a look

“Titus racer x ….. likes weight but not the angles but with a 120 fork it will slacken off”
Not really thgough. They’re pretty steep at 71deg with a 100mm fork, so a 120mm fork is only going to take to about 70deg.
Durins aren’t especialy tall either IIRC
If you could get an angleset of some sort to fit then you could get to 69deg or less?

2nd hand Cannondale Prophet, or Prophet SL would be an ace choice. They’re the same frame, just the SL has a 190×50 shock instead of a 200×57, but you’re talking 67.5 head angle in the more upright position and about 66 degrees in the slack setting.

Trek Fuel EX frame is 68 degrees.

How slack does she want though? To me, going slack for slack’s sake, on a short travel bike, is counter productive. I think bike geometry generally has a sweet spot angle wise when it comes to the travel the bike has. I’d be looking at something that’s naturally around 69 degrees and designed to be 120mm both ends myself, with that in mind, may I present an absolute bargain of a complete bike…

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b65s1p3709&tbv=CANNONDALE_RZ_ONE_TWENTY_3_Mountain_Bikes_Full_Suspension

She could sell off her current forks and any other kit, or upgrade the bike with them, but either way a full bike for £1k with spot on geometry and a brilliant frame… Not to be sniffed at I reckon.

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b65s1p3709&tbv=CANNONDALE_RZ_ONE_TWENTY_3_Mountain_Bikes_Full_Suspension

She could sell off her current forks and any other kit, or upgrade the bike with them, but either way a full bike for £1k with spot on geometry and a brilliant frame… Not to be sniffed at I reckon.

seriously, dude… the components for that price isn’t all that. have a look at the boardman. no “no-name” shock, no shitty Alivio, 15mm Sektor fork, 10 speed…. oh and the GFs bike came with Mavic 319 rims, not 317s.

i rode the RZ 120s extensively whilst guiding in Gran Canaria. the suspension works fine. in fact the Boardman has the same design and better components for the same price.

slack for her is 68/69 ish, she has been riding my yeti asr 7 which is too big but she likes the stable handling and has really not notice much in climbing other than wieght so she wants low weight and a head angle that is slack ish.

The other side is apart from the forks she wants it to be her bike and choice with her money, which is fair call and independance

Commencal is a good call and i agree balance is all important plus quality of travel.

Will ask her to look at the cannondale though

Don’t discount the ST4. I’ve got the older frame style and whilst it’s not the lightest bike, it certainly doesn’t feel heavy riding it!

Personally i’d be looking at the Camber pro frame as linked above from bikescene for bang on your daughters budget, nice frame, good angles and decent weight, not a lot to dislike.
Pretty sure the st4 is heavier than the Camber, i love my Five but never really got the st4, not light enough to be a nippy 120mm xc ish bike so you might as well opt for the Five in the Orange range imo.