Wife is after a racy XC hardtail, so far she has tried a Whyte 29c (okay), Scott Scale 935 (Favourite but over budget), Ghost Actinum HTX (okay but a tad long) & a Kona Kahuna DL (okay), Giant XTC adavnced (too upright).

Can probably drive a deal on the scott but the spec is a bit low end for the money i think..

Anything else out there and she has to ride it before buying, in hampshire if that helps..

lurcher.

/thread

Must ride before purchase kind of makes the lurcher a no-go….

Kinesis FF29

GF loves hers. I’ve got a Sync too, so may be a little bit biased.

Whyte 729 also worth a shout as they’re not quite as long and low as the 29C but still light and fast.

Oh, and quite leftfield suggestion, but check out the Forme Winscar 29 as well. A whole lot of XC bike for the money and Kinesis made frame too.