…for less than £300?

Second hand Cotic Bfe?

Brand new baby , go for a Bfe £330.00 cracking bike ohhh so stiff !

How long is long travel? Soul if under 140mm. If any longer, Davidtaylforth will be along in a minute to call you a knob.

(I’m a total cotic fanboi but I didn’t rate my BFe that much, same great handling but the whole ride feel/quality was a bit deadened, lots of metal in it. Very competent mind but there’s lots of competent hardtails, the Soul’s one of the few great ones)

Prince Albert?

Prince Albert. Does owt….

Definitely an Evil Sovereign .

As above, depends on definition of ‘long travel’, but if that definition is 140 mm, then 2nd hand Cotic Soul would be my recommendation. It even comes equipped for the correct size of wheel!

If you can stretch to £325 then the new stanton slackline 631 might be worth a punt?

I really like my Blue Pig X and it feels nicer than the 2 PAs I had (more stable in the front, slacker, more give in the back, headtube/seattube size, mud clearance etc). Being able to fit a tapered fork, 30.9 dropper and route the cable/hose to do so is handy.

If you can grab a 2nd hand BPX then do, the newer non-X frames are £315 here: http://www.justmountainbikes.co.uk/delivery_pricing and at CRC.

Be aware that the mk1 frames had slimmer tubes for the head and seat tube.

It’s hard to describe but the BPX feels stiffer than the PAs, 456 and Latitude I’ve tried but yet with more compliance in the rear end in a good way. I think it’s something to do with the mumbo jumbo that’s been done to the stays as well as the odd butting in the front triangle.

What qwerty and kayak23 said

Ragley Blue Pig?

456-evo

Comes in at £200 which leaves you £100 to spend on one of those far eastern Gravity Dropper clones (Tmars, Ice-Lift etc etc)….

It’s what i did, couldnt be happier….its bum basic but takes long forks and wont break, the heavy stiff frame comes alive when going fast downhill, stunning in raw finish too.

If you can stretch to £325 then the new stanton slackline 631 might be worth a punt?

£385 I think?

Someone was selling a new in box one in the classifieds a few days ago though.

I have a Blue Pig (Mk1) and I really like it but I’m tempted to replace it with the new On One 456 Evo2.

The only reason for me is the lower bottom bracket form betterer cornering. The BB height on BP is just a bit too high.

However it’s not got a 44mm HT so you’re stuck with “normal” steerer forks. This may or may not matter to you.

456

Yes other stuff may be better, but when you can pick up a s/h frame for £60 who cares?

Howdy mate, I’ve got a genesis alpitude frame if you’re insterested? PM me.

a friend of mine recently broke his Bfe at the chainstay… about one year old.

and why do people say that a 140/150 fork on a frame designed for 120 is the best LT-HT? if the Bfe has the same geometry as the Soul, but beefier tubes, isn’t it just a soul for biffers…?

my 2p, DB Alpine. but then i’m biased. 🙂

had a genesis latitude which can handle up to 140mm. nicely designed frame only changed to a fortitude for 29 wheels – picked mine up for about £230ish. the BFe looks a good frame too.

The Curtis Freeride which is on eBay at the moment (and it’d mean I didn’t have to buy it which would get me into a LOT of bother as I don’t need it but it’d look pretty next to my S1).

My bfe has 140mm forks on and feels fine, not a soul for biffers ! just designed to do different things. £329 they are a bargain.

The 2 bikes I ride this year: Soul with a 140mm Velvet, 1X10, and Evil Sovereign with a 140mm Fox, singlespeed. Everytime I ride with my Soul I tell myself: “man, I’ll never get rid of this one”. Everytime I pick up my Sovereign to go ride the same trails I tell myself: “man I’ll never get rid of this one”… Soul feels lighter, “livelier” and more stable, Evil feels more heavy and front wheel -in-the-air happy… They both sit at 25lbs…

That exact same thing is happening to me between a hummer and a sovereign.

Cheers for the advice? Is the new Ragley Blue Pig worth considering? Are they a respectful brand any more?

Piglet gets decent reviews and heard they have sorted some of their manufacturing issues from previous years.

I think I need the Blue Pig. What version of the Ragleys had the manufacturing issues?