Only thing I can come up with is the FF29, which I owned before (and liked) or an eBay carbon job. What am I missing, there must be more out there!!

New or used ?

if used, I’d have a Giant XTC29 personally, great for the price and used can be picked up for £300-400 easy. For £500 you may even get lucky and have a Composite.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2012-Giant-XTC-Composite-29er-Carbon-Hardtail-Mountain-Bike-Frame-XL-22-/351427633420?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51d2b8210c

From the US so minor delay… but DAMN that’s fine if you;’re an XL

whats it for? Hongfu frames have done me proud, their new 256sl looks the business

Find an extra £99 and get a 2014 Ritchey P-29 from Triton? (straight head tube though)

Either, had a sniff around eBay and could only see small and medium xtc frames, I need a large/xl.

Had a look at the Richey frames but have a tapered Sid, so would need to spend more cash to get the latest version.

In that case £629 (again from Triton) is the cheapest I’ve seen 😕

Edit: actually….

Latest frame with the tapered head tube… £539! (L but no XL)
http://www.acycles.co.uk/ritchey-29er-mountain-bike-frame-black-yellow-2015-12991.html?utm_source=google_produit_cpc&gclid=CjwKEAjw2ImsBRCnjq70n_amv14SJAChXijNKjga4iA8yI1zMYRFVzDUyC34VxUYCYleLx-q7bOj2RoCxfDw_wcB

I think this is where hora got his road logic from so seem legit.

bigdugsbaws – Member

Either, had a sniff around eBay and could only see small and medium xtc frames, I need a large/xl.

My link above is an XL

2 weeks tops to be delivered… what’s not to like !

Ignore, talking rubbish, still 1 1/8th.

Good spot Bregante! Weeksy, eBay frame looks perfect but the picture of tyre rub looks pretty deep.

If you are small or medium then this is great:

http://stifcycles.co.uk/mtb/product/santa-cruz-highball-frame/11334

I have just got the 2015 model and so far I am loving it as a fast XC ripper!

Scandal, whippet?

Stif have a Niner EMD 9 frame in XL for £299 reduced from £499.

http://stifcycles.co.uk/mtb/product/niner-emd-9-frame/11974

Surprised nobody has suggested a Solaris!

Great at 100mm but can cope well with 120mm.

@danti just beat me to it! I run mine with 120mm

Stanton Sherpa is another good option.

Another vote for the Solaris. I run mine with 100mm forks and as a 1×10.

Although Cotic are out of stock of large till early August.

There is a nice Niner SIR 9 on Ebay, make him an offer.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Niner-Sir-9-Large-Red-2014-/321770283777?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4aeb00e301

whats it for? Hongfu frames have done me proud, their new 256sl looks the business

If you are after something on the XC side of things then the 256sl is very hard to beat. Scott Scale geometry (eg quite slack HTA for an XC bike), ~1000g, available in whatever BB you like and only $550. Love mine 😀 Much better than “just an ebay Chinese carbon jobbie” and if you really wanted then you could get custom paint pretty cheaply from the vendor to spice it up aesthetically

Hong fu riders, did you buy direct from the company or via a third party like eBay / Aliexpress?

I think this is where hora got his road logic from so seem legit.

It is and they are. They are also good with communication and quick to despatch and quick to arrive. Like most bikers here in the UK I’ve been spoilt by quick delivery etc etc of UK online bike companies- Acycles didn’t give me any cause to grumble.

On a wider note- the Ritcheys paint etc etc is sublimely simple. Local chappy spotted my Ritchey and asked me all about it- turns out it was between mine and a stainless steel Starley F&F- he went with the Starley because he couldn’t see the Ritchey etc first. He was very impressed and even though hes luckier than me I hope I made alittle jealous..

Hong fu riders, did you buy direct from the company or via a third party like eBay / Aliexpress?

They are all just resellers so go with one you trust to not be flogging a batch of failed QC frames 😉 Honfu, Honsen, XmiPlay, XMcarbonspeed, Carbonality all seem well regarded. Flyxii usually seem the cheapest. Price and stock varies from vendor to vendor so it’s a case too of balancing cost with actually being able to get what you want. Personally, I’d insist on a BSA BB and not want to pay more than $500-550 for the 256-sl. The 057 is another similar geo frame that is maybe 250g heavier but under $400. There seem to be very few issues online with either the 256 and 057. Think Ant White might have been on a 057 (certainly 2x Chinese 29ers) for his 2nd place at the World 24 hour champs so they can’t be *that* bad 😆