Morning STW,
I've been reviewing the fleet, with rationalisation and a big bday (40) in mind. Currently have: 1. a Rourke Rohloff stainless road bike, 2. a Cube Nutrail fatty with a second 29er wheelset, and 3. a Bird Aeris Mk1 with DT XM and EX wheelsets.
The Rourke is getting hardly any use but it's custom so loathe to bite the bullet (maybe use it more when even older!). The Aeris I like but it's too much for my local riding, though I'm happy to keep it with a heavy build for the Alps/Pyrenees (live in France so easy). The Cube I actually got for work overseas (sand not snow) and the 29er wheelset was a stop gap for...
...what I really want, a 29er hardtail that'd suit the 80-90% of my local riding the Aeris is too much for. Had a nice steel one before and miss it but I had to sample the field no?
I'm too heavy to ever be competitive for XC (85ish kg for 189 cm) but I do want a much lighter bike than I'm used to. So looking at carbon or (cheap, off the peg) titanium. I don't think I'm suited to the vast majority of carbon XC bikes though, just too clumsy and don't want to hold back on a descent. I also know from my old 29er that 120mm travel would do me fine, but with 34/35 mm stanchions as my Reba used to flex. The problem? Finding 'trail' (120 mm, 67/68° HA) hardtail bikes/frames in carbon fibre or titanium... Easy in steel or alu but unless I iz googletard I'm really struggling! Want boost too for tougher wheels and perhaps sticking some 650b plus in in the future. So 1500-2000 g frame rather than sub-1000 g wonders that'd keep me permanently worried. Probably go for an Eagle GX build and LB/Nextie wheels.
Kona Honzo CR would probably fit the bill but €€€€€s and I'm not sure I want such short chainstays (reviewed as a harsh ride?).
Trek Stache? Not opposed to 29 plus for a laugh (never tried it) but primarily want vanilla 29. There's the remarkably similar PX Rango but might as well go straight to China after that Shand thread...
Sonder Transmitter Carbon? Looks lovely but they really really insist it's not 29er compatible, even if I only want to run <2.3" tyres, and it's pretty slack.
Sonder Broken Road (Ti). Not planning on using all those attachment points and 27.2 mm seatpost makes droppage difficult. Lovely and cheap though!
Kingdom Vendetta 29? Bloody love the look of this but it's designed for up to 150 mm forks, which is more burly than I had in mind. I also have an $800 quote for a remarkably similar frame from China (not including delivery).
So that's about the extent of my success. Lots of manufacturers make full sus 120 mm 29ers in carbon but hardtails... Any ideas? Happy to go direct to China on a personal recommendation but I'm not quite confident enough to go the whole blueprint process alone.
Many thanks,
Gaidong
Those new transitions?
There isn't really anything else that I've seen, someone needs to do a 29/B plus version of the C456 IMO.
Transition or Canfield EPO?
On One Rango?
Canfield epo. Had a go on a friends at the bike park , it was great.
I did a quick Google and came up with the [url= http://store.canfieldbrothers.com/frames/canfield-brothers-epo.html ]Canfield EPO[/url] mentioned above; it'll take a 120mm-140mm fork.
He ran it with fox 34's , Chris king wheelbuild and 1 x 11, a lot of fun. It's pretty stiff at the back but not overly so
Good call on the Canfield! Aesthetically it's not my cup of tea (check out the Kingdom Vendetta 29's straight-tubedness!) but the EPO has all but boost, and a reasonable(ish) $999 in sale. Hmmmm
Oh God, that Transition Vanquish wins hands down (my pants)
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Exactly what I was after. The smashing of children's piggy banks begins now!
Cheers Jam Bo
Appreciate it David but the Chameleon is aluminium. The Vanquish is effing expensive though, £1800 rrp frameset! I can always arrange a trip to the US but it's still big money. If only we knew which factory in the Far East it was coming from...
There have been a few people asking about the vanquish on the Chinese carbon forums but no joy as yet. There are a few stache- alikes around
Ti Honzo?
Thanks Leegee. I do like the Konas very much but they're certainly on the pricey side. What's interesting, to me, is that this and the original Transition Vanquish thread of a couple of months ago seem to suggest there's not a lot on offer in this carbon/Ti trail 29er HT category.
Ideally I think I'd prefer a Ti frame over carbon, you're only giving up a few hundred grammes over a chunky carbon frame like the Vanquish, but again, options are thin. I have chatted with the Kingdom guys and if you order a frame you can get free geometry tweaks - my concern there though was not geometry but that the bike'd be overbuilt for me if designed for a 150 mm fork.
Cheers,
Gaidong
I would take the chameleon every day of the week. Way cheaper than anything else (although it's still expensive), and you'll get a fanastic warranty/support. Plus, it looks right, and we all know, if it looks right, it'll ride right.
I would avoid anything titanium for an MTB frame, especially since you're a big chap. As has been shown time and again, they always end up cracking.
Hi again David, I grant you the Chameleon looks nice but the builds are pretty basic, and it's £550 for an alu frame... The Highball seems to be authorised to 120 mm fork but it's a 70.5° HA with a 100 mm, so pretty steep. And deep into SC carbon pricing 😯
Gaidong