Right then ive finally decided to ditch the full suss for the winter or even permenantly depending how it goes for a long travel hardtail, after lots of searching i thought i had i had finally decide on a ragley blue pig but am now considering a cotic bfe or even trying carbon with the 456?
Mainly ride trail centres and around north wales so needs to be capable of taking a good trashing downhill but not too much of a slog coming back up!
Any opinions/experiences would be a massive help!!
C456, would be my call just now.
Had a BFe- lovely ride but needs pushed hard to make it make sense. For what you describe the Soul would probably make sense btw.
Had an MMMbop rather than a Pig, and the geometry makes for a ridiculous descending weapon- I put Lyriks and 721s in it at one point and took it to innerleithen, spent the day chasing surprised people on downhill bikes 
Climbs surprisingly well too, you'd think it'd be a compromise there. Not that good at flatland stuff, woodsy singletrack etc.
Just got my C456... Obviously it's miles lighter. It has a lovely ride- not quite like steel, but you can tell the rear end is doing something, rather than just bashing over things and kicking you up the arse. it's a more neutral ride but with the right fork (u-turn Revelation in my case) it's a seriously capable descender, but whips along through the local woods better than anything I've had since my old Soul.
Also, it'll take a head angle reducer headset if you want, which gives it numbers surprisingly like a Pig.
Had a Blue Pig and now have a C456 (never ridden a BFe though so can't help on that front). What is mentioned in the post above is very true indeed - the Pig climbs well and descends very well indeed, but it's not so good on flat woodland singletrack (my main riding). The Pig is also a little heavy but it is a comfortable bike.
The C456 is probably a better all rounder, but doesn't descend quite as well, however the weight difference is quite noticeable - I swapped the kit off the Pig onto the C456 and it is much easier to heft around.
My Pig frame is still in the garage and could sell it if you want to save some cash. It's a large (18") in black which has been used but is in good condition.
bfe !! or maybe a soul......
had a pig..... never again carbon for me..
Dialled Alpine or Albert! 😉
Dialled Prince Albert
interesting hear Brant answer that one...
bfe
I went from a etsx full suss to a 456 summer season and really enjoyed the changed (hardtail) so decided to go an buy a 456 carbon.
I thought the summer season was fantastic with 150 rev u-turns ?
But the carbon is even better even on the downhill stuff the carbon seems to absorb rather than flex
I couldn't recommend the carbon 456 enough it only weights 23 lbs with 150mm forks, xt drivetrain, hope hoops etc
So it's really fast on singletrack and climbing.
Go and buy one!!!
Ps if you anywhere near Huddersfield you can give mine a thrash if you fancy trying one out
Unless you're a really aggro rider and/or weigh loads then I can't recommend a Soul with 140s highly enough! With an inline post and saddle well forward on the rails it still goes uphill and with the saddle down (GD FTW!) it'll go down anything at a fair lick. Obviously it won't survive epic crashes as well as a BFe but it's a tough frame. Was awesome round Coed Y Brenin and Llandegla last weekend!
NS Surge!
Where abouts in north wales are you? I wouldn't mind meeting up for a ride and swapping bikes so you can try my Bfe (17")
Thanks for all the views am definately leaning towards the 456 now but could be tempted with a second hand blue pig to save some cash! Straightliner could I see some pics? Email me at georgebriggs86@gmail.com
Cheers