in feel/weight e.t.c.
i know that the soul can take up to 140mm where as my skinny duster is 100mm,but i must admit to having liked the look of the soul.
am not actually planning on buying one (no cash) but i am thinking in the future maybe (i haven't ridden for ages/i mean ages! 😳
am neither gnarly/fast rider especially at present (see above).
i do plan on riding again though offroad (as i do miss it).
As an owner of both I can say the similarities end with 'hardtail' and 'made of steel'
Compared at the same frame size the duster is a bit shorter in the top tube (0.75 - 1 inch at a guess), the headtube is a bit longer (higher front end unless you already run lots of spacer son your Soul), and the ride feel is totally different, although weight wise they're pretty close to each other, and at 100mm there's only 1deg difference in head angle.
The Duster is a lot flexier, this has pros and cons, as you'll already know it is really comfy and nicely whippy if ridden right but I find if you get a bit too animated on it it can feel a bit vague and needs some extra effort to go round tight corners if you come in at speed as the front end just has too much flex and wont bite until you really force it. Having said that it's a really good spinny mile munching bike and I really like it.
The Soul is a lot more direct, it's stiffer under power at the back end, you can easily see the difference in flex around the BB area if you stand up and honk on the Skinny D' it wiggles and waggles all over the place, Soul has barely a flutter by comparison and you do notice this when riding, it's just not as twangy, but somehow doesn't end up that much less comfy. Front end is massively more planted too, even running both at 100mm the Soul can hold a line better.
I like both but I think fundamentally they're designed for different things, the Duster is an XC bike with a slightly playful character, where as the Soul is a bit of a hooligan bike that will also do fine for XC if you're that way inclined.
that was a thorough reply there amedias thanks 🙂
i do like my duster bike,but am planning on doing a full upgrade (will take a long time though),hence thinking about changing to a soul frame.
i must admit to being very swayed by the soul 🙂
there's no better reason to buy a bike frame than 'because I want to' in my book 🙂
both good frames, just a bit differenty