Hi All
I'm considering building up a lighter weight replacement for my current Sonder Cortex (130F/120R FS, something around 30lbs with some light bits already on it) - no particular reason why, just fancy a change. I'd probably look for a frame only option rather than a full bike. It'll be used for wheels on the ground XC / natural UK trail riding, nothing too adventurous - Swinley or FoD would probably be as extreme as it would ever see. Something fun / poppy / enjoyable to ride would be preferable vs. outright performance. It'd be used all year round so would need to be able to cope with UK conditions - mainly grinding paste Ridgeway clag so some semblance of mud clearance / weather shielding on bearings etc is needed. I'm 5'7 if that helps with any sizing 🙂
So far I've thought about:
Transition Spur - I missed out on the cheap frames - there's only S and XL left. New frame is £3K+ which is a bit steep. Might be a bit long reach wise compared to what I am used to?
Spesh Epic Evo 8 - There's offers on at the moment which makes the frame £2300. I test rode one a few years ago - it was nice but possibly a bit 'dead' feeling, but that could have been the rental setup. Would build up to something very light though.
Carbon Wasp Truffle - certainly niche and I don't think you'd ever see another one. Probably not as light as a mainstream frame.
Anything else out there for me to investigate, preferably discounted 🙂
My Starling Swoop used to be sub 30lbs built with a few light bits - ticks most of your boxes though you may struggle if you want 29" wheels.
Suggest what you have mode activated.....
Get a Spur, they're ace and sound like exactly what you're after.
Or an Orange Stage Evo as there's still some belting deals about.
Ibis Ripley
SC Tallboy (v5s may be on offer)
At 5' 7" a small Spur is probably what you want. Go for it.
At 5' 7" a small Spur is probably what you want. Go for it.
I mailed Windwave about the sizing a week or so back, and they strongly suggested that I would want the M (even though they have none in stock), otherwise I'd have probably bought it by now!
Or an Orange Stage Evo as there's still some belting deals about.
Super wee bikes. Loving mine. Lighter than you expect, and mine has lost more weight with some more 'trail' tyres than it came with.
Pics needed.
I’ve gone for a Dawley T16, another lighter than you’d expect option. Not mega light, but sub 30lbs shouldn’t be an issue with a lightish build kit, plus you can spec the geometry. No deals though.
The Truffle covers ground properly fast, mind!
Giant trance carbon frames at Paul's for £1400 in all sizes.
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/facetresultsalt.aspx?term=trance%20frame
Giant trance carbon frames at Paul's for £1400 in all sizes.
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/facetresultsalt.aspx?term=trance%20frame
https://singletrackworld.com/forum/bike-forum/warranty-denied-as-i-stripped-the-bike-down/
SCOR 2030 looks really nice and apparently rides amazingly. If you have deep pockets then there is the Atherton A130, STOLL D3/T3SL
Suggest what you've got: a Canfield Tilt V2
Currently a shade over £2k with a Cane Creek Kitsuma Air, although it does involve importing from the US so that nudges it just over £2500 delivered to your door. If you went frame only you could knock about £500 off that.
Slightly longer than XC at 138mm rear travel but it's so, so capable and climbs like nothing else I've ridden. Did an 80km gravel ride round Dalwhinnie with pals last weekend and hardly broke a sweat but it's equally at home on e.g. the Ard Rock Enduro.
Mine's a Large tipping the scales at 32 lbs built with SRAM kit, carbon wheels and a Lyrik.
The new Forbidden Reya 120mm bike looks good.
Vitus Rapide FS frame - if you can find one
or a Carbonda CFM-936 which the Rapide is based on https://carbonda.com/mtb/cfm-936.html
Very versatile. About to turn mine from 100mm forks to 120mm and switch to a 50mm stem from my current 60.. Basically building it into a "Lightweight Short Travel 'Trail' FS"
Something fun / poppy / enjoyable to ride would be preferableEvil Following ticks that box - not the lightest though
Another vote for the Evil Following. The head angle might look a bit steep but ignore that single measurement and look at the whole package, which really works and is effective.
It’s an extremely fun and agile bike to ride. Think rally car rather than monster truck. Loves to manual and pop of features on the trail and lives to get airborne. Loves to carve around twisty singletrack. The backend is so intuitive and predictable to drift and slide.
It really is an extremely fun and enjoyable bike to ride. Very highly recommended by me I absolutely love mine.
Suggest what you have mode activated.....
Similarly, Santa Cruz Tallboy 5 deals are still good. Plenty of spec choice at Merlin (5'7 is middle of size guide for medium):
https://www.merlincycles.com/search?w=santa+cruz+tallboy
My XXL Tallboy 5 is 14.9kg/32.8lbs with mudguard, bottle cage and a not particularly light build, so sub-30lb is possible.
Having cracked the chainstays on two rapides I can't reccomend them!, though when I had them I thought they were great. However, the epic 8 that replaced them is hugely more fun on the decents. I think the shock tune on the evo is quite different to tge regular epic.
Two bottles and in frame storage was an appeal, and being able to do long rides without a pack is brilliant. If I did shorter rides or less racing Id be tempted by a spur - they just look great!
I considered the wasp, but couldn't justify the weight penalty at the price, particularly given they didnt offer paint!
Whatever you do, dont be tempted to put heavy tires on it! At the point you put a draggy tire on you may as well have the extra travel to go with it!
Thanks for the suggestions all - lots of good things to go investigate..
Is the Evil Following superboost on the back?
The Sonder is built up fairly light already - Fox 34, ~1500g wheels, light tyres etc so those bits would transfer over to the new frame, most likely.
These are brilliant, not cheap but you are getting a top end Fork, Shock, and the 1 piece cockpit which helps to drop thw weight even further.
Other ways to get hold of a frame too, potentially buying a full build and splitting the parts out.
The new version will be even better but I suspect they will be launching 'ST' or 'Tuned' versions later, only the full racy RC versions exist so far.
+2 for the Evil Following
I have one with a slackset in it, 140mm fork and the linkage set to X Low. Such a fun bike and rarely feels short on travel. Yes it's superboost but worth the hassle IMHO.
Is the Following MB a really old version? Seems there's an LS and an MB listed on their site - the MB has some big discounts..
Try a medium one of these at £2299
Reya would be getting my money if i was in the market (and could afford one).
Yep Following MB is the really old one.
LS is the latest one, which is a very slight tweek to the V3. I think they just added the UHD hanger standard, don’t think they changed any geo between V3 and LS?
They released a new Offering last year so folks are hopeful for a new Following some time soon.
Also, what fork for these bikes?
I'm considering "evo-ing" my Epic 8. Currently fitted with 120mm RS Sids, I would really like to get the latest 130mm Fox 34SL, preferably with the Grip X damper, but can't find in stock anywhere :-/
I've already changed the extremely fast but sketchy Specialized tyres for a Barzo/Mezcal Trail combo. Definitely slower rolling but better on descents and techy climbs. I've picked up a Fox Factory Float shock to try but not yet fitted. I'm trying to make the bike even more capable on the downs without losing too much elsewhere.
i’m selling a Stage Evo Factory that’s only been ridden twice - just in case that’s of interest! 👍
Head: Buy a Specialized Chisel FS frame and run it with a 130mm fork - These are starting to pop up at 20-30% discount on the frameset or it might even be more cost-effective to buy a build and take off the bits you don't want. May not be different enough though?
Heart: New Cotic Flaremax when it gets released in the next few months or Dawley T16 (I like a steel FS from an aesthetic point of view!)
Alternative (what I did!): 2019-ish Blur or Tallboy and if you want to, stick an angle-adjust headset in it and you basically get the same bike as most new XC/Light Trail bikes. with the exception of any new-fangled integration/storage boxes etc.
