I have realised I like slack bikes. I have a load of parts I want to add a frame to but the ones I seem to like (Cotic Solaris / Kinesis FF) seem to ahve a HA of 70 deg+.
Can anyone recommend a slacker frame to me? Would like it to run 120mm forks although for now I will have to make do with 100mm.
The Whytes look quite slack (68.5) but are not available as frame only.
cheers
nacho
Yelli Screamy maybe ?
Kona Honzo?
[url= http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FRTITFL29/titus_ti_fireline_29er_frame ]Titus Fireline[/url]? Big thread on here about them somewhere.
Trek Stache.
Singular Buzzard?
Yelli.....
Slack 29er with 100mm is missing the point somewhat, I love my buzzard but wouldn't run without 140mm forks get one without similarly short chainstays.
Thanks for the suggestions all, some research to do now!
Clobber, 100mm is all I have at the mo, will be upgrading to 120mm in the future (when I have enough $$)
Have you tried a 'steep' 29'er?
Reason I ask is severalfold;
a) they always have steeper angles as the rake/trail/offset are different to their 26er cousins.
b) by vitue of having 3" longer forks they have longer wheelbases
c) as above for the chainstays
Basicly a 29er wit a 70deg HA feels steep in the car park, but once upto speed is really stable.
TINAS - tried a Whyte (68.5) and it felt great, "sat" on a steeper one in the shop and didn't like the "feel" as much so based my decisions on this.
All the obvious choices have been stated above. If is a new frame you are after you are somewhat limited and none are that cheap, except maybe the Singular.
Not sure you will find many Stache or Whyte frames as they are relatively new. As a rule just after I give up searching for something secondhand on forums/fleabay etc and chose something else a rash of them appear going cheap... 
Oh and I'd get a test ride before making a choice...not that I have with my recent Trek Stache purchase...
You need a Ti Kinesis Maxlight Sync. Set up for a 120, short and siff backend with DT Swiss bolt thru and direct mount mech. When I'm not riding this bike I'm dreaming about riding this bike.
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I like slack bikes and bought a whyte on the bases of a test ride, that felt 'just right' to me. That said, my 26er FS bike has the same head angle, the 29er does not feel the same (as slack).
I'm left wondering how how Whyte have managed to get it so right, when supposedly the industry says 70° are as slack as you'd ever want...
Anyways, dependant on the size of your pocket, I'd add last years Whyte 829 (sold with 100mm & a 69°) which should come very close to the 2013 929 with 120mm & 67-68° headangle. So would probably handle the upgrade to 120mm well. The 829 seems to be a bit of a dark horse that many ppl have over looked (& the ones I've seen for sale 2nd hand had little interest) and the 929 sold out so quick, they seemingly never hit the showroom floor.
The 5/6/729 range are great bikes too, but the 8/929 ability to shorten the chainstay makes them that bit 'better', there well worth chasing down IMHO
The 929 IMO is a Yelli for more jey-core or XXXXC rider 😉
oh and everyone seem to have forgotten the 2Soul's Quarter Horse
Take a look at the Trek Stache www.pinkbike.com/news/Trek-Stache-8-Tested-2013.html
Slack geo with 120mm travel. Highly recommended
Yelli, Buzzard (ridden both) or maybe that Sync up there though it would help (my daughter's pocket money fund) if he didn't keep banging on about it.
@ mattjg - sorry mate, can't promise that, can't see the novelty wearing off on this bike 🙂
rewski - that is beautiful but way beyond my budget!
Shame the Sync doesn't have the short chainstays of the others
You wot? 43.8 is pretty short, Solaris is 43.5, Yelli is 42.4.Shame the Sync doesn't have the short chainstays of the others
Thought they were shorter than that myself. (Longer than a Solaris?)
Those few mm do make a difference IMO.
Interestingly the Maxlight Sync seems to be one of the only bikes (that I've read about anyway) that changes wheel size dependent on frame size, 650b for Small frames and 29" for medium and large. Makes a lot of sense to me. All I need now is to win the lottery...
No Solaris is 440 centre to centre (435 effective). The Sync is 43.8 centre to centre so presumably about 434, 433 effective. Nowt in it.
Just measured my Yelli, because I'm a sad f****r, 424 actual, 420ish effective.
@ Nacho - cheers, it's definitely been worth saving for.
@rewski recognise Eastbourne prom in photo and was done there last week seeing parents - rode over downs to Friston and roundabouts feeling very overbiked on my dual ply shod full susser that is suited to the Lakes. Felt the need for a bike at the other end of the spectrum and bought a Stache as couldn't stretch to posh frame builds. Your Kinesis looks biz!
Yelli's are good ........and I know someone who has one for sale .....and he has some 120 forks he could do a deal on as well .... 😉
Interestingly the Maxlight Sync seems to be one of the only bikes (that I've read about anyway) that changes wheel size dependent on frame size,
[url= http://www.yeticycles.com/#/bikes/arcc ]Ahem[/url]
There's also, off the top of my head, a couple of Juliana bikes models which have a variable wheel size.
Kona Taro is an ALU version of the Honzo
@ tomaso - thanks, yep that's good old eastbourne, some great riding around, not quite Lakeland. That wasn't you i saw in friston with the bouncy devinci and full face. Did you find all the trails? Would love to take the sync to the lakes one day.
Loving the look of your bike rewski.
I've just got my first 29er ht (albeit a steep one) and am completely sold on it.
Yelli's are good ........and I know someone who has one for sale .....and he has some 120 forks he could do a deal on as well ....
True that, I got one, and 120mm is about right unless you're doing real gnarrr.
But you can get a new Buzzard for less ...
But it's not a Yelli though .. 😀
they are, undoubtedly, special
you still selling your N9?
@rewksi not me on Devinci, battered Stumpjumper and only rode before breakfast as was on holiday with kids...
Grew up in Eastbourne and started mountain biking there 20 years ago so knows trails quite well!
It reminded me just how different riding in the UK can be and how much you can tune a bike for the local conditions - hence my Lakes bike did not like some of the long gentle climbs and open downland!
The climbs out of Jevington never feel that gentle to me, especially pentlands. I better grow a pair before I head to Lakeland 🙂
Matt ...I never was selling my N9 ....it was just a dig at Clink ...it was all the frames he's had in the past couple of years (that I can remember). 😆
What about a Lurcher and a slackset.
-
Singletrack Mag this month: '2014 Objects of Desire'. Ibis, Santa cruz and @Kinesis_UK Maxlight SYNC! @singletrackmag
Tweet from Kinesis UK
Just having a coffee break and going to read that. Page 118 to save you all time flicking through.
Premier subscribers can see a nice little vid of the Sync too, spot on review.
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/magarchive/issue-84/ ]http://singletrackworld.com/magarchive/issue-84/[/url]
stop it already
Recently bought a Singular Buzzard
Very happy with it but too early to provide a definitive thumbs up. I found the selection of (in stock, easily accessible and most importantly reasonably priced) slacker 29ers extremely limited. Hence the buzzard was purchased. My initial impression is that it certainly doesn't feel as slack (and as a result confidence inspiring) as my old cove Stiffee but way more slack than my 29 inbred.
I really wanted Alu as I wanted to save a bit of weight but the OT one I could find was the kona - which for me was difficult to find frame only in stock...
How slack is the sync? Is it slacker than the ff29?
Not much in it according to the Kinesis web site. The FF29 is quoted as having a HA of 71 degrees with a 100mm fork and 70 degrees at 120. The Sync is quoted as being 70.5 degrees but it doesn't say what the fork length for this measurement is. So it's either half a degree steeper or half a degree slacker than the FF29 I guess.
Sync is a tad slacker I believe (the tables being for a 120mm fork).
Interesting point in the STW write up of the Sync about people having a nice 29er HT as a do it all and not bothering with a FS, I'm thinking along those lines myself. Many times if I really [i]need[/i] an FS I can likely rent one.
I ride my Salsa Selma with a 100mm fork which gives a HA of 71 degrees-ish (the geo table says 72 degrees with 80mm), it's not a slack bike, I don't think I'd say the Sync is either. The Selma is spot on for twisty turny rolling trails, as soon as the terrain gets swoopy then my Yelli (68 degrees) comes alive.
But a reasonable pilot could ride either near anywhere.
Funnily enough - I've moved to 29er h/t as my one do it all bike. As a result of a young family (I would still prefer to subscribe to n+1 but sadly cannot afford it).
I reckon if you are after a bike that has to do a bit of commuting/perhaps mount a kid seat and still off road then a 29er hardtail is the answer.
I came to the conclusion the sync wasn't slack enough for me hence I ask... Not that I could have afforded one!
Based on my budget and requirements looks like I might need to save to buy a complete Whyte or be patient and wait for a frame or used Whyte / Stache to appear. I like my 26" bikes anyway 😉
Lots of the Whyte 5/6/729's are now regularly popping up on ebay and the classifieds, along with shops now selling the 2013's at discount (as the 2014's have appeared early). Good fun bike for the money, the same can probably said of the Stache too.
Buying a 529 in sale for £600 and moving bits on here & fleabay would easiest. However Stache has a 120 fork as standard and the 529 et al only has 100mm