Afternoon all,
having just built up my BFe frame(cheers davidtaylforth) i thought i'd share it with you all and hopefully see some of your builds and opinions. I've just swapped the bits over from a newer Soul and i was anxious to get it out and test it to see if it would work for me.
I was after something a bit stiffer and capable of taking a beating through the winter as an alternative to my Pitch should i fancy it, however i still wanted it to be able to carry out xc duties (moon on a stick i know).
First few rides done now and i'm very impressed, i was concerned that i'd find the BFe really harsh coming from my Soul but bizarrely not, i'd read a few comments in the past from Cy regarding Thomson posts on the BFe being harsh so i went for a Bontrager Rythm Elite and compared to my Thomson equipped Soul it really isn't any harsher, happy days.
I found it spot on for my local trail rides and yesterday i did a Dartmoor route on it that i'd normally take a full suss for - loads of technical rocky descents including Nutcracker if anyone knows it? The BFe lapped up yesterdays techy stuff, it seemed to hold a line a lot better through rock gardens than my Soul did, grin factor massive. Definately feel like i've made the right choice changing over, the Soul is probably the more sensible choice for most people but i'm more than happy to live with the slight weight penalty of the BFe for the extra stiffness and strength. The one thing that's the same on both is the great geometry, works perfectly for me.
Here in xc mode with my Superstar xc wheelset and Shimano trail spd's which i'm pretty impressed with:
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And in play bike mode with 721/pro 2's, flats and High Rollers:
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Now time to sell my Soul frame!
Looks nice , im liking that colour too.
Not the best pic but I'm loving it.
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knottie8 - cheers, it's one of only a small quantity made in orange, same colour as my Soul so the other half hasn't even noticed the change!
toys19 - nice build you've got there, could've done with a dropper post yesterday! Your a braver man than me running a Larsen on the front, love running one on the rear in the dryer months though.
Nice, I love that orange colour. Cotic always do the best colours 🙂 Here's the one I had for a couple of months. Nice bike. Kind of want to try one again but maybe in a medium (this one's a small).
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I'm really liking these especially the orange. What sizes are those medium, small and small?
Mine's a medium.
My BFe is a small (also ride a medium Soul):
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16" one
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Well done op, it's nice to see that lovely frame built up.
I don't feel so bad about losing it to you on eBay now. 😀
Cheers peteimpreza!
Loving the stealthy gritstone frames, fancied a full on stealth build but glad i went for the orange now, it's growing on me.
Will have an 8 month old medium orange Soul for sale soon if anyone's interested? Would love to keep the Soul, a BFe and my Pitch but it's not going to happen.
mine before EpicSteve bought it
[url= http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2177/4509647651_364f625661_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/17059060@N00/4509647651/ ]IMG_2923[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/17059060@N00/ ]eastham_david[/url], on Flickr
vortexracing - How did that handle with the Lyriks at full travel? I imagine it to bulldozer a bit but be a bit strange on the handling front, run my Pikes around 130mm most of the time as i did on the Soul. 140mm is fun for more dh type stuff though.
It was OK but only for Rocky DH stuff. If fcat they are bloody quick for a hardtail especially with a 160mm on the front.
Most of the time I had it at 130mm or 140mm.
Just like I have my Soul set at.
Mine is a small. You know them stickers? Do I just peel the top layer off or are they meant to be invisible unless you shine a light on them?
Love the Larsens, and so far theu have been great in the damp, they are super tackies front and rear though..
Everyone elses looks slacker than mine, then I realised I'm on 140's and those are all 150-160's?
stevede have sent you pm bout soul 😛
Looks decent, glad to see it went together ok. I think you've seen a picture of my current bfe. I've played around with the forks length and found 110mm feels best to me. I rode innerleithen and glentress this weekend and 110mm was perfect, apart from at the bike park where I wound them down to 95mm.
David - yeah i've seen yours looks ace, stealthy as. Orange definately growing on me now, all the better for knowing it's a rare one!
Mine has 120-150 Revs on, seems best at 135 for most use. I ran it for a downhill day with my 160 Devilles off my other bike. It was ok but I just found the angle changes etc just too extreme with that amount of travel. Oh and at the end of the day I noted the fork crown bits didnt clear the down tube on my 16" so glad I didnt crash!