[Closed] soul vs blue pig

I had an Mmmbop and a Soul, but not a Pig, if that's any use?

how did they compare?

I didn't like the stiffness of the Mmmbop, which isn't so relevant for you but that was the main downside... The Soul's a fantastic frame and probably "better" as an allrounder, absolutely superb for all-dayers and pretty damn capable. Very good balance, it's got a really playful try-harder feel to it.

I replaced it because I wanted something that'd be a more focussed descender, and that's exactly what I got... Though Ragley was more versatile than I expected, and does climb well, it couldn't match the Soul at anything except harder downhills, where it does have it fairly beat. The geometry comes into its own where the Soul starts to remember its XC-bike roots and stops being so confidence inspiring, but that doesn't happen til things are getting a bit silly- downhill trails, daft off-piste riding etc.

So that's basically all it comes down to for me- if you want to do silly descending, it's Ragley, for absolutely everything else it's Cotic. But they're both good enough to overlap.

I've had both, and an inbred (well, 2 - an 18" DN6 and a 16" 853)

they're all very different bikes. Soul's for the "aggressive" rider who attacks the trails, blue pig's for steep, technical downs, and inbred for the kind of rider who hangs on for dear life and hopes to still be on at the bottom

thanks for that info northwind...exactly the kind of comparison i am after,when you ride the cotic do you think it had much flex?(in a good way)

Yep... TBH that's probably half the reason I got fed up of the Bop tbh, the Soul's rear end is magic... Finds a tiny bit of extra grip everywhere, always seems to be on a fractionally better line than other bikes, just refuses to get kicked around. But at the same time it doesn't feel poorly controlled or like it's soaking up power. Just right. Though of course, that's a matter of taste.

which one have you got? the older or newer soul, it sounds like just the type of frame i am after

Check out Dialled Bikes too.

ye, i have thought about other alternatives but i will start with a soul.thanks for the input though chunkymtb

Mine was the older Soul, the last of the 130mms. Though the new one feels much the same to me. I don't exactly regret selling it but I do miss what it did, wish I could afford to keep more bikes

the only frame i regret selling is my 5.5 evp...then baby number 2 came along...now i cant afford another full sus haha. but when i can its gonna be a nicolai helius cc and im gonna keep it forever

Don't underestimate the sheer weightiness of the Blue Pig - it's supple, but heavy, the frame on its own is 5.5lb and once you add a suitably butch fork and big wheels and tyres, you're looking at something around 30lb ime. Which is fine, but means it's not the liveliest bike on flatter terrain and while it climbs remorselessly as long as you can keep turning the pedals, it does it in an unhurried sort of way.

I've not ridden a Soul, but I suspect it'll be livelier. That'll matter to some people but not to others.

Not owned a pig but have rode on one and liked it very much , but I do have a soul which is prob the best frame out there apart from a sovereign IMO ( I have a sov too) the cotic as someone has already posted just grips and tears up the tracks , the back end is pure lovelyness , unfortunately I will be selling mine next week as my heckler will be arriving on Tuesday , I'm going to post it on here for sale, frame, carbon USE post and XTR front mech,

I know I will regret it but I love the sov too much despite it's weight and one of them had to go as the misses said 4 bikes already is enough , buy a soul , cy got it bang on when he designed it you will love it , that is all

BadlyWiredDog - Member
Don't underestimate the sheer weightiness of the Blue Pig - it's supple, but heavy, the frame on its own is 5.5lb and once you add a suitably butch fork and big wheels and tyres, you're looking at something around 30lb ime. Which is fine, but means it's not the liveliest bike on flatter terrain and while it climbs remorselessly as long as you can keep turning the pedals, it does it in an unhurried sort of way.

hi skiboy...what size is the soul you are gonna sell and how much do you want for it?

Not my experience. Have owned a Pig for nigh on 2yrs and ridden everything from Lakes, Peaks, trail centres to all day expeditions. Most of my bikes have been 30lbers so I probably don`t know any better

I think spark and liveliness in a bike is something some people value and some don't. It's the not the same as a bike being all-dayable, which the Pig is (I've done 60-mile Peak winter days on mine), it's about explosive kick if you're that way inclined. I've ridden a sub-26lb Ragley Ti and it was kind of like a Blue Pig on fast forward, if that makes sense.]

Then again, if you're not a kicky sort of rider, then that doesn't really matter, if that makes any sense. I think the Pig's ace on steep down and actually just downs everywhere, but a bit uninterested on flatter stuff, where it feels like a bit of a blunt weapon.

Anyway, it's all opinion. Maybe I'm just a bit weak.

[b]Edit:[/b] Or did you just mean that your Pig doesn't weigh 30lb odd?

I've had a Cotic Soul for about 1 year now and in my opinion it is the ultimate allrounder.
When I bought it I pretty much exclusively rode it for 6 months.
It made my Inbred feel heavy, my Orange 5 feel boring/uninspiring and my Scandal feel a fragile wobbly mess. All my bikes are good in their own ways but put an adjustable fork on the front, a fast large volume tyre on the back and a big grippy tyre on the front and it will feel right no matter where or what you ride.
I'm thinking that if I had a spare set of wheels with slick fitted I could probably go from 5 to 1 bike. That would cheer the wife up.
Buy one.

What's wrong with the Blue Pig? If it ain't broke...

lamo,

its a Med in red, not sure how much yet but will post pics etc saturday after i've stripped it atb

theres nothing wrong with it...i just really want to try a soul. i cant wait to make a direct comparison of my own. im gonna take the pig out for a ride, come back and swap all the bits over and then go on the same ride on the cotic

Can't speak for the BP but I own one of Brant's earlier efforts, the 456 which I am not entirely enamoured of. To make it worse, I tested a Soul at 18 bikes test day on Sat and I loved it. The soul climbed better than the 456, felt generally more committed and descended well too. The 456 feels a lot heavier than the poundish more than the soul that it is in reality. The 456 is great going down but not good enough in other respects to make up the difference on the Soul