Just curious really about what’s out there in the “120-130mm F/R travel 26″ trail bike available as frame only”-segment?

cy @ Cotic was looking into them, even had a survey to see what people wanted, but I’m not sur ehow far he’s got though

Commencal SL not the lightest frame but enjoying mine.

Isnt that 2013 nukeproof mega tr there
or there abouts

Off the top of my head i can thonk of a few woth looking at:
Trek Fuel ex
Lapierre x control
Yeti ASR5
Santa cruz tr (or trc)
Orange st4

Turner Flux. (manufacture ceased in 2012 but may still be around)

ASR5 and ST4 doesn’t appear to be produced any more either, but since I’d probably be looking at second hand either way I’m still interested.

And on that note, let’s open it up to those only sold as complete bikes as well. Transition Bandit is what I can think of off the top of my head (made for slightly longer forks than I’d like though, but god they’re nice), as well as the various decently priced German offerings (Canyon, Rose, Radon).

Giant Trance

Scott Spark or cannondale trigger for xc
Fuel ex, Trance or Blur trc for ragging about

My medium camber pro frame and forks will be for sale when my ti slackline frame turns up (no idea when this will be though), really like mine but I’ve got the hardtail itch again!
Transition bandit looks like a good option and the cotic one if cy goes ahead with it.

New or used? I’ve got a 2007 stumpy 120mm rear travel frame in large under my feet….
[/blatant plug]

For new – i’m replacing it with a transition bandit at 130mm, so that’s where i’d point you. Combined with a set of 130/160 x-fusion slants i’m hoping it’s going to be as fun as the stumpy with a bit more travel on the front.

Nicolai Helius CC if you can get your hands on a used one. There have been a few in the classifieds of late. I have one and it is teh awsum

Has a bit more bounce at the front, but Genesis Grapil?

I’m in the same boat as stevede – scratching the hardtail itch with a Ti456, so my superb (large) 2011 Camber Pro frame is surplus at the moment. I have to say that as a 120mm frameset, it rode longer, I loved the geo and it, well, just worked really well. Highly recommended (and up for grabs too) [/another blatant plug!] 🙂

I picked up a 2012 Whyte t120 cheap and sold on the parts, slack (enough) and only about 26lbs in my build with a reverb. Going to get a bit heavier when I plug my 130mm slant fork in it at the end of the month.

In the same boat as you mate..

Swithering over a 2012 Giant Anthem X2 locally. But something’s stopping me making the call to haggle. Not sure what as it will probably suit my riding requirements perfectly.

I emailed Cotic today about the short travel FS frame they are working on, got an email back saying think of the Rocket as a FS BFE, then think of the new bike as a FS Soul, steeper angles than Rocket, lighter and 120mm travel.

No idea on price or weight but should be good as all Cotic products are.

That sounds absolutely fantastic – I was about to ask about something like a FS Soul but decided not to, to avoid steering the discussion in any particular direction. I probably won’t be in the market for a new frame for awhile, mainly just wanted to get an idea what to look out for, so sounds like I’d be stupid to not atleast wait and see what they come up with.

With that said, if I found an ASR5 in the right size and with a pricetag I could realistically afford, I’m not sure I could resist.

Oh, and thanks for all the replies!

Pretty sure I read somewhere that the new Cotic will be a similar price to the rocket for frame and shock.

I have an XL santa cruz superlight frame for sale in black. Kashmina RP23. £400 if you’re interested. Right on the money for 120mm.

Morning all! We are working on a shorter travel frame, which if development goes well should be available mid-summer. I have the geometry sorted, but we’re doing durability testing on a lighter weight tubeset as the prototype I have used thus far is basically a Rocket with a Soul top tube in terms of tubeset and I believe we can take more weight out of it than that.

The geometry will be a little steeper at the front end than the Rocket, and it’s designed around working with 120-140mm forks. Frame travel is 125mm. Sign up to our mailing list if you want to know more about it before anyone else.

As mentioned, there’s no reason why the new frame will be any more to make than the Rocket so expect similar pricing. The only current variable on that front is that insane as it may seem, we’re in model year changeover for Fox, so a frame coming out in the summer will have 2014 Fox shocks which we don’t have agreed pricing on yet.

Thanks for the update Cy. Frame sounds fantastic but unfortunately way out of my price bracket

I’ll have to settle for something a bit cheaper and maybe catch one second hand when they come up.

I really like Cotic frames and have had 3 Souls but at £1300 for the frame I just couldn’t justify it. : (

Cube AMS?

Does the AMS come with eye bleach!

What happened to the nice bikes Cube used to build 2 or 3 years ago?