Is a Soul worth the £170 difference over the Bfe?
Is it/can i justify it?

It Depends.

Personally, I thought my BFe was merely very good, while my Soul was superb. The heavier tubing of the BFe just seemed to rob it of the liveliness/playfulness which made the Soul so special, and left it feeling a wee bit ordinary. Still very good though.

If you want something to do the job the Soul’s for, don’t get a BFe, would be my advice- BFe is for people who need it not for saving money.

Thank you for that. Been swithering for a while and being fairly short and fairly light i imagined the Bfe would do what i wanted, trail riding mostly, and i could put the cash toward better forks.

What Northwind says is spot on.

They are worth the extra money if the type of riding you intend to do is in the Soul ‘design space’ rather than the hooligan aspects that the BFe will excel at.

Try and find a used Soul- they’re very durable and well painted so it’s usually a fairly safe option.

Sanderson and pocket the difference?

I wanted a soul a couple of years ago ( to go with my Simple) but £350 ish less I bought a 456 because money talks bullpoo walks, the 456 was good please do not be mistaken the 456 was a very good but I still wanted a Soul.

Needless to say I later on got a soul, is it a nicer bike than the 456 yes is it a better bike than the 456 er maybe the big question is of course is it worth the money YES[/u]

Try one is all I can say

Just got a Soul and it’s very good indeed, and I’ve been on FS since 1997!
Amazing bike.

Got one a few months ago, I had thought about a BFe but an unexpected debt got paid so I went for the Soul. Settling in to it now, final tweaks pretty much done and it is an incredibly nice bike to ride.

I have an 18″ 853 Sanderson for sale in classifieds , takes 120mm forks.

My Soul is likely to be the last frame I buy for a very long time, and I’ve had it since 2008!

I bought my Soul second hand (on Baker Street station!) to try one out, no-one will ever prise it off me now. Lovely. Never tried a BFe mind, so doesn’t answer your question!