Hiya folks,

Do any companies make a frame that is about 3-4″ travel, light and slack but built to take a 150mm fork and have the right geometry with one fitted?

Rode the Beast at Coed Y Brenin this weekend (really good trail) and as a result of it I’ve decided I really like my 150mm forks as they stopped me having a few hairy moments, and the slack nature of my head tube…. but I really don’t need all the travel I’ve got at the back (125mm), it’s a hinderance on the climbs etc.

However I really don’t want a hardcore hardtail, I’d like a small amount of give in the back end to take the sting out of harsh edges and help give a little grip in bumpy corners.

Does such a frame exist?

I was going to say Genesis Grapil but that’s 120mm at the back.

DMR Bolt..

It’s not that light though 🙂

A used Orange Blood?

Nukeproof mega tr is close I think? 130 mm at back, takes a 150mm fork.

Why do you think more travel would be a hinderance on the climbs?!? Geometry, suspension design and set up make far more difference. I wouldn’t narrow it down to short travel if that’s your only concern

@ chilled76, what’s this 150/125 full suss that you’re riding?

Funny you should mention this, i had a Giant Anthem around 4 years ago, and decided to fit a long travel fork to it a Fox Talas 150.
The weight didn’t go up by to much, still weighed around 25 lbs, this was a bike for the peak district and i still now regret selling it.
As for the angles with the forks being talas i could drop them to 120 for most of the ride then the 150 would come into it’s own on the descents, i am not saying this was the perfect ride but it was a great tool for the job.

If you have fitted a 150 fork to a bike that was meant to be 125mm travel F&R then that maybe the issue with your climbing 😕

Headangle and seat will have more effect on climbing than your travel.

Fit wind down fork.

You could fit a different (shorter and/or shorter throw) shock to your existing bike. Or tune it better.

I’ll buy one if u can find one. I love the idea of the bolt but its super heavy.

That said I’m now a massive fan of the lockout shock. Which may rescue my big bike from being sold.

We all know more travel is harder work climbing.

I have an AnthemX with a 100mm/130mm Dual Position Air Rockshox Revelation/Pike frankenfork on the front. It is great. Wouldn’t go 150mm at the front though.

Solo is 125mm at the rear

Can take a 150 at a push – tbh if it can’t then what’s the point in spending so much on it

Tho really – if you want less travel go with a nicolai helius CC and go down to 80mm

We all know more travel is harder work climbing.

Not really. Longer travel bikes tend to be heavier and slacker, and those things make climbing harder. But more travel in itself needn’t.

Fivespot… bit presumptuous of you!

I ride a 2012 Banshee Spitfire, it’s great but wandered if there was anything out there that was basically a hardcore hardtail with a little bit of give to take the sting out of trails. The spitfire geometry is perfect and built to be a long slack bike and designed around a 150mm fork. It climbs fine, but a shorter travel bike would be a bit sharper/snappier and wandered if anyone had built/designed one to mate with a 150mm fork.

Looks like this but higher spec and better colour chooices

What you’re describing makes sense on paper, but there’s not much advantage to be had by going down an inch in travel over, say, a Stumpjumper or similiar good-pedalling mid-travel bike IMO.

Agree with the wind down fork suggestion above. My trail centre gnarpoon has a 6″ fork that winds down to 4″ for climbing. Stops any front end waggle, especially on long trail centre climbs. Then, when it’s time to shred the gnat and get my radnezzz on, I just wind it up and shred the brown pow, braw.

🙂

Sort of got that setup with my Yeti ASR 5 built with similar intentions to yours. 140mm front, 125mm rear – gives it a lowish BB, head angle of 67 and I love it. Santa Cruz Tr similar geometry. I think you can run a 150mm fork on either but whether it would ruin handling I don’t know (it certainly voids the Yeti warranty). Both are plenty light enough. Can’t think of a bike I’d rather have.

GT also released a bike with, I think, 150mm/110mm. I can’t remember the name though. I like the idea but it hasn’t really caught on.

I think Northwind is right though – a decent 150/150mm bike built light should still pedal very well and they’re much more abundant.

Thanks guys, a few of you have read between the lines and concluded I’m talking about front end wandering… it’s not that at all, just feel a bit less at the rear would be more snappy and responds better to pedal input.

The GT Distortion. Marketed as kind of a DS bike rather than Enduro though. Looks like a lot of fun to me, I’d love to try one.

http://www.gtbicycles.com/can/2013/bikes/mountain/enduro/distortion-1-0

A stiffer shock tune would sort you out by the sounds of it.

No one really builds one because there is no need for one. A well set up 150/150 will pedal much better than a poorly set up 150/100

If you like the geo of your current frame, just stick too much air in the shock or get it retuned

In that cae, just a better shock set up might be the answer. I haul a six inch fs around trail centres, as I grind up and enjoy the downs a lot. Set up right it feels perfectly snappy to me. OK, it’s not a patch on a proper xc bike for speedy whippy shizzles, but it’s so much fun!

The podge, that’s a daft argument as a well set up 100mm bike will pedal better than a poorly set up 150mm one.

If both are well set up then the 100mm one will pedal better… which is one of the reasons I’m asking if anyone makes such a thing.

Superficial, thanks for the link. Looks pretty heavy and overbuilt though…

Maybe I need to start a frame build company to cater for this niche!

Blur TRc sounds like the exsct bike

I’ll have a look at the TRC’s, thank you.

EDIT.. that’s 125mm back end and designed around 120-140mm forks with 130mm being optimum.

125mm rear travel and climbs badly?
Get a 125mm rear travel bike that climbs well instead!

Kelvin, read what I’ve said… at no point have I said mine climbs badly… I’m purely asking if anyone makes a certain product that I’ve imagined would suit my needs well and wandered if one exists.

I’m not unhappy with mine. It climbs pretty well…. BUT any bike with 125mm is a slight hinderance when it comes to snap.

I don’t need 5″ at the back but a hardtail is a little too rough for my liking so wandered if there was anything inbetween that still had a slack head angle and was built around a 150mm fork.

jeeeez, some people on here really need to learn to read what people write and not the in between lines they choose to.

I really don’t need all the travel I’ve got at the back (125mm), it’s a hinderance on the climbs

You’ve just proved my point again.

125mm really shouldn’t be a hinderance on climbs.

And a bike with 25mm less travel, but that can take the same forks, is going to end up weighing much the same.

Thanks for the suggestions Kelvin. I guess everyone running fairly hefty hardcore hardtail should listen to you and make sure they ditch their frames and have the 125mm travel you specify as it won’t be any different.

I’m asking of it exists because it might… and 3-4″ travel WILL be snappier and respond to pedal input better than 5″ travel if designed right/the same. Maybe not a lot different, but so what. My question was DOES IT EXIST?

NO IT DOES NOT

I didn’t think so either. Anyone beg to differ?

Yeah it does…Banshee Rampant

Freeridenick off here swears by them…all he needs around the Surrey Hills. He wore his last one out and so he’s just bought another. Setup with Sektor Dual Pos 150-120. Works a treat

I looked at the Rampants. They are 4x/slopestyle type frame’s aren’t they.

Unfortunately they aren’t tall enough in the top tube for a day in the saddle, otherwise that’s be it.

I’ve got a feeling I already own the frame that is the closest fit to my question.

They are 4x/slopestyle type frame’s aren’t they.

That’s just what they have been labelled up as…doesn’t restrict it to just those categories if the geometry suits