Hi all, I have a 2013 Scott Genius 730 that I bought 7 months ago and got me back into MTB. The rear shock is dead (due to old seal issues) and I don’t think I want a FS anymore. I focus mainly on medium-long distance XC/AM riding (descending with some drops, but no big air) in Scotland along with some bikepacking (think the Highland Trail 550 route, but shorter and slower!). Hardtails seem more suited to this from my reading, and hopefully cost less to keep running!

Overall I want a bike that climbs well but also descends well over the loose, rocky terrain we have here.

I have just bought new 140mm 2016 Fox 34s from CRC due to the bargain price and the terrible open CTD damper on the Scott. Looking for advice on what frame to get whilst bearing in mind: 140mm fork, wheelset is 27.5 142×12 rear. Frame budget is ideally below £350

– DMR Trailstar: Available with a current promotion/ex-display in budget. Looks pretty good, not light, and I worry that the seat tube is a bit slack, even if it has been steepened since Guy Kesteven trashed it in a review. So, does it climb?

– Octane-one Prone 27.5: Cheap alloy frame, seems relatively well liked from the small snippets I’ve seen about it. Geometry looks spot on.

– On-one DeeDar: Much the same as the Trailstar but cheaper steel?

– Bird Zero TR: In many ways the most appealing frame, but only supports 130mm forks (and the AM is boost). Running it over spec is probably silly, even as a light rider (62kg, at most 75kg load with bikepacking gear)

– Dartmoor Hornet: A bit too aggro perhaps? and the Primal won’t take my current wheelset.

The wheels that come on the Scott are far from great (19mm internal Synchros XC55) and probably quite heavy, but I don’t know if it’s worth spending money on an upgrade: Mavic Crossride Lights (21mm) are on clearance in Decathlon for £160, or there are the Raleigh/Alex Volars (25mm) in Merlin for ~£180 too. Don’t know anything about the crossride lights but they come with Quest 2.25 tyres, which look all right.

Does one of these frames seem sensible for the sort of riding I’ve described? Or any others spring to mind?

Is it worth finding the money upgrade the wheels to something wider now — currently runnign 2.25″ Nobby nics, but the rear is bald and needs replacing.

Thanks! I’ve been reading this forum for a long time but never joined before 🙂

I’d highly recommend the Orange P7 i’ve got in the classifieds! 😉 But also it does meet all your requirements if you find one the right size. Smashing frame.

Nukeproof scout 275 frame  on chain reaction for 350 .

350 would get you a 2nd hand cotic soul in pretty good nick I would imagine

Pinnacke Iroko?

Fantastic vfm.  I got a 2017 one in the sales, not ridden my whyte t130 since!

Plan to do south down way on it later this year, very verstaile bike.

Or cotic soul?

Thanks for the replies everyone. That P7 on the classifieds is quite appealing, but might be just a tad too much reach for me (5’10” but all legs). Need to check the geometry charts a bit more closely.

The scout is unfortunately boost rear these days, and nowhere seems to still have stock of the non-boost 2017 frame.

I’ve struggled to find many second hand Cotic Soul frames, which is a shame, as I really like the bike. But the current model is Boost and £600 which is more than I can do really.

That Iroko frame looks pretty dialed in terms of angles and price. The only one left is the cheapest one, the Iroko 1, the main difference seems to be QR dropouts, but at that price, a new wheelset can be bought. Thinking the same about the Octane-one prone. Heard a few good mentions of that one now.

I bought an octane one probe from CRC the 29er version.  It was savagely harsh a ride and the build quality was not great specifically the paint which was just awful.  Otherwise a cheap frame which rode OK, but like I said it was unbelievably harsh a ride

I’d get the Bird TR and reduce the travel on the fox forks.

But if you’re planning to replace the wheels too then why not get a boost frameset?

Damn, that’s a shame about the Prone being harsh. I heard the paint wasn’t great, which I’m not too fussed on since I’m going to scuff it anyway, but I want a somewhat comfortable ride. I assume as NS-Bikes and Octane-one are pretty much the same company that the NS Eccentric Alu Evo would be pretty similar then.

I have definitely considered reducing the fork travel, but it seems a bit sad to me to open up a brand new fork and throw an air shaft away.

The only wheelsets I can really afford at the moment are non-boost. The new fork is also non-boost, so I would need a new 15×100 front and 148×12 rear if I bought new wheels, and I can’t find anything affordable that meets those criteria.

https://www.merlincycles.com/ritchey-timberwolf-mountain-bike-frame-2017-110830.html

Im close to buying one of these

DMR frame is a bit of a bargain at the current discounted price IMO.

I love mine, seat tube might be a little slack compared to some, but you can always run the saddle a bit further forward 😉

I’ve had no issues climbing on mine. I currently run mine as a SS, but will happily do a 50km xc/trail ride on it. Sunday I did 48km with 1500m of climbing.

It feels totally bombproof, great downhill. Best longish travel hard tail I’ve ridden in many a year 😎

go perfect with your 140 fork (I bought one to for my dartmoor hornet)

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ns-bikes-eccentric-alu-evo-27-5-frame-2018/rp-prod165875

I’ve been looking at those Timberwolf frames too, but was kind of put off by the short reach, and poor climbing ability mention in some reviews (although the SA has been steepened in the 2017 revision). It’s a tricky one for me.

Nice to hear something good about the Trailstar, it certainly has me interested!

poah – do you have any experience of the NS Eccentric? Octane-one are pretty much the same company, so I worry that if the Prone were very harsh it would be much the same.

Used Stif Morf or Pace RC127?

If you are going to swap wheels then consider 29 as on ht for me it’s the best option. Currently running the newest Ragley bigwig, steep seat tube, slack head tube, low bb and non harsh frame makes an awesome ride. Only pain is that I think you can only find used frames but they do come up. Old version with a slackset also rides great.

Pace RC127, I have one, it’s a belter. They were selling the non-boosted frames at £319 a few weeks back, get in touch see if they have any left. Can’t go wrong that price.

Review on here and Enduro mag did one too, very happy with mine.

Whilst there weren’t any on the website, after a few calls to Pace, an RC127 non-boost in yellow with black decals is coming my way! Now, I just need an affordable headset for it (mixed external 44 lower and external 34 upper).

Thanks all!

Nice. Look forward to seeing it built.

Just done something similar myself and awaiting a dispatch email as I thought all orders were sent on a Thursday.  Nothing as of yet though.