Both are a lot of cash to drop on a frame when there are arguably better, lighter, cheaper frames out there… but that Yeti is lovely

Lovely… but £1.6-1.8K lovely??? 😯

Almost harder to try and buy a frame with that money in some ways! At that price Yeti or SC wouldn’t exactly cut it for me… not sure what I would go for but those pennies open up a hell of a lot of options!

Perfect example of why people are attracted to boutique frames innit – just because of the name. Nothing wrong with that, but you’ll get lighter/stiffer/stronger (as is your want) for less money if you’re less fussed about what it says on the down tube! Particularly on something like a carbon hardtail!

Goes back to the age old STW discussion of are Yeti/ SC still considered boutique? As you say though Nick, nothing wrong with paying the money because you like the name, but if I had that money I’d probably want a “better” name.

No idea what a “better” name on the downtube is though! I guess a “better” name would mean something a little less common as there aren’t many truely boutique CF MTB frame builders out there

Orbea Alma for something a bit different?
Look 986 for something quirky?
BMC TE01 for pure gorgeousness?
Colnago C29 for no sensible reason at all
Storck Rebel beacuse you are brave enough to try your luck with Poshbikes service?
Intense Hard Eddie because it looks alright

Easy to criticise SC and Yeti as not really “boutique” enough to justify that money (sorry!) but I wouldn’t know what to go for in that price bracket and feel I hadn’t wasted money 😕 I do rather like BMC frames lately though 😀 Despite being sold by Evans 😳

Storck Rebel beacuse you are brave enough to try your luck with Poshbikes service?

😆

I must say this article on Niner caught my eye yesterday, the green is lovely, but as said on the last page the UK pricing is a joke, and they don’t float the OP’s boat.

Easy to criticise SC and Yeti as not really “boutique” enough to justify that money (sorry!) but I wouldn’t know what to go for in that price bracket and feel I hadn’t wasted money

Agreed. I’d want something in that sub-900g bracket – Open, Trek, Cannondale, Scott. But AFAIK apart from the Open you’d have to get a complete bike and sell the bits to get a frame even within that price bracket. BMC a bit quirky for my liking.

Agreed. I’d want something in that sub-900g bracket – Open, Trek, Cannondale, Scott. But AFAIK apart from the Open you’d have to get a complete bike and sell the bits to get a frame even within that price bracket. BMC a bit quirky for my liking.

If I were worried about the name then SC/ Yeti/ Trek/ Cannondale/ Scott/ Spesh carry about as much kudos for me as a well made Chinese frame which can easily be £300-400 and ~1100g 😀

Open is the only really vaguely “boutique” and decent overall and different CF 29er MTB frame for the money that springs to mind

Highball still in the mix with the addition of the Yeti. I’d spent so long away from MTBs i had not realised they offered a carbon 29er.

Any more thoughts on the frame choice bigman? Of the two the Yeti looks nicer and is the name I’d rather be seen riding 😀 This is following someone genuinely interested in my bike because he thought it was a Saracen and had heard good things about them and partially from non stop heckling from other riders during races along the lines of “another SC… are they giving them away” 😀 Have you considered Open?

Look I considered actually but they don’t have a 29er available at present and i want it this year.

Colnago is something else that I did consider and the thing that put me off is the wait on a frame. 16- 20 weeks which would mean the wrong side of summer.

I’ve owned a Highball C and loved it but I do have a soft spot for Yeti’s. They may be less boutique than they were 20 years ago but hey ho all I care about is the ride.

might be wrong here but the Yeti / SC / Niner brands seem very popular with trail riders and people on here. Dont seem as popular in XC.

Ditto – the Alma looks good…Also might get the BMC in a good sale at Evans.

The Yeti does look nice and I imagine will retain its value well if you came to sell it one day.

Before racing I was never interested in brands like Scott, Giant etc…more concerned with the likes of Turner, Yeti, Orange etc…a few years on and I struggle to see past the likes of Scott (for both MTB and Road)…don’t pay attention to tail/all mountain bikes any more.

but I understand you need to go for what makes you tick ‘feel good’

but hey ho all I care about is the ride.

Genuine question then, why are you ruling out all the more ‘obvious’ frames from mainstream manufacturers?

all I care about is the ride

budget frame and BIG spec wheels & fork it is then! 😉

Because some mainstream brands I cannot obtain at good prices.

I do like the look of Scotts as well as Giants but the brands I have chosen wok out better value.

If the Canyon Ulitmate is anything like there top end road bike frames (which I beleive they are the same carbon etc) they will be stiff as hell.

also well speced for the money (you’ll probably not get better unless you find something in the sales)

https://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3179

IMO..get hung up on frames,forks,wheels,tyres,riding position

and get something simple and reliable for everything else

Shimano drivetrain/brakes/shifters

pay some attention to posts,bars (good weight saving can be had here)

I’ll see your well specced Canyon Ultimate, and raise you an even better, and significantly cheaper Radon Black Sin

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m1b0s154p5210/CANNONDALE-SCALPEL-29ER-CARBON-1-2013

I’d still try a 29C just because it’s utterly ace.

It convinced me carbon rims may well be worth the money too, should squeak into your budget.

Dan – do you race for Cube?

Pivot Les..

Torsionally super-stiff, light and really sorted handling, our team has been using them for a full year now, for everything from short course XC, smashing down bike park wales runs to winning the tour divide.
jono

https://facebook.com/PivotBoompodsRacing

http://www.bikerumor.com/2012/04/18/first-look-bmc-teamelite-te01-29-carbon-29er-hardtail/

…and Chinese frames (that seem to be doing/ done alright under some of the faster guys in the UK).

might be wrong here but the Yeti / SC / Niner brands seem very popular with trail riders and people on here. Dont seem as popular in XC.

Niner are definitely popular in XCO/ XCM but are too expensive/ require the use of the warranty too frequently for them to be too widespread anywhere. Yeti and SC aren’t too popular in XCO/ XCM at the moment since moving away from this type of riding when dropping the like of the Blur XC-C and ASR-SL for more profitable and popular trail and enduro bikes. The 29er hardtails are like the token XC gesture thrown in the range for people who want to buy their brand and ride XC… at least that is my cynical take.

Pivot LES (as suggested already by someone who knows a thing or two about riding fast) is far more interesting and another I’d give serious consideration
Devinci Wooky is another nice looking frame to consider and not very common here in the UK
Scapin might be another to consider
Theres also a Spanish company on the tip of my tongue who make a 1600g full sus frame that might be worth a look although I’ve forgotten the brand name!

sefton- nothing to do with either of the 2 Dan W’s associated with Cube UK though a nice coincidence 😀

Theres also a Spanish company on the tip of my tongue who make a 1600g full sus frame that might be worth a look although I’ve forgotten the brand name!

MSC?

Snaptastic! I actually saw a Koncept Karbon at the NPS the other day, and thought to myself “crikey, one that didn’t break”. Their hardtail wasn’t that light either, just the FS bikes.

Edit: their hardtail is blatantly just an open mould frame, and not light.

I’d still try a 29C just because it’s utterly ace.

Love mine… Ponied up for the CS after testing convinced me carbon wheels are well worth the investment…

BH bikes..are they spanish?

I was thinking of MSC. I knew the full sussers were light but slightly prone to cracking and wondered of there might be a decent hardtail in the line up. Sadly, nothing special and heavy as you say.

BH are also Spanish but look to be open mould frames too. I believe they are the Spanish equivalent of Boardman/ Planet-X in Spain although I may be mistaken. Radon seem the same in Germany but you can’t argue with the value

I’d be very tempted by that Black Sin, some spare cash too for some proper weenie bits too.

why not a 100mm full sus frame? or is a hardtail “that” much faster?

If I was spending that much on a frame it wouldn’t be made of plastic.

Got to be something like a Moots, Seven etc.

GB

Yeah but by your own admission GB, you’re special 😉

Any decisions made BIGMAN?

Budget?

All below 900g:
Trek Superfly SL

Have you weighed yours? I had a weigh of a project one one and it was comfortably above 1kg. Looked fantastic though and they ride very well, much better than the FS variant! Guess it was all that bright yellow paint!

For what it’s worth OP, I’ve ridden the following:
Giant XTC (both wheelsizes)
Highball
Stumpjumper
Superfly
Flash 29

Superfly and Stumpjumper were definitely most impressive. The highball was a bit meh, most sluggish but very stable. Really disappointed by the 29er XTC, the 27.5 however was good. The Flash was quite good – would never have one personally because you can’t run less than a 90mm stem, new lefty is better.

Have you weighed yours? I had a weigh of a project one one and it was comfortably above 1kg. Looked fantastic though and they ride very well, much better than the FS variant! Guess it was all that bright yellow paint!

Mine’s not an SL, and certainly isn’t light! 1311g IIRC with headset/seatclamp/armour etc.

The 9.9s I thought were all guaranteed to be under 900g, obviously not!

Thanks for all the input.

I actually ordered a Yeti Arc Carbon in the end.

Now starting the fun game of assembling parts!

The 9.9s I thought were all guaranteed to be under 900g, obviously not!

I think it was 1060g for just the frame. Project one frames are heavier than the standard ones, generally. Doesn’t really matter though, good bikes!

Now starting the fun game of assembling parts!

What’s going on it?

Not 100% decided as of yet. I need to pop into the shop Friday and sort.

Kings on Stans ZTR rims looking likely with Rocket Rons.

What would make a decent 120mm travel fork? I did consider a SID or are Fox still the way to go.

Re groupset I was looking at Sram.

SID RLT for my money I reckon, IMO the World Cup isn’t really worth it – the Xloc damper weighs more, plus the weight of the expander for the carbon steerer and there’s next to no weight in it. Unless you really love using your lockout.

Gotta be carbon rims shirley? XD body for King hubs available now at least.

120mm fork on a racing orientated XC 29er?

Njee20 – what kind of things are available?

Lots available. Depends on budget. Good Chinese carbon wheelset can be had for around 500 quid (I think njee20 has some.) Or you could go the Enve route for example and spend a lot more.

I will end up with 2 sets of wheels so the proposed set are for the initial build.

Enve I am not a huge fan of.