Don’t get me wrong hooning down hill on the Quantocks once a month is great but its not like my old 456 and never will be.
Just seams a bit harsh, so am thinking of trying a blue pig.
what are peoples thoughts?
and a swap could be on the cards if anyone is interested,
Must be 16/17 inch with the 30.9 seat post.

Try standing more

Just switched (3 weeks ago) to a new BFe from an Identiti Mr Hyde. Compared to that the BFe is as stiff but definitely nowhere near as harsh! The Mr Hyde was tough as but always bashed me about a bit and felt like the rear end was made from big box section girders – which it was.

Never ridden a 456 but Brant’s posts in another thread about ‘harshness’ earlier today might give some food for thought.

slainte 💡 rob

My thoughts?

You must be mad

Soul?

Flexier seatpost.

Which BFe do you have?

Current generation 853/631 mix in either blue or charcoal? Or you got an older full 853 in battleship grey?

I had one of the latter, brilliant geometry but easily the harshest frame (perhaps short of a Chameleon actually) I’ve ridden. The newer ones are supposed to be a bit more friendly.

Plenty of tyre clearance though, fit a 2.5″ in the back, run tubeless…

The BFe doesn’t feel harsh to me tbh – don’t usually notice feeling banged up – did a 4 hr Peaks ride on this past weekend for example and it was fine.

Harshness is always going to be a relative (and wooly) parameter, though. It depends on what you’re used to. Aside from the BFe I’ve not ridden any of the newer steel HTs that are popular now – The last HTs I rode prior to the BFe were CAAD5 cannondales. Stiff as.

Don’t understand your comments tbh, I found mine stiffer than some steel frames but a softer frame than a 456 (which nice as it is, is a big old lump of steel). Blue Pig is not so very different IMO.

I didn’t gel with mine at all though, it felt weird with long forks and with short forks I figured it was just doing the same job as my Soul had done but a bit less well. Think it just wasn’t ideal for the job I wanted it to do.

Interested if you want to sell, email in profile.

Give the stanton slackline a try great feel to the rear end,not the seat post diameter you are after though

Dig trails, ride bikes.

davidtaylforth – Member
Dig trails

But not on busy shared use routes, that’s naughty and gets us all into trouble.

slainte 😆 rob

“30.9 seat post”
I thought cotics were 31.6mm (if they’re not 27.2mm)?
or are you running shimmed dropper post?
if not then 27.2mm flexy (carbon?) post

maybe fatter rear tyre, [maybe on wider rim if you’re on something really narrow (eg mavic 317/717)] and drop the pressures which might warrant thicker tubes or tubeless?

Stand up more.

Mine felt much flexier than my Trailstar.

My BFe feels much more sure footed and a much more inspiring ride than my old 456 – with the same forks (Lyric coils)

I would never go back and I may even end up retiring my Patriot.

Swap for my Quantocks ripping 456

I’m bored of blue..

If it was poo brown sharki I might be tempted 🙂

my befe was on the harsh side and left me in a bit of pain after each ride so I sold it and bought a NS surge which is alot better IMO . I did a 4 hour ride in the peaks this weekend and it was fine ! I think it could be to do with the 27.2 seatpost ? seatpost is key I think !

I love my BFe, I don’t find it particularly harsh. You’d have no issues getting it sold if you went down that route.

I went from an Orange Crush to BFe. As others have said – stand up. Otherwise whilst it is stiff at times, it’s a cracking ride.

richieokeefe1 – Member
seatpost is key I think !

Might be something in this. I have a 27.2 dropper and shim in the BFe so that’s going to take some sting out I reckon (although I had the same set-up on the Mr Hyde and still don’t think the BFe is as harsh as that).

And yeah, stand up more.

slainte ➡ rob

Stand up more

I found that it was better to stand up when it was quite bumpy. But when it gets really rough its comfier and safer to get off and push. Safety and comfort should be number one priorities when undertaking the sport of mountain biking.

I had 30.9 raceface ride seat post (don’t know if that’s flexy or not) and if I was not pedalling I was standing up.
Still harsh and now the Pitch is back 🙂
Bfe is for sale in the adds

But when it gets really rough its comfier and safer to get off and push

I find this is what my BFe is best for.

From the seatpost size, it sounds like is is a full 853 BFe. I have a medium one and use an Easton carbon seatpost. The frame is by it’s nature stiff (that’s what makes it great for singletrack and downhill), but with the carbon post I’ve ridden for a full week of all day riding in the Pyrenees without any ill effects (and no back pain). The stiffness of the frame also makes it great for technical climbing as you get such instant power transfer.

Would recommend trying a carbon post – it’s not too late!

ive had a bfe (older grey type), ns surge, ns society, trailstar, and a trailstar lt.

all great but by far the stand out frame was the society, if you see one for sale grab it as they usually sell cheap (65 i paid for 1)and really comfy for long rides.

im currently riding a chameleon but looking to go back to steel soon, a bfe would be one i will be looking at again.

i say stick with it for a while before deciding

Stick with it and give it a chance. When I bought mine I had come from an old old aluminium frame and at first couldn’t gel with the BFe. But the more I ride it the more I love it and enjoy it. I fitted mine with a Easton seat post I got off eBay and a gusset DH seat and this all seams fine.

I had similar experience with recently built BFE. I sold the frame very quickly and acquired an NS Surge to try, very different feeling to the BFE and so far so good.
The advice about standing up is very relevant, I found my weak core muscles were a real disadvantage so combined with the GI plan (-10lbs in 3 weeks) and some core exercises I hope to enjoy all the benefits of a hardtail.
Richard