Just did four days in dalby and black degla on a soul. Had back pain quite a bit and once home mm y back has been agonising. Off work, hate that. Thinking for the rough stuff a FS ight be in order.
I love a yeti, dream bike and around £70pcm.
What are the best traik/all.day bikes that will be kind on the spine? Any questions hi jay fire away.

yes you need an fs. how old are you? over 40 you merit it!

just so much less knackering

Whyte t130. Like a yeti but half the price

+1 for a t130.

Had mine through summer and winter through the woods, up the alps, down the Alps. Love it

I had a bit of luck recently building. Managed to get a 2017 Intense Spider 275C frame from Merlin for £999. Got some second hand wheels and built it up with spares and it’s ace!

Probably owes me about £1300 including new brakes. Once I’d changed the 50mm stem to a 35mm stem, it transformed the handling and I love it now.

Thinking you could use most of the parts from the Soul if you got a frame only? Depending on your size, there’s loads of second hand bargains to be had 🙂

I managed 8 laps of the gt7 on my Cotic Flare Max and finished without back pain. Absolutely love the bike.

I’m with the T130 / not boutique idea.  I’ve had boutique bikes and in the main they are either eccentric and idiosyncratic and don’t offer much more for the layman.

I took get lower back pain even from my Spark although that’s more positional/effort related.  I’ve been eying up a Vitus Escarpe on Wiggle/CRC as a fun bike, which is a lot of bike for £1500.

I also used to get lower back pain after a long day on a HT bike, and i can confirm it literally stopped overnight when i got a FS bike.
Do it.
No recommendations for bikes from me, I haven’t ridden many.
Mine is a cube stereo, it works.

Yes ! Oh and you’ll likely need a gravel bike a road bike if you haven’t already got one ? If yes buy another just Incase.

Get a Rocket in the same colour scheme as you’re gorgeous Soul.

Get a Rocket

Or the new Flare (although both these statements are of the obvious I would have thought…).

Your posting on singletrack so the standard answer will be a cotic. Buy one then you can post on the daily cotic threads. Have a look and see what your local bike shops have.

I did the move to FS 4 months after getting my back broken (on the road bike) by a driver. Certainly no back pain now, 3 1/2 years on from the FS. Did a 6 hour ride in the peaks, a couple of weeks ago, and everything except my back hurt.

tourismo – take it the flare max is a decent climber? I’m looking for a jack of all trades full susser too. What’s it like on steep climbs?

Another vote for the Cotic Rocket here.

Until I brought my Cotic Rocket a few months back all my FS experience had been on aluminium FS bikes, predominantly Cannondales with a few Specialized and Giant bikes along the way. As I own a few steel-framed HTs I was intrigued by a steel-framed FS and I’m glad I took a punt on it. It rides really well, feels great and is very solidly built.

Okay, my soul is a 2018. If I got A FS Rocket or Flare would the parts exactly transgfer over, it would make sense as I have literally just replaced all of my drivetrain on the soul.

Is it only Dalby where you’re suffering? I find it really tough on the hardtail as it’s such a pedally trail and it’s the only place I suffer with back pain on my ht.

I mean, obviously you do need a new bike but not necessarily for this reason

Shortbread, I find it very good on the climbs. It’s not a light weight xc machine so doesn’t climb like one, but it encourages a sit and spin style, no problem on steep climbs. I moved the saddle forward on the rails which seemed to improve how it feels on the climbs. Cotic are pretty good with demos, I’d recommend trying one to see if it’s for you.

Hmmm. My soul is mercury and orange, new rockets are gunmetal. That work with orange? Looks are importanmt after all!
Crag, it was after Dalby I suffered, but I’ve had this kind of pain more frequently as I’ve got older and I can’t afford to have time off work and don’t ever want to feel like this again.

Cheers tourismo, it’s one of a few I have in mind as a possibility.

Demo one for a day to make sure you won’t get back pain even on a fs. It’s worth seeing a physio anyhow, you still get battered about on a fs, just not as much.

If I got A FS Rocket or Flare would the parts exactly transgfer over, it would make sense as I have literally just replaced all of my drivetrain on the soul.

If you’re on a single chainring you should be ok, not sure what the current max size is on the rocket. I have a redundant Flare frame in medium (non longshot).

Just a thought, but as well as a new 🏍 have you thought about core exercise and stretching?

I had/have a bulged disc or two that cause me issues. If I haven’t stretched off properly before riding, my lower back gradually tightens up until it hurts.

A good set of stretching before I start looks a bit stupid but makes the ride so much nicer.

Glute bridges done properly on a regular basis also really help. I’ve slacked on those recently and starting doing some runs and I’m struggling with my lower back. Started up on the bridges again to balance / strengthen my core.

I do find the hardtail is worse for my back than the fs though. So the hardtail is for playing and short hard pedally rides – the big fs for everything else.

You selling the redundant flare frame? 😉

I could be tempted. 🙂 Drop me a message if it’s the sort of thing you might fancy.

I know how you feel regarding the hard tail. I did the exact same thing (with the Intense).

Had a Pace RC529 and it was the best hard tail I’ve ever ridden. It climbed like a billy goat and descended like a madman.

I like quite rocky and rough, rooty descents and I found that I was just too beaten up to enjoy it by the end. Smooth/fast stuff, it’s one of the best I’ve ridden though!

I can’t think of anything that wouldn’t transfer from the Soul to a Flare, so it seems like the logical step.

Would my soul parts transfer to a flare max?

Would my soul parts transfer to a flare max?

No, you would need the Flare for that. Also, the black would match your orange bits nicely 🙂