Evenin' all. Looking to call on the collective knowledge of STW for some advice.
I currently have a Rock Lobster B-52 hardtail that I use for blasting around the local woods and getting very muddy in the winter. It's basically a re-badged Kinesis Pha5e as far as I can work out. I really love it, but made the mistake of going for the 17.5" frame when I bought it instead of the 18.5" that was available at the time. When I ran it with a short(ish) stem (80 or 90mm) I found the handling was great but I'd end up with a sore lower back after most rides due to being too hunched up.
So I've had to go for a 120mm stem to compensate, which has sorted out the lower back issue but affected the handling a little negatively.
I've been hunting for ages for an identical 18.5" frame but not had any joy…
So I'm looking for suggestions of what else I should be looking at as a similar alternative. Looking to spend £150 max, so will probably need to be second hand. Only restrictions are that it must be able to take a 130-140mm fork without feeling like a chopper.
So far, I've considered:
– Orange Crush (maybe a bit overkill and heavy – I'll only be using it for trail riding)
– On One 456 (not sure I want to go back to steel and having rust inside the frame – where I ride is VERY wet)
– SC Chameleon (a bit expensive, and was a little underwhelmed when I test-rode one an Glentress last year, although it was too big and had a pretty heavy build)
– Cove Stiffee (Again quite expensive and probably too stiff for my ass)
– Mythic Scirroco (rare as hens teeth 2nd hand)
– GT Avalanche (I love my Zaskar, but would a 140mm fork upset the geometry too much)
Anything else you can suggest? Sales pitches are welcome too 🙂