I’ve owned original Solaris from new and it’s now 10 years old.
It’s done everything, from down Sticks Pass, the Torridon horseshoe (when I was in between FS bikes), commuted on the road into work, covered off road miles from the front door (predominately in winter) and now, most of the time, it’s used for pottering with the kids or plonked on the turbo.
I’d like to replace it with a modern hardtail, i.e. boost spacing, a little more reach, slacker headtube, steeper seattube; without compromising on the attributes I love the most about the Solaris. A light, zippy, compliant XC/trail bike.
I’ve owned the latest SolarisMax (’18 model as it was revised slightly again in ’20?) and although more capable, it’s not the modern equivalent. I’ve demo’ed the Pace RC529 too. Again, not the bike for me.
Ideally the hardtail would be 120mm forked. Decent geo. Not overly bothered whether it was aluminium, steel or carbon. Not bothered whether it’s an off the shelf full bike or bike build from frame only.
So, what should I be looking at?