There are quite a few boat anchors being recommended in a thread which says “not a boat anchor” in the title.

This may be available and fit the brief, though it’s at the opposite end of the aesthetic spectrum to the Spur:
https://www.bird.bike/aether-9c/

The smuggler frame is a bit heavier yes, I have an XL so I’m aware of that!

I suppose it depends if you want to ride it or show your mates how light it is in the car park

But it boils down to light/strong/cheap pick 2

As other guys have previously posted I think the OP should just buy a Transition Spur. Its looks awesome in that grey/ash colour.

I was having the same thought process earlier this year and was looking for a “downcountry” FS bike and I narrowed it down to the Spur or YT Izzo. For me the Transition Spur just looked better.

However my budget changed (lowered unfortuantely) and I ended up buying a used Bird Aeris 120 which I have been more the happy with and fits the bill for the type of riding I do and was one fifth of the price of the Spur!

I suppose it depends if you want to ride it or show your mates how light it is in the car park

No need to be sulky.

I’m a huge fan of short-travel 29ers and I’ve owned quite a few and ridden a few more.

There’s a big difference in feel and in capability between the heavy and light ones (and thus the kind of build that suits them).

I think the test for a “downcountry” bike is to ask “could I race XC on this in a pinch, and not be really frustrated?”

The Spur would likely pass that, the Smuggler or FlareMax wouldn’t – for me. But then they’d be better for riding down mountains or racing the odd enduro.

Neither is “better”, just the OP seems to want something light and lively.

I agree with chakaping.

The yeti sb115 and current trek top fuel would probably be the major contenders to the spur for my money.

No need to be sulky

Yeah sorry, that reads a bit more aggro than intended!

My point is there’s F all difference in reality, I’m currently sat on the loo loosing more weight than the difference in those 2 frames

I did fancy a spur but in the end it is just a fancy smuggler for more money, I get the OP wants light but that option costs more, right?

It’s a bit like ‘I need 4 pot brakes for my e bike’. No you don’t. An e bike weighs 10kg more than a normal one, which is way less than the variation between the weight of humans. You ‘need’ 4 pots for aggro riding/your unfit fat body/your massive bodybuilder muscles/your need for bling/etc

the difference between an alloy smuggler and a spur is going to be about 1.5kg in the frame i think, so you’re not losing that much weight by going to the toilet unless you’re chopping an arm off whilst you’re in there. that’s a big enough difference to alter the character and performance of the bike IMO.

we’ve a carbon smuggler and a spur in our household. there’s a big overlap in intended usage, but for the OPs requirement, i think the Spur is the better choice. The Smuggler’s main strength is being ridden fast downhill, on trails where you thought you needed a bigger bike. it climbs well for what it is, but not as well as the spur. you could make them more similar by putting bigger tyres on the spur, or lighter tyres on the smuggler, but i don’t think that’s what the designers intended.

Of course it is subjective but I’d say anyone claiming they can sense a 1-2% change in system mass spends too much time reading magazines and not enough time riding bikes

Obviously the OP is better off with a Spur and that’s what he should buy, no doubt there. Just drifting off on a tangent here

My point is there’s F all difference in reality, I’m currently sat on the loo loosing more weight than the difference in those 2 frames

I am always bewildered by this line of argument. Do people regularly go riding with a turtle sticking its head out?

(Disclaimer: I have a titanium bolt fetish and have weighed different pairs of shoes)

Agreed – I often wait in to unburden myself before the start of a ride, TBH.

I don’t think it’s a valid argument, more making a point on the silliness of saying that a tiny weight change changes ‘the handling characteristics’ of a bike

I too look at grams when buying components, but that’s because I want to and I don’t feel the need to justify it! My money my choice, I don’t need to make up some story about it to tell people. I like nice engineering and nice stuff

I am always bewildered by this line of argument. Do people regularly go riding with a turtle sticking its head out?

😃

Two more options that you probably can’t buy:
Nukeproof Reactor ST
NS Synonym TR2

Another Smuggler jockey here – Al frame. A fine anchor that’s ace when pointed downhill.

Agreed – I often wait in to unburden myself before the start of a ride, TBH.

“I’m just going to drop to race weight” is something heard often in our household.

@pigyin

If the hardtail version you’re talking about had existed this time last year I’d probably have bought it. I love my Solaris but I’d like it even more if it was a kg lighter! There’s a lot in the ‘bit more relaxed but probably steel and the frame is pushing 3kg’ group and a lot of xc bikes out there, along with a few ‘trail’ frames, but I haven’t seen much that has the same Xc bike weight with fun angles that FS bikes like the spur have.

Go on, buy the Spur, it’s what you really want and anything else will just have you wondering “what if?”

Go on, do it, do it, do it 😈

these threads can be quite interesting – amazing that something with a 5-6 lb frame like the Spur can be about 7-8 lbs lighter than something with a 8-9 lb frame, with similar builds

I reckon a pretty light trail ready build excluding frame is about 21 – 23 lbs