Which 29er Hardtail frame…?

I was in the same boat with a box full of spares and really fancied a Cotic Solaris max for the same reasons but they were having a sale on the bfe max at the time that twisted my arm and I have no regrets.

For anyone who cares…

After a lot of overthinking, an opportunity presented itself. I saw a Merida Big Trail frame only in size Large (455 reach, so more like most brands mediums) advertised after one ride as the owner has replaced it with something larger, not realising the Merida comes up a bit small… £200 inc headset and all ancillaries and it’s on its way to me… 👍🏻

Cool colour too… It’s the 2023 Sparkling Black Gold colour! Looking forward to getting it built…

Nice! I’ve been eying one of those since Benji reviewed one a while back. Just need to convince the boss I need a third bike bike first…

If it doesnt suit you, those ragley frames (big al and marley 29er) are currently down to £279 at chain reaction.

that colour is awesome

Didn’t you used to have a Kinesis Sync? That would still have fit the bill apart from boost and internal dropper routing wouldn’t it? I’ve still got mine, as nothing else seems to beat it for my local riding.

 I saw a Merida Big Trail frame only in size Large

Looks lovely, but that’s some BB drop looking at it. Not seen figures on paper though, so maybe not as bad as it looks

Love that colour! Be interested to see how you get on with it, I was looking at the Big Trail a while ago before ending up with a CRC sale Vitus.

that colour is awesome

Isn’t it just! All the matt finishes on most of the Big Trail range really leave me cold, and then there was a few gloss black ones too which is OK but a bit boring. This Sparkling Black Gold colour is a massive step up, looks almost like one of the Nissan/TVR “flip” paints from the 90’s from some angles…

Didn’t you used to have a Kinesis Sync?

Good memory!

That would still have fit the bill apart from boost and internal dropper routing wouldn’t it? I’ve still got mine, as nothing else seems to beat it for my local riding.

I sold it early 2015 after a year and a bit of fun on it. Jonnyrockymountain off this forum bought it off me funnily enough. I really enjoyed that bike, but its geometry was already a little dated when it came out. A measured 70.5deg head angle with a 120mm fork fitted and 73deg seat angle… I wanted something a bit more contemporary, also a lot cheaper…

Looks lovely, but that’s some BB drop looking at it. Not seen figures on paper though, so maybe not as bad as it looks

66.5mm BB drop apparently… Should be approx 305mm static with 2.4″ tyres, which is certainly low but I like low BB’s anyway. I’ve had a couple of HT’s with sub 310mm static BB height before and liked them. It’s not sub 300mm static like some bikes are heading these days, which I think is too much personally… Bird’s Zero 29er frame for instance, something like a 290mm static height with 2.6’s!!!