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In 120mm ish travel full suspension frame. What's out there other than the TRc/Solo and Nicolai Helius TB? Please no mention of 140/150mm travel bikes I've already got a Five (which would be great if they made an Orange Four instead)
Would be running 140mm up front, but would like 120mm on the back to keep it nice and playful without flattening the terrain. Got to be around a 67 head angle. with a long top tube.
Closest I've got so far was a Cannondale rush with 130mm forks rather than 110mm. Awesome bike on the downhills but the 27.2mm seat tube just doesn't cut it these days. Plus it feels a little fragile as I was riding it well outside its intended use.
My Whyte t120, large frame, 67.5 HA with 130mm fork, 30.9mm for dropepr and weighs about 27lb built up. Its 6 months old and I have had since new, great bike I came from a 150mm pitch but for some reason I have decided I need a ti hardtail.
What was that four inch travel link bike that orange made for a while?
I reckon this:
http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=kitsune#1
With a few upgrades over time might be great.
The orange st4 had a 27.2 seatpost and was vey much xc strength despite riding very very well.
how about the Nukeproof Mega [u]TR[/u] which is 130mm back but will take more out front?
not re-checked the geo but i think it was fairly slack HT. etc.
i've been toying with a similar idea for a while:100-120mm at the back and geo built for 140-150 forks; not an XC ride.
when is someone going to make a frame like this?
Giant Trance? I run a 2011 X3 with 140mm up front. Sounds like what you are after. Slack enough and a long TT. Very capable indeed on the rough stuff!
Hmmm - are the Nukeproof TR available yet?
Definitely not to many of these type of frames around. Bit of a niche market I suppose. To much marketing BS telling you that you need 150mm to go fast.
Yeti ASR-5 sounds spot on. 125 at the back, 140 fork.
Would want frame only, not a full bike
What was that four inch travel link bike that orange made for a while?
I remember it being 4 inch at the back maybe there were 2 versions of it while they made it.
The Orange Blood, 5 inch out back, 6+ up front.
[url] http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/archive/2011/blood/ [/url]
If you've already got a Five,,what about a Turner Flux?
Stable for a short travel bike and lots of fun. I went from a Five to a Flux (via a super light). I wouldn't go back.
Thinking about selling the Five if I can find the perfect frame. Rather than running along side it.
The flux is far to xc orientated like most 100-120mm frames.
There's a new cotic full sus meant to be released soon, think its a shorter travel version of the rocket. Should have 120mm ish rear travel and designed around 120-140mm forks.
bandit?
Banshee rampant.
i run one, so much fun.
100m rear, 140mm front
low, 67 head angle, straight seat tube so can run a 400m post, short back end = alot of fun.
Nukeproof Rook very similar...
+1 for bandit.
It's got 130mm at the back. Designed with 140mm fork but can take bigger if needed and also built to take more hammering than your average 130mm. Its got a fantastic fun character to it.
I wouldn't look any further than the TR/TRc/Solo.
I'd wait though, SC seem to be blowing out many of their 26" frames in the US so we may see some sales here.
http://shop.santacruzbicycles.com/sale/frames.html?p=2
Trek Ex ? 🙂
Have, or are you willing to look at 27.5"? In which case, the bike or frame that fits your requirements could be the PYGA OneTwenty 650
With a 140mm fork, the HA might not be quite as relaxed as you say you want, however it does mean that it turns and handles very well. It zoots both up and down and it's a nice colour 😉
If you do a search on here, you'll find a pic of my built one. Here's the frame and specs below. If you're not willing to try 27.5, then please ignore and move along....
[url= http://www.r53sport.com/index.php/products/pyga/onetwenty650 ]link to loveliness[/url]
Fuel EX has [i]very [/i]similar geometry to the TRc/TRa.
Get a 2012 full bike and flog the bits you don't want (travel increased to 130mm in 2013).
You'd need an angleset or offset bushings to drop 1 degree from the HA.
Fuels I've seen a lot break but good warranty
PYGA bit to xc
SC Solo is perfect but lots of money.
I'm 6 foot 1 so a lot of the slopestyle frames are just to small.
Lots of good ideas though.
Not heard anything of the new Cotic Pocket Rocket in months.......
Fuel EX has very similar geometry to the TRc/TRa.
It's not that similar. Longer TT, higher BB, higher standover etc etc.
They are good bikes though, a friend owns one and I think they're highly under rated. It's a fun bike which I really like riding.
The solo alu frame is £1800. Still expensive but broadly comparable to its' rivals.
Genesis Grapil?
Don't think you should look any further than an Yeti ASR5 or Santa Cruz Tr. Slack, low, light, stiff, 140 front, 130 rear, 142x12, 2x10, tapered HT, dropper post, etc, etc.
Do bike scene have any Camber 26er frames left?
I pretty sure someone on here ran one with a 140mm fork to slacken the HA slightly.
I had a rush. Brilliant bike but the 27.2 seatpost was a bit limiting.
Other short travel bikes worth looking at are, Giant trance x, whyte 120, blur 4x.
I have a trance x, with a 130mm fork and an offset bushing. The geometry is pretty similar to the blur trc ie bloody good fun. 68 deg head angle and roughly 13 inch BB.
Edit: I forgot the GT Distortion. Pretty much my dream frame! 112mm travel and can take up to a 160mm fork in the front. Hard to get just the frame though. Occasionally come up on ebay.
The Fuel EX is a nice bike I rode the 2012 version and liked it. Recent Trek frames seem a little fragile. I get the impression the OP wants to ride it hard so not sure about its durability.
Here's another option, again needs a tweak to the head angle but Mondrakers are always long and low...
[url= http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/frame-forks/frames-mtb/mondraker-frames/mondraker-factor-rr-frame-2012.html?utm_campaign=googlebase-GB&utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shopping&utm_term=Mondraker+Frames&gclid=CPvcg6j8_rcCFa7JtAodVCgACw ]Factor frame[/url]
I run 120 forks on my c456, they are slap bang in the middle of the range the frame was designed for and they are perfect. Great all rounder set up.
Here's another option, again needs a tweak to the head angle but Mondrakers are always long and low...
Factor frame
My mate has just bought one of these. Great fun. Rides like a mini DH bike.
So far liking the pocket Rocket and the numbers on the Whyte T120, very slack and long.
Don't think you can get the Whyte frame only though....
Sounds a lot like how I'm running my Camber, 120mm at the back and my Revs set at 135mm at the front. You may find a 26" frame on somewhere like Bikescene with a 12mm bolt through and tapered steerer.
^
That'll be who I was thinking of then! 🙂
I have a Genesis Grapil and love it. I wanted a Blur Tr but couldnt justify the extra cost over this. 67.5 head angle, 120mm on the back, mine weighs 28.5 lbs, Low, flies along, likes to jump. the std wheels and tyres weigh a ton!
[img][url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3710/9132498879_e0a48751d2.jp g" target="_blank">
ASR5 if you aren't going to lose sleep over an extra 7mm at the back.
This is exactly the thing I've been looking for however everything is either too expensive or just never comes up s/h. I've been considering something like a Boardman but when you stick 140 forks on there the BB seems high
I've spied a Kitsune but at 800 s/h its really not that much more than a brand new Grapil
The orange st4 had a 27.2 seatpost and was very much xc strength despite riding very very well.
I'd say they are plenty strong given that they weigh a tonne.
St4 had a pretty high failure rate.
There were two designs for the ST4, I think the second one was to rectify the failures of the first.
ASR-5 - superbike.
I happen to have a size Small one for sale if you're interested 🙂 Am asking €2,000 / £1,700
XT mechs + chainset, XTR shifters and brakes, Fulcrum wheels, Reverb etc. 1 year old.
Selling as it's my wife's - who now works for Lapierre - gotta go!
Not really convinced by most of the suggestions.
Looking forward to seeing the pocket rocket.
we shall see if Nicolai release a 650b Helius TB that's warrantied for 140mm forks rather than 130mm.
Surprised that nicolai even state you can't use anything bigger than a 32mm fork! A shimmed down 34 or 36mm fork will invalidate the warranty......
I thought the new cotic was going to be a full suspension soul not a fun slack ripper. Cy's argument seemed to be that there was little benefit to a short travel rocket
At least this thread has given me a few more ideas, I kind of fancy a medium T120 now
They've stopped producing T120s through just 29ers now. S/H only....
I can only afford secondhand