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Hello all,
over the last couple of months it would seem I may have outgrown my Cotic soul frame (i'm 16) and am in need of a new one however i can't see the big difference between the Bfe and soul frames (same material/geometry and roughly the same weight)and as they are priced £329 and £499 respectively I am wondering if it is worth making the saving and getting the Bfe.
My second dilemma is to do with forks i currently have some 2011 (I think!) Fox F140's Rl without the fit cartridge or kashima with a non tapered steerer tube. They are in need of a service and flex quite a bit as i'm using a hope adapter to get them to work with a gen 3 soul frame. I'm wondering weather it would be worth swapping these out for something like this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rockshox-revelation-rct3-solo-air-forks-15mm-2014/rp-prod109674
or weather i should stick with my current forks.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated 🙂
I looked at the Soul a while back and bought a BFe instead as it was much cheaper (I have never understood why) and I liked the idea it was a bit more burly. I really like the bike and it's my main ride now for everything from xc to "dh" trails.
I have Sektor coil adjustables 120/150 which suit the bike really well and gives me the flexibility to set it up for either xc/pedalling or "dh". To be honest sometimes I forget and the bike rides well either way. Fixed travel at either 120 or 140 would work well and many here ride them with 140's so your Fox's would work well aside from the flex issue you quote. If I where buying a single travel option I would err towards 140 rather than 150 but it depends on your riding and you can set the fork with a bit more sag anyway.
Thanks for your reply jambalaya im still trying to figure out if there is some catch with the bfe but at the moment it is looking like the better option ( the colors are nicer on the Bfe as well)
Thanks
roughly the same weigh
The BFe is about 25% heavier.
I had a soul, when they had the 27.2 seat tubes, really wanted a dropper on it and as you say bfe was way cheaper, so I bought one. 6 months later I sold it and bought a soul again, was too stiff for me, the back end doesn't have the lovely compliant flexi ness that the soul had. To be fair, the newer souls, as they have the bigger tube too now, aren't as compliant as the old ones were, but they're not as stiff as the bfe. When you have a full day on the bfe, you can feel it.
But, at a mere 16 years, the stiffness may suit you, as you don't have my old bones n muscles to think about!.
I do love my bfe but the forks are dead, so I ordered those forks from crc yesterday! Great minds, and all that!
probably some deals around on secondhand 26 Souls as people flock to the 650b ones.....
Had the 27.2 Soul then swapped to the latest Bfe which was more my cup of tea - could go down the rough stuff quicker, corner harder and even I could get airborne on it. Only negative was the back end felt less flickable and a little less tied down which I presume was due to less flex and basically going quicker. Weight wise, the Bfe is 5lbs and I believe the latest Soul is about 1lB lighter. Fork wise, I ran Slants 130/160.
Thanks for the responses, cdoc it would be interesting to know how you get on with that build.
@soulbrother - when I was researching hardtails (2012-ish) there where reports of the BFe being harsh but I have not found it like that at all. I have 50 yr old bones and it's fine for me.
Well, I can vouch for the Bfe after having it as my main bike for a couple of months as it is lovely to ride with a great geometry.
Size wise, get a long post and go for something slightly smaller than normal. I would normally take an 18-20 inch frame, but I picked up a 17.5 and it fits fine.
Did consider the Soul, but wanted something a little tougher.
As for the forks, I will be replacing a poorly 130mm with a nice new 140mm, so it is well within the recommended range for the frame.
Just imagine this with new Revs in black. Mmmm
(Stem is a little high here! Looks a bit daft)
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