[Closed] Bfe or Surge?

I currently have both and it's virtually impossible to tell them apart. You will love either, I do. Whichever you choose you won't know how the other will compare, unless of course you get to try it. Not sure if I am helping, sorry. 😆

Which is easier to manual & hop and is there really no difference in the ride quality? Are their geo's the same? A lot of questions I know, sorry.

I had a mk1 Surge and it was great fun, very fast, fun on jumps and felt a lot like my Bottlerocket in terms of geo.
The only downside I could find was limited rear tyre room when using a front derailleur, couldn't get a 2.5 in there without rubbing.

What size for someone 5' 10?

I'm 6'0 and have the medium surge. I'd go small at your height.

I have had a mk1 surge (m) and a mk2 BFe (small/16'').

I preferred the surge for all round riding. Had 160 domain u turns so could wind them down for tamer stuff. It was heavier but I imagine that was more down to the parts on it as opposed to the frame. Felt that although it was billed as a freeride frame it was better all round.

The BFe had 150 revs but felt very slack on the seat angle and I felt like a lot of my weight was over the back. That said it was a very fun bike. It was very easy to manoeuvre and pop the front end over stuff. Would be good for full on DH. It seemed better made too and is British so to speak.

Hope this helps

Re the size I'm 5'7'' and when I said i had the m surge it's the smaller of the two as they are labelled as medium and large?

" British " is good. With the slack ha on the Bfe does that mean the front wandered when pointed up and was climbing a chore with either bike?

Suppose thats kind of the nature of the beast with frames such as them. It was definately worse on the BFe than the surge though. But the BFe was short, probably the smallest 16'' i have ridden and felt to have shorter stays too so that makes sense. I don't think I would want to ride the BFe as an all round bike with 160 forks. It would be very slack both on the HA and SA. But as already said as a DH hardtail I think it would be very very good.

I think if its for all round riding it would be ideal to have a travel adjustable fork on both of them. But if not the surge would be better in my opinion.

Have you thought about any other frames? Why those two?

I have a 160mm fork already, Steel for the bit of flex it provides, low bb, slack HA. This will be my do it all, one and only bike so woods, jumps, singletrack, trail-center, all-dayer. Ideally a slacker Slackline.

Steel for the bit of flex it provides

Not this again. Are you trolling?

low bb

With 160mm forks?

Sell your forks, get some with a sensible amount of travel that'll suit the riding you describe and the frames you;re looking at.

Explain Trolling in that instance!

....and how much do you think I'm gonna get for 2008 55's? So according to you I now have to buy forks and a frame.

....and how much do you think I'm gonna get for 2008 55's? So according to you I now have to buy forks and a frame.

**** all, cos they;re shite.

But you can pick up a 2nd hand pair of Pikes for **** all, and they're great!

@ davidtaylforth

This father of five will have to put it on his ' To buy ' list..

Do you have any experience of either frames mentioned?

I had a look on ebay, Pike's tend to go for around £100. Just do a couple of extra hours overtime. Worth it.

I have had a few BFe's none were very flexy. I did use 150mm forks on one of them for a downhill holiday in the Alps. It didn't ride particularly well, although I was glad of the extra travel when holding on for dear life over the huge braking bumps at Morzine.

I used Pikes on one of them. These forks were perfect.

Both were relatively straight forward to bunnyhop and manual (although again, this is easier with shorter, lighter forks such as Pikes).

What Pikes do you recommend? So in yor opinion I should be looking at a Surge with Pikes?

A Surge or a Bfe with Pikes, I do not care. Whichever is cheapest, feeding your kids is priority!

This might answer your Pike questions. You need some with U-Turn capabilities though.

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/which-is-the-best-rockshox-pike-to-go-for

And make sure they are in GOOD condition. Then you won't have to spend a fortune servicing them (don't whine at me if you do!)

BFe is not possessed of much fluffyplushness. Maybe a little more than some- it doesn't feel dead like some hefty steel frames do- but it's certainly no sandal-wearers "steel is real" thing. Not what it's for.

It's difficult with fixed 160 forks as all frames built for that amount of travel will be fairly stiff- I can't tell much of a difference between either of the title frames and the Ragley Mmmbop I'm riding now. And at that amount of travel will be compromised to a certain extent for uphill and best suited for proper DH.

I guess these types of frames are designed to be versatile in that they take different travel forks but there will always be a compromise depending on how they are built up.

That said if you don't mind a bit of wandering at the front on steep ups its not too much of an issue.

The Surge was designed for 160mm forks so the BB is still comparatively nice and low.
I had mine with a Pike first and then a Domain U-Turn.
I didn't like the Pike on it, too twitchy and packed down on repeated hits.
The Domain wound down to 150mm travel was perfect for me, also much more solid feeling in rock gardens and off-camber stuff than the Pike.
That would be an axle to crown height of around 535mm.
Your Marzocchi 55 will be fine.

My 55's are the ata2 model which I had converted to coil last year. I've lost most of the travel adjust but can win down to about 145mm if necessary. Although I like the Bfe if the SA is too slack I'm gonna have a crap time climbing ( which isn't my strong point anyway ). So small surge + 50mm stem or large with a 30 - 35mm?

I've not ridden a surge but I do have a BFe...I really like it although mine is currently being run with 130mm Z1's. It may get my 36 Vans from the SX if I buy a set of Lyrik's this summer.

Mine is an XS used as a jump / mucking about bike and it feels ok. The top tube is long enough that I don't bang my knees whilst sprinting (unlike my Tazer and Lopes 4X that preceeded it). It feels lively enough but is quite heavy.

The seat post on the BFe is 31.6 not 30.9.

I think you want a "large" surge if you are using it for all day rides.

I am an inch shorter than you and a large was right for me, and for rubberduck above.

Both frames have a solid but slightly muted feel. Quite pleasant.

Don't get anal about choosing between them, just pick the one you like the look/weight/price of best.

@ chakaping

Look / weight / price

Bfe / Bfe / Surge.

Which do you prefer for climbing duties? ( or am being anal again ).

And to put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons Fireeye bikes are bringing [url= http://www.fireeye-bike.com/news_detail.php?news_sn=68&page=0 ]this[/url] out at the end of March.

Bfe at 160 here. Couldn't comment on how it really rides tbh - I just smash through stuff in straight line & for that its spot on

And to put the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons Fireeye bikes are bringing this out at the end of March.

Nice find tymbian.

27.2mm seatpost means the Surge gets a "No" from me (limited droppers and I have a habit of bending slim posts).

I'd also be thinking of the new Dialled Alpine when it comes it.

I have a BFe with Vanilla 140's, it's brilliant, I'm sure it would be great with 160's.

Don't get anal about choosing between them, just pick the one you like the look/weight/price of best.

+1. Had both, both great frames. I had a 17.5 bfe and large surge. Preferred the bfe for all day riding.

Older Mk2 BFe with TALAS 150 3 step RLC here. I use the forks as they were transferred from my old Heckler (but work a treat). Run mine at 110/130 most of the time and they're great. It rides good (if harsh) and ive not been thrown off for a while.

I can see davidtaylforth's point with the frame.

There do seem to be a lot of people who reckon that 130mm of travel is the sweet spot for the BFe. Mine certainly feels pretty good on some old Z1's. The geometry chart is based around a 130mm fork too.

Not wanting to sound argumentative, but I doubt you'll get a cheap set if Pikes. They seem to old their value and all if the ones I've watched in Flea Bay have sold for far more than I'm willing to pay.

tymbian - those Fire-eye frames are delayed at least a month as there is a problem with production. Fire-eye are also not sure who will be importing them and hence if CRC will be stocking them.

Bummer 🙁

@ messiah.

Looks like we got the same e-mail. 🙂

Shame eh? Pipedreams Moxie looks like a lot of fun & dropper compatible. SA could be steeper though...what d'ya reckon?

Were you after a Fireeye also?

Hi Tymbian, I'm looking for something to replace my Ragley Mmmbop. It's not a bad bike, in many ways it's a very good bike... but it's a little short and I'd like to run a longer fork without the bottom bracket being stoooooopid high (+ISCG etc etc). I had a Ragley Troof which suited me and was ace but broke.

The Fire-eye would have fitted the bill, as may the new Dialled Alpine when they come (August says Mike)... if I can wait that long and the Geometry looks good I'll probably go for the Alpine if i have to wait anyway.

I saw this photo of the Bfe yesterday.

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/8080887/#top

Are they 160mm forks cause that looks really slack.I've seen pics of the Bfe with 160's before and it don't look like that.