Lightish Slackish full sus 120mm travel alloy bike?

Orange stage Evo?

Bird Aether 9? 130mm but other than that it fits the bill.

loads of great deals on trek top fuels atm 😉 I'm just frame protecting one now

Although i love my Banshee spitfire.......

Cotic Flaremax with light but tough build.

A bit heavier in frame weight but feels more sprightly when riding it.

What height are you?

There’ll be a XL Nicolai Saturn 14 up for sale soon #notstealthad

Ibis Ripley AF

It's a shame you don't like the Rocky Mountain Element as they get good reviews and are decent value.

Not sure how light you need to go. A Top Fuel weighs 14.26 kg (Trek figures) for a size medium alloy 8 model if that helps as a reference point.

Trek Top Fuel

Edit: didn't read the above before posting!

I've got one though and it doesn't ride heavy. Putting suitable trail tyres on helps that.

The top Fuel builds always look like crazy money. Unless there are deals about. The Canyon Neuron is deeply uncool but will do a similar job for less money

What about half carbon? I bloody love my Izzo Core 2. Alloy back half.. Set of light wheels and it feels super zippy, bit it's still a good laugh when I want it to be. Often in YT's outlet.

I do prefer the shape of the Element Carbon but I'm not a fan of carbon. Plus I've been on the RM facebook page and a few guys were mentioning bearings going at around 1000 miles and then frames getting chewed up.

If the alloy one didn't have that camels hump up the front of it, that would be the one for me.

I don't like the industrial look of Orange bikes and Trek are a bit meh. Similar to Giants 🤦😁

I am looking for something a bit more indie I guess, hence the Banshee, and the Nicolai would be nice but it's def too much bike as the trails I ride most are xc in nature.

Sonder Cortex

Probably too much of the people 😉

Orange stage Evo?

+1

It's lighter and faster than you probably think OP. And really good fun.

Why alloy?

Is the difference in Trance performance really just down to weight? Have you tried faster rolling tyres? You can really transform the feel of a bike with fast tyres and lighter wheels.

Have you looked at Pivot bikes?

I’m not a fan of carbon.

Any particular reason e.g. bad past experience, hearsay about carbon durability etc?

I wouldn't write carbon off in the short travel category. These are bikes that want to go fast and pedal all day and therefore manufacturers have gravitated towards carbon for the best examples in this category.

I bought a 2019 Giant Trance a while back and was amazed at how good it was. It was slightly too big so I sold it. I then bought the new one which is a good chunk heavier, with a decent build on it, and not as sprightly on the trails.

And how much heavier is it, a Pound a Kilo or more?

Same build kit?

I don’t like the industrial look of Orange bikes and Trek are a bit meh. Similar to Giants

If you’re being a bit precious about brands, you really are missing probably one of the very best short travel bikes in the Top Fuel.

My other half has a Spur, I had an Element & now I have a Top Fuel & it’s the best of the bunch IMO. Treks ABP is significantly better than the flex stay on the Spur & the Horst Link Rocky.

Stage Evo - certainly the best Orange I’ve ever owned. Light, fun, engaging… punches well anbove what the travel kinda suggests, &  I also think they look lovely.

Sonder Cortex sounds like it fits the bill - and is usually quite good value. I think the Bird Aether 9 might be worth a look if it’s not slacker than you want.

A mate has a carbon Top Fuel and really rates it - I think it’s closer to the Spur and the Epic Evo than you might want if the Trance is up there as the bike you liked.

Is the newer trance you bought the X model or something? Wouldn’t have expected a completely different character - the normal trance is just a mid travel trail bike surely?

Slow reply due to even slower internet.

Ive had a few carbon frames now and not been too impressed. Had a Santa Cruz that cracked and a Canyon Strive that suffered from cable rub that started eating the frame. Apparently that was my fault. Utter rubbish.

Plus I read that when a frame comes out the mould there's a load of trimmings that are waste material. I'm not too comfortable with that.

I wouldn't say that I'm too precious about brands as I loved my first giant and thought this one would be better. Maybe it is, I'm not too sure as I bought an Alloy Tallboy V4 in between the two Giants and that thing is a tank and definitely doesn't pedal as well. It's about 36lbs and the 2022 Trance is 35lbs but could shed a pound or two.

The first Trance just felt more sprightly and was definitely lighter by a few pounds. I've tried lighter tyres. I'll maybe need to spend a good bit more time on it and see if I can get on with it.

Plus I don't want to stump up for a carbon bike as all the ones I do like are silly money for frame only.

I know there's been a bit of love for Orange bikes already here but I was trying to be kind to them earlier by saying they look industrial, what I meant was fugly 😁 At least their full sus bikes anyway as I've got a Clockwork Evo 29.

They seem very heavy for trail bikes. My carbon sentinel with lyriks, mid weight tyres and wheels and xt / sram drivetrain mix is just over 34lbs. It’s got a heavy x2 shock on it too.

Rocky Mountain Element alloy has a weird looking bump along the top tube that I don’t like.

I’m gonna call you out here… You can’t be serious about ruling out possibly the best bike in the sector (and one of few with an alloy option) based upon the merest hint of a slight bump in the top tube…

https://images.app.goo.gl/1VBKtRUgDE3V3khB6

It’s hardly a “shitting dog” V1 Santa Cruz Nomad is it?!?! 🤯

😂 no your right it's not that bad but it also reminds me of those old mondrakers and I hated the look of those. I know it's strange but I am who I am 😁

Transition Spur?

*Edit - ignore, I saw you discounted it. I thought you could get alloy.

Still - get a Spur 🤣

It's definitely a stunning bike and if they did alloy I'd be all over it.

That Spur is a beauty!

Norco Fluid?

Some good deals to be had. A touch more travel than required. But never heard a bad thing said about them (very similar to an Optic, which when i had mine, absolutely loved).

None of the bikes being talked about here are anything approaching light. The alloy Top Fuels were on my list for a while but the things are heavy. A Top Fuel 8 or Scott Spark 970 is 33lb, which is enduro bike weight.

The top spec Commencal Tempo with XX1 and carbon wheels is 31lb, as is the Rocky Element A50. The carbon Rocky with the equivalent spec to the Tempo is 6lb lighter.

You aren't going to get a lightweight bike in that travel bracket that's aluminium these days. Carbon is a better tool for the job and so development of alloy frames seems to have ground to a halt. It's also easy to repair if it does get damaged, unlike aluminium (my last carbon repair was £80). If you want a lightweight 120mm bike to feel like one it has to be carbon.

None of the bikes being talked about here are anything approaching light.

The Orange is, but OP has ruled that out. Which is fair enough.

Get over your carbon aversion and buy a Spur. Here's mine....

12.2kg with pedals (size large).

When I was looking it was difficult to find frame weights for most alloy bikes.

I reckon the sonder ciryex could build up to a sensible (if not super light) spec. Frame weights below

I reckon with that Sonder if you stuck on a 130mm pike or Fox 34, alloy Hunt xc race wheels, exo casing or equivalent tyres with a fast ish tread, carbon bars and cranks etc (maybe GX eagle) you could get that to feel pretty rapid. Obviously it’s not going to compete with something properly light out of carbon but I don’t know what else out there is going to do that job.

Most of the full build alloy framed 120mm travel sort of things have some compromise components on them - adding to the fairly hefty weights. Usually heavy cassettes / hubs  / rims etc.

I've been really tempted by the Canyon Spectral 125, 140mm front and 125mm rear with a slack head angle and some good reach options in Large or XL

I’ve been really tempted by the Canyon Spectral 125, 140mm front and 125mm rear with a slack head angle and some good reach options in Large or XL

I love the geometry on this, but feedback seems to suggest it feels like a short-travel enduro bike. Not a light aggressive trail bike like OP wants.

Do they even make the 125 in alloy? Other than that it doesn’t really fit the brief anyway - that’s near enough an enduro bike - just with much shorter travel. All the comments I’ve seen on it suggest that it doesn’t pedal particularly well for the shorter travel and it feels a bigger bike than it is.

There is an AL version of the Spectral 125. Looking at the weight 2.5kg between the Spur and Spectral a quick google suggests.

Shame reviews say it doesnt pedal too well, the seat tube angle is in the middle of slack and steep. Still very tempting for me though, I picked up a Nukeproof Scout to compliment my 170mm enduro sled and I'm just not getting on with it, and I would say it doesnt pedal well, this is versus my enduro bike and others in the group on alternative hardtails.

Yes, sadly it has to be carbon to fit the brief. I just got a quasi new IZZO Pro for £1,200. It's still around 13kg though.

 I just got a quasi new IZZO Pro for £1,200. It’s still around 13kg though.

OP should probably consider a used Izzo, but my Orange weighs about that with trail wheels & tyres. Or 30lbs with enduro wheels & tyres.

I’m gonna call you out here… You can’t be serious about ruling out possibly the best bike in the sector (and one of few with an alloy option) based upon the merest hint of a slight bump in the top tube…

Having had one (carbon) it’s by no means perfect. Better than the Spur, but not as good as the Top Fuel IMO. Also, basically impossible to get in the UK at the moment. Which is not ideal when you have a warranty issue, (I did) and are told you need to wait 6 months for some parts 🤦‍♂️

I was looking for a 120mm full sus back in 2018, for general riding with some long distance rides in mind, and struggled to find an alloy framed bike that wasn't heavy.

In the end I bought a Carbon Cannondale Scalpel SE in the sale.

If I was looking to do the same now, I'd be buying a Specialized Epic.

Seems like 120mm these days is for xc.