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I have a mk1 soul and I love it all for one thing, a 27.2 post
I can get a mk3 for £300 and could then use the 150mm lev I have on it but not sure it's worth it.
The pro of each in my eyes are
Mk1
I have it
It looks nicer to me
I just sold my tapered steerer forks so would need to use an adaptor
It has a. Lovely Chris king headset
Mk3
I can use my 150mm drop lev rather Han spending £200 on a 100mm drop post that I'm never that convinced about, just to skinny for all the internals
Rated for a bigger fork, not sure if that means it's stronger or thigh he mk1 just didn't get put thru the same tests
I tent to ride woodland trails, the local bmx track and I'm pretty smooth so rarely break stuff.
Oh what to do
Buy the Mk3, stick the Mk1 in the loft, sell the Mk3 on if you decide you don't like it?
The Mk1 predates CEN testing (I think?) so it's probably not overengineered to the level of the Mk2 and Mk3, but it's not likely to snap. The Mk3 has bigger tubes in the front triangle (seat and head tube) and is supposed to be a bit stiffer as a result. I couldn't really tell the difference between the Mk2 (27.2mm, 1 1/8th steerer) and the Mk3 myself. I've not owned but have ridden a couple of Mk1s, and similarly couldn't tell that much difference there, either. All the iterations are good! 🙂
Depends on the colour 🙂
That too. You can get the Mk3 in green... 😀
I went from a mk2 to a mk3, got an adaptor for my straight forks, got a dropper, no noticeable difference for me, I'd take the ability to run a decent dropper over the supposed comfort of a fixed 27.2 post any day for 'trail riding'.
The green is nice and bright after the black of the mk2.
I spent a grand last year blinging my Mk1. Never occurred to me to get one of the newer versions......
I still yearn after the sheer pleasure my Mk1 Soul gave me... was heartbroken when it broke. Replaced with a BFe by My and I later went back to a later Soul but it wasn't as sprightly.
Both black
I currently own frame number six, or in mark terms mk0.5, and would never a mk 1. Currently considering a 27+ which in my mind is a completely different bike.
the downtube on my mk1 cracked after many years of abuse. got one of the last of the last CERN ones with 27.2 and non tapered headtube
they are better thinner, if you ask me.
I believe they stopped testing frames at CERN after the BFe incident...