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Missed my old and slightly too small BFe and have been lusting after a new HT for a fair while, was tempted to go the 29er route but always wanted a Soul, right back to when I first started riding 13-odd years ago. Now I finally have one and its ace!
Had it finished for a week and a half or so but finally had chance to get out on it yesterday for it's first proper ride. Amazed at how smooth the frame feels, it's mega stable at speed and when standing it absorbs so much trail buzz it's unreal, even better than the BFe did. Fork needs some fettling as it ruined my hands on descents, but aside from that it felt spot on. I'm over the moon with it, well chuffed is an understatement! Can't wait to log more miles on this winter.
Welcome to the new-skool hardtail movement (long, low, slack and plus). Nice moody shot suiting the understated look. Neighbour's hedge could do with topping out though.
Congratulations. 🙂 I love them as an idea... but HTs,.... Hmmmmm.
lovely bike. Glad you like it. Grass could do with a trim.
Decals on the tyres aren't lined up ... 🙄
Decals on the tyres aren’t lined up …
But they do line up with valves... 😉
Pretty bike. Nice pic.
Looks good mate.
What rims and tyres have you gone for?
Cheers chaps 🙂
I'm running the wheels off my Whyte T130 at the minute (I'll just swap the wheels back onto the Whyte when I want to ride that instead). They're Stan's Arch MK3s on Hope Pro 4 hubs with Sapim D-Light spokes, decently light at 1700ish grams and have been rock solid, they feel awesome to ride as well, a nice damped feel rather than being super stiff. I went with a 28h build to keep the weight down and not make them overly stiff. Tyres are Maxxis Forekaster 2.35's. They're pretty good for most things, they do feel a bit sketchy sometimes on wet, off-camber rocks, but they roll really quickly and are last really well so I'm happy to live with the compromise for now, though I might change the front to a 3C Minion DHF I have spare in the garage.
Eventually I do want to invest in a set of wheels specifically for this. I'm tempted to go for some Hunt Trail Wides as they're a bit wider and I might try 2.6 tyres in this and they're great value too.
I'm annoyed by the GX Eagle cranks though, as the finish has already worn in places after one 11ish mile ride, which is pretty shit really! I got a bargain on some Truvativ carbon cranks earlier this year so am keeping an eye out to see if anything pops up, they're a tad lighter, and the finish is a lot more durable. Other than that though, this will be staying as it is, specifically built it up pretty much exactly as I wanted in the end, I had planned to cut a few corners like the brakes and bar/stem but just thought "ahhh **** it, I'll end up changing them anyway" so just went for it, I just keep telling myself it'll save me money in the long run and to hell with it for now!
Cheers Lawman 🙂