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So, bit of an idle musing this, but after a couple of days riding in the Alps on my hardtail, its got me wondering that if i was to return there, a full suss would be nice.
But i appear to have short arse legs in comparison to my upper body.
Requirements are:
- 15.5" / 394mm centre of BB to top of seat tube (non negotiable in order to run a 125mm dropper i can't use a bigger frame).
- ETT @ 605mm +/-
- Reach 430mm +/-
- 27.5" wheels
- new school geometry
- 130 / 160mm travel frame (wide range i know), 140 /160mm fork travel.
- Be nice to have something thats suspension won't "jack" on braking, but keeping my options open.
- Second hand preferable.
- I really like the likes of Whyte, but they start at 16"
Ta 👍
A small Bird Aeris 145 seems to fit most of your requirements - except ett. I wonder if you could squeeze a medium in with a dropper that has a small stack height:
You can have the bike with either 145mm or 160mm rear travel and with forks from 150-170mm travel.
Its definitely long / low / slack. I’m not sure how many frames are going to match the length you want with that short a seat tube.
Maybe you find something at bike-discount.de
Look for "Cube stereo 160 hpa frame" or similar.
Normally 2017 stuff. Dirt cheap. No idea which sizes they have in stock.
Bought an 150/150 HPA Stereo 27.5 PLUS frame from them last winter.
Use 2.6 inch rubber (with 35 mm FunWorks rims + DT370 hubs) and Deore 2x10. Total budget was around 1.5 k in the end. Fork and damper from this crazy FOX winter sale ( bike-components.de )
Best time to buy (in my case): was February. All the shops went nuts and had fantastic sales...
The bike is an blast!
The Cube stereo doesn’t get anywhere near the sizing the op suggested - 16” frame is shorter in both ett and reach by quite a long way.
The only other really long bikes are Pole and the Geometron I think which are both quite spendy.
I have reasonably short legs for my height and have the same issue when looking at new bikes. From looking back at my last round of demos back in February/March you're really looking at the manufacturers that go towards the extreme end of the geometry, mainstream manufacturers tend to be a bit too conservative. The two that spring to mind are the Bird Aeris, as mentioned above and the Cotic Rocket. The new small Rocket nearly hits all your numbers but doubt you'd find second hand one yet!
For that seat tube length most frames seem to be around the 390-400 mark on reach so that will limit your choices really.
The Cube stereo doesn’t get anywhere near the sizing the op suggested – 16” frame is shorter in both ett and reach by quite a long way.
O.k. - that's possible. Didn't check this.
A small 2018 transition scout gets close to those numbers,380 seattube with 425 reach.
You may want to check that you can actually fully insert a 125mm dropper into any short seatube design you find.
How tall are you Qwerty ? I'm guessing I'm built the opposite to you as at 5'7" I can run a 170mm reverb , 450mm seatube and 170mm cranks .
You could expand your sizing range to 400mm seat tube by running 165mm cranks (if not doing so already).
Definitely worth investigating shorter cranks and low stack droppers.
The small below isn't a million miles away.
http://www.ns-bikes.com/2017/snabb-plus-1,91,pl.html
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ns-bikes-snabb-plus-frame-super-deluxe-rc3-2017/rp-prod152987
I bought a medium frame from CRC and it rides very well.
Is sold as a plus/29er bike, but should be fine with regular 2.6" higher volume 27.5 tyres - assuming btm bracket isn't too low - not really checked that far for you.
You're going to struggle with the ETT measurement as anything with "new school" geometry that meets your ST/Reach requirements will likely have a steep seat angle, shortening the ETT.
It's already been mentioned but I think the small Aeris 145 from Bird will probably get the closest. Definitely close enough that it's be worth a test ride. You could always fit a dropper with a setback head and that would actually give you the ETT you want.
Otherwise, have you heard of MDE Bikes? They have the option to customise the geo so you could get exactly what you want: http://www.mdebikes.com/rider-tuned-geometry/
Found this that'd fit like a glove:
http://www.mondraker.com/es/en/2019-foxy-carbon-xr-275
Not cheap, probably best its just a pipe dream..............
Definitely not cheap. I’d forgotten about mondrager and their long frames.
Yeah, I'd forgotten about Mondraker's Forward Geometry as well... You can go back a fair few years and still meet your requirements actually: https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2423330/ 2016 Foxy R - HA only 67.5deg, but you can fit a slackset. Even the new alloy ones aren't too expensive tbh.
If you dare chop the top off the seat tube, you can buy my medium 2014 Banshee Spitfire. 😉
You will struggle to get one 2nd hand but the new small cotic rocket has what you want.
390 st
435 reach
160 travel
I think the Medium Giant Trance gets pretty close to those numbers and isn't too spendy.
Very overlooked by a lot of people as its not a "boutique" / cool brand, but a great bike.
^^^medium trance has a 431mm ST so no good for OP. Plus the small comes up way short for eTT & reach. The Reign in small looks good for the numbers though
Ive the same issue OP and my hunt continues so watching this thread with interest. Worth checking the Vitus bikes on CRC as they come close. As had been mentioned, Aeris is one im also considering