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I'm just throwing ideas around inside my head, currently have a 650b HT & compressed vertebral discs, ride a lot of rooty / bumpy trails with short sharp climbs (often tarmac) no big drops/rocks/gnar. Toying with the idea of a FS 29 and I really like the 130f/125r G4 FlareMax, was wondering what else out there is similar, it can only have a seat tube of 405mm maximum due to my little legs. I know stock short in supply. Happy to go second hand. Any input appreciated.
Ironically, a Santa Cruz tallboy might fit your needs. Similar travel setup (130/120) and riding intentions (hard ish hitting short travel trail) and they have three frame sizes that have a 405mm, or shorter, seat tube.
https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/tallboy
Just to add: short travel, 600mm ish ETT, 440mm ish reach, low stack, max 405mm seat tube. Ta
How tall are you - that’s a pretty short reach for modern full suspension bikes?
Bird Aether 9a / 9C is similar in terms of intention - and probably cheaper / slightly lighter. I think the smallest size is medium which probably gets under your seat tube spec but the reach might be a little longer.
Aether 9a in medium would likely do it, but is slightly: slacker/longer travel/reach than the Cotic & I'm not sure I need them.
I'm 5'7" with short legs, with a 395mm seat tube and using my 120mm BrandX dropper I only have 13mm of post showing with my preferred 170mm cranks, I know I could add in a new dropper but I'd prefer to keep my BrandX.
Also, the Aether9s increase in travel adds 15mm of stack. For reference on my 120mm 650b HT I'm running a flat bar (not sure of exact stack at the mo).
(110mm HT headtube).
Just to add: short travel, 600mm ish ETT, 440mm ish reach, low stack, max 405mm seat tube. Ta
i used to struggle to get my bars low enough to keep the front under control when climbing. i now have a bike with a steep seat angle, long rear centre and an longish reach. i no longer worry about where the bars are.
sorry to hear about your back, though. no fun at all.
ps
get the cotic for the looks alone.
There is a G2 medium on eBay with coil shock
Not mine, nor anyone I know
Been looking at FlareMAX, Aether 9, Sonder Cortex, YT Izzo. Keep coming back to the Cotic but I’m upgrading from a classic Soul so might be biased.
I was close to ordering a gen4 FlareMAX but instead went a bit leftfield - Nicolai Saturn 14. There's not much similar to the Cotic and Nicolai for the reach/angles in their larger sizes. I'm at the tall end of the scale and also have an XL Geometron, I like long bikes and I cannot lie.
Size small Saturn 14 recommended for 164-172cm, 595 ETT, 405 ST, 603 stack. 130mm travel but there's also the Saturn 11. Not cheap option though.
https://en.nicolai-bicycles.com/frames/saturn-14/
To shorten the reach on a bike you could always add a -2 headset.
And FWIW my Flare Max climbs just as well with a -2 headset, and goes better downwards.
I’m a shade under 5’8 with a long torso & short limbs and I like the fit of my medium Aether 9c. My seat height is 615mm BB to rails with 170mm cranks & my 160mm BY dropper is about 18mm up. That 395mm seat tube is awesome.
I was also worried about the stack, & I actually bought a set of 10mm rise bars to try when the bike was delivered (bird do only 20mm or 35mm) but I ended up sending them back unopened. 5-10mm of spacers & 20mm rise bars seems spot on to me. The bars are way higher than my saddle, but the stack & reach balance for good seated & standing positions. The steep STA makes for good for climbing.
Sorry about your back and good luck finding something!
You can have a Starling Murmur with custom travel options. Lovely bikes.
Starling Murmur
I'd probably get one of these with your brief, OP.
Medium off the shelf is 450mm reach IIRC.
Flaremax is a great bike I used to have one, very capable and looks ace. Compared to the Starling Murmur I now have, the Flaremax feels longer when seated, likely due to seat angles, not sure how steep Cotic have gone with new version.
Your Mumur looks waaaay better though.
😀
Murmur is much easier to service and route a dropper I'll give it that
To state the obvious, what’s similar to a G4 FlareMax is a G3 (or even G2) FlareMax. I think the main difference was just a steeper seat angle. You can get most of that just by sliding the saddle forwards on the older model and steeper isn’t really better. Just better in some situations and irrelevant when you are standing of course. I’m sure there are some other tweaks, but if you like the FlareMax I’d start by looking at the older models.