frame only advice

mark_leverton

hi all i am new to the forum and ten years out of the saddle.

i am currently running a kona fire mountain deluxe 2008 with rock shox recon 351 forks, i am looking to get into some low level xc races and want to build a new bike from scratch, i am looking for a frame to start my project off, i am a big hardtail fan but have not touched a full sus bike for 10 yrs + as you can imagine full sus 10 years ago was not very good, i am looking for some advice on buying a frame only, i want to add every component myself.

my budget is £200 to £400
it must be disc ready and lightweight.
i am 6ft1 and i find i cannot get a decent riding position with my kona frame it is the correct size for me but i am sat too upright on it. i want to run 120mm+ forks.

any advice greatly appreciated. thanks in advance

mark

Northwind

On One Scandal? I'm about to replace mine (it'll be too small for you) but it's light and can handle up to 130mm. TBH I don't think it's at its best with longer forks, it all gets a bit slack and vague but it was originally intended to be an XC racer til they beefed the frame up for the longer fork. Could fit your bill quite nicely. If your forks are u-turn you could drop it to 100mm for pure xc raciness and still have the option of the longer travel...

Airienteer

I reckon your best bets would be one of the following:
On One Scandal
Kinesis Maxlight XC Pro II
Giant XTC

EDIT: Woops just read you want to run 120+ forks. Wouldn't recommend it really for racing but that cancels out the Kinesis and Giant. From the Kinesis range you could look at the XC 120.

mark_leverton

well i run rock shox recon 351 forks and keep them dialled around 100mm but they are 130mm travel, i will be looking to upgrade my forks and am looking for quality of travel over amount of travel. my main concern is the frame that is ridable and can be thrown around on the trails, thanks for the replys so far everyone. really appreciated.

mark leverton

Dongalinga

You could try the Handsome Dog Arrow, it is made of Easton Elite Alu so is very light but it's also strong and they are in the sale at the moment, I've had 2 of these frames and have had no problem at all with either of them, i find the 18" a perfect size for me at 6'2", also try using a longer stem to strech out your riding position a bit.

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/104146.html

JxL

What about Merlin Tig Team Lobster?

3.25 pounds, pretty much same weight as the Kinesis XC Pro II (carbon), and half the price.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... goryId=106

It would be cheaper to buy a whole bike though, take this for example:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... Suspension

Considering the frame is around £800 (if im not mistaken), £600 for XT/XTR kit and Fox Float forks is not bad at all.

BenS999

It a bit over budget but a friend of mine has a Cove Stiffee - see review below - he swears by it.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/frames/mountain/product/stiffee-fr-frame-only-32386

supersonic

Lightest frame for your budget is this:

http://www.supercycles.co.uk/site_detai ... ductID=403

May not be the best, nor good geo for you.

Your existing frame isn't heavy. And I would say for XC racing, 120mm plus is too much really, most run 80-100mm.

JxL

supersonic wrote:

Lightest frame for your budget is this:

http://www.supercycles.co.uk/site_detai ... ductID=403

May not be the best, nor good geo for you.

1.2kg, that is seriously light for £400! Not very good looking but hey, if it performs well it doesn't matter.

So how does it perform?

supersonic

Good! Was in a test a while back - frame was stiff and direct. Compononents on the bike didn't fare as well, but that is of no importance here.