Xc trail frame

Dave70778
Dave70778 Posts: 2
edited August 2014 in MTB buying advice
Hi,

I'm looking to buy a new lightweight xc trail frame but can't decide. I have been looking at the kinesis xc130 and on one whippet, would appreciate your thoughts on theese and other alternatives. Thanks.

Comments

  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    The whippet is more of an out and out race bike, so might be a little stiff and steep for trail riding. The XC130 is a decent choice, I owned (and still have in the loft) an XC120, which is the predecessor to the XC130 and from what I gather the only real difference between the two is they removed the bottle bolts from the seat tube and gave it some new colours. As such it's a little dated these days, it can't run tapered steerer forks and has a 27.2mm seat tube so dropper compatibility is limited if you want one down the line. The geometry is also very steep, I found it steep with a 140mm fork and the BB is very low with anything much shorter than this.

    Personally if I were in your position Id go for a Cotic Soul, either the new 27.5 version or 26" wheels. Bang up to date features and geometry, reasonably light, super comfortable and sprightly steel tubing and it should last a lifetime.

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