This is a good cheap option (Sette Flite): http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/18...tte-Flite-Am-Frame-W/Rockshox-Monarch-3.1.htm
It has adjustable rear travel 4/5/6 inches.
It has adjustable rear travel 4/5/6 inches.
Going fullie
Before I pose my question, here are the necessary facts:
1. I'm a 20 year-old college student on limited budget.
2. I currently ride an 08 Scott Aspect 55 with lotsa upgrades (after Christmas, only the frame and saddle will be stock)
3. I have a Tora 318 U-turn out front that almost always stays cranked out to 130....even though the bike is meant for a 100mm fork.
4. I'm 5'10-5'11, 180-185 lbs geared up (depending on time of semester).
5. Around here the weapon of choice is a 4"-5" hardtail or fullie (lotsa 29ers used by the older ladies and gents).
6. I beat my bike. Hard. I need a wee bit more than what the majority of riders around here use. My bravery will (or lack of sense) will allow me to do stuff a bit bigger than my bike should handle.
7. It is the most wonderful time of the year.
So here's the question:
What can i get for a frame that has between 130mm and 150mm rear wheel travel, with a slack-ish head angle (so I can throw the 130mm Tora on there for a while), and the ability to take a 150mm or 160mm fork (Revelation or Lyrik), and something that is NOT a freeride, gateracing, slopestyle frame for under $750? I say under $750 because I know a couple fellas will tell me a frame that costs $800 or $850.
Any thoughts, suggestions, feedback, offers, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!
1. I'm a 20 year-old college student on limited budget.
2. I currently ride an 08 Scott Aspect 55 with lotsa upgrades (after Christmas, only the frame and saddle will be stock)
3. I have a Tora 318 U-turn out front that almost always stays cranked out to 130....even though the bike is meant for a 100mm fork.
4. I'm 5'10-5'11, 180-185 lbs geared up (depending on time of semester).
5. Around here the weapon of choice is a 4"-5" hardtail or fullie (lotsa 29ers used by the older ladies and gents).
6. I beat my bike. Hard. I need a wee bit more than what the majority of riders around here use. My bravery will (or lack of sense) will allow me to do stuff a bit bigger than my bike should handle.
7. It is the most wonderful time of the year.
So here's the question:
What can i get for a frame that has between 130mm and 150mm rear wheel travel, with a slack-ish head angle (so I can throw the 130mm Tora on there for a while), and the ability to take a 150mm or 160mm fork (Revelation or Lyrik), and something that is NOT a freeride, gateracing, slopestyle frame for under $750? I say under $750 because I know a couple fellas will tell me a frame that costs $800 or $850.
Any thoughts, suggestions, feedback, offers, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
Azonic Avenger at Jenson for $715. They only have 18" frames left, but that is probably about your size, I suppose.
Randall Scott still has Iron Horse 6 point frames too:
http://www.rscycle.com/2008-Iron-Horse-6-Point-Frame-All-Mountain?sc=11&category=27532
Kinda splits the difference between the other two mentioned. Of course, the company no longer exists, so no warranty. From the point of view of what you said you want, I think I would call it the best match, next would be the Sette and Pricepoint is supposed to have good customer service. I built a Sette HT for my GF and it's a nice frame, especially for the price.
David B.
http://www.rscycle.com/2008-Iron-Horse-6-Point-Frame-All-Mountain?sc=11&category=27532
Kinda splits the difference between the other two mentioned. Of course, the company no longer exists, so no warranty. From the point of view of what you said you want, I think I would call it the best match, next would be the Sette and Pricepoint is supposed to have good customer service. I built a Sette HT for my GF and it's a nice frame, especially for the price.
David B.
OP, most likely your components will not completely transfer over.
Seatpost same size? Derailleur clamp same size, high or low swing? Does your fork have a long enough steer tube to fit the new frame of choice? If you have hydro brakes, will your lines be long enough? Do you have tools and knowledge to swap over?
These are questions you'll need to know before just buying a new frame. IMO, your better off selling what you have, and getting a new bike in your price range. It's winter, lot's of closeout deals on stock now.
Seatpost same size? Derailleur clamp same size, high or low swing? Does your fork have a long enough steer tube to fit the new frame of choice? If you have hydro brakes, will your lines be long enough? Do you have tools and knowledge to swap over?
These are questions you'll need to know before just buying a new frame. IMO, your better off selling what you have, and getting a new bike in your price range. It's winter, lot's of closeout deals on stock now.
ebay will be your best friend for that price
Vertr: I had considered the Flite, but opted against it because of the steep head angle, plus it seems kinda chunky.
Lieselhelmut: same thing with the Avenger frame--head angle is at 69 which is kinda steep for that size bike (at least for my taste). It would look pretty BA with my white bars/stem and white Outlaws though.
David: I had looked into the Randal Scott bargains, but I just feel kinda sketched out by a company that has gone under. Additionally, from what I've read the Ironhorse frames are pretty heavy.
Snowdrifter: The odds and ends of swapping bikes go without mentioning. Sure, I will need a new seatpost, and most likely a new front derailleur. Head tube length is something I look at on every frame I check out. No worries, I do my research thouroughly. As for the tools, my school MTB club has everything except a headset press, which the LBS gladly helps us out with. And since my friends and I build our bikes piece by piece, knowledge on the matter is no concern.
Bubba: I'm trying to stay away from fleabay just because of the ambiguities of buying anything on there.
So far I've got my eyes on the Specialized Pitch, Kona Dawg Supreme, the Solid Blade and Blade AM, and a couple others. Anyone have exerience with any of these?
Worth mentioning: LBS guy helps me out on prices and undercuts posted MSRP on most big stuff. Hence the interest in the Dawg Supreme frame. Cheers!
Sam
Lieselhelmut: same thing with the Avenger frame--head angle is at 69 which is kinda steep for that size bike (at least for my taste). It would look pretty BA with my white bars/stem and white Outlaws though.
David: I had looked into the Randal Scott bargains, but I just feel kinda sketched out by a company that has gone under. Additionally, from what I've read the Ironhorse frames are pretty heavy.
Snowdrifter: The odds and ends of swapping bikes go without mentioning. Sure, I will need a new seatpost, and most likely a new front derailleur. Head tube length is something I look at on every frame I check out. No worries, I do my research thouroughly. As for the tools, my school MTB club has everything except a headset press, which the LBS gladly helps us out with. And since my friends and I build our bikes piece by piece, knowledge on the matter is no concern.
Bubba: I'm trying to stay away from fleabay just because of the ambiguities of buying anything on there.
So far I've got my eyes on the Specialized Pitch, Kona Dawg Supreme, the Solid Blade and Blade AM, and a couple others. Anyone have exerience with any of these?
Worth mentioning: LBS guy helps me out on prices and undercuts posted MSRP on most big stuff. Hence the interest in the Dawg Supreme frame. Cheers!
Sam
If your LBS helps you guys out that much, buy from them. So my suggestion is whatever you can get from them.
http://wheelworld.com/product-list/frames-171/all-terrain-87/
Check out the Kona frames.
Might be low enough to allow for some additional parts/hardware if you are set on a frame.
That said, if you are buying used you probably can get something in the full bike range for your price. I'm a little leary of used bikes myself but know several guys who lucked out on very nice rides with a year or two of age and almost no actual use.
I picked up the 08 Dawg Deluxe full bike from these guys and it is really making me wonder why I didn't do something sooner.
Check out the Kona frames.
Might be low enough to allow for some additional parts/hardware if you are set on a frame.
That said, if you are buying used you probably can get something in the full bike range for your price. I'm a little leary of used bikes myself but know several guys who lucked out on very nice rides with a year or two of age and almost no actual use.
I picked up the 08 Dawg Deluxe full bike from these guys and it is really making me wonder why I didn't do something sooner.
Plus Randall Scott is a complete d-bag. I would never buy anything from them after the way they've spammed the boards here. Very unprofessional.sambs827 said:David: I had looked into the Randal Scott bargains, but I just feel kinda sketched out by a company that has gone under. Additionally, from what I've read the Ironhorse frames are pretty heavy.
You need to understand that you are deep into "budget frame" territory. This means you can't be picky about head angle, price, not buying from ebay, warranties, etc.sambs827 said:Vertr: I had considered the Flite, but opted against it because of the steep head angle, plus it seems kinda chunky.
Lieselhelmut: same thing with the Avenger frame--head angle is at 69 which is kinda steep for that size bike (at least for my taste). It would look pretty BA with my white bars/stem and white Outlaws though.
David: I had looked into the Randal Scott bargains, but I just feel kinda sketched out by a company that has gone under. Additionally, from what I've read the Ironhorse frames are pretty heavy.
Snowdrifter: The odds and ends of swapping bikes go without mentioning. Sure, I will need a new seatpost, and most likely a new front derailleur. Head tube length is something I look at on every frame I check out. No worries, I do my research thouroughly. As for the tools, my school MTB club has everything except a headset press, which the LBS gladly helps us out with. And since my friends and I build our bikes piece by piece, knowledge on the matter is no concern.
Bubba: I'm trying to stay away from fleabay just because of the ambiguities of buying anything on there.
So far I've got my eyes on the Specialized Pitch, Kona Dawg Supreme, the Solid Blade and Blade AM, and a couple others. Anyone have exerience with any of these?
Worth mentioning: LBS guy helps me out on prices and undercuts posted MSRP on most big stuff. Hence the interest in the Dawg Supreme frame. Cheers!
Sam
Plus a 69 degree head angle is quite common for 5/6 inch bikes. If you buy a 6" frame with a 68 HA your 130mm fork will likely steepen the angle to 69 or more anyway.
Sure I can be picky. Just means I need to look in the right places. The Flite has a 69 degree HA with a 160mm fork up front. With a 130mm fork it would have somewhere in the neighborhood of 70.5, which is borderline XC race material. The point of keeping away from steeper head angles is so that the undersized fork doesn't make the HA undesirably steep.Vertr said:You need to understand that you are deep into "budget frame" territory. This means you can't be picky about head angle, price, not buying from ebay, warranties, etc.
Plus a 69 degree head angle is quite common for 5/6 inch bikes. If you buy a 6" frame with a 68 HA your 130mm fork will likely steepen the angle to 69 or more anyway.
I'm not sure that number is exactly accurate. They don't specify what fork, what a-c or what rear travel setting is set. The rear travel setting will have an effect on HA.sambs827 said:Sure I can be picky. Just means I need to look in the right places. The Flite has a 69 degree HA with a 160mm fork up front. With a 130mm fork it would have somewhere in the neighborhood of 70.5, which is borderline XC race material. The point of keeping away from steeper head angles is so that the undersized fork doesn't make the HA undesirably steep.
According to my calculations, in the 6" rear setting with your fork the HA would be 70.3. However, the 5" setting might change things for the better. Best to email price point how those factors play out. Also, if you buy the flite, you will still have $400 left over to buy a used lyrik on ebay. Perfect.
I'm not saying to buy the Flite, I'm saying you are rejecting a lot of good options for seemingly arbitrary reasons. Your old fork shouldn't decide your frame, especially if you will upgrade in the future.
Trust me, I've been watching this particular frame market for over a year, a lot of the best options have been mentioned. Unless you go used. With your pickyness that might be the only option.
Exactly, I run a Pike on my Flite in the 5" setting and have been very happy with it, its nowhere near 70+Vertr said:I'm not sure that number is exactly accurate. They don't specify what fork, what a-c or what rear travel setting is set. The rear travel setting will have an effect on HA.
The only fork they spec on that bike is the Domain, which is 545 a2c, so it's reasonable to assume that the HA is measured with that. If it's not, then their geo is pretty useless.Vertr said:I'm not sure that number is exactly accurate. They don't specify what fork, what a-c or what rear travel setting is set. The rear travel setting will have an effect on HA.
According to my calculations, in the 6" rear setting with your fork the HA would be 70.3. However, the 5" setting might change things for the better. Best to email price point how those factors play out. Also, if you buy the flite, you will still have $400 left over to buy a used lyrik on ebay. Perfect.
I'm not saying to buy the Flite, I'm saying you are rejecting a lot of good options for seemingly arbitrary reasons. Your old fork shouldn't decide your frame, especially if you will upgrade in the future.
Trust me, I've been watching this particular frame market for over a year, a lot of the best options have been mentioned. Unless you go used. With your pickyness that might be the only option.
The rear travel setting on that particular frame will have a minimal effect on the head angle. You can tell just by looking at the shock's mounting points. Some effect yes, but probably not noticeable.
Also, the leverage rate is stupid high on that frame. That shock looks like either a 6.5 x 1.5 or 7.5 x 2.0 which means the leverage ratio is either 3.1 or 4.2. Not a bad frame by any means, just not very applicable for this requirement.
I believe the complete with the domain came much later after the frame was available alone so I don't think the 160 is what they measured. I do not know that for sure. I'm not saying its a great or amazing frame. I am saying its a new frame, at a great price with a decent shock (agree about leverage ratios though).Berkley said:The only fork they spec on that bike is the Domain, which is 545 a2c, so it's reasonable to assume that the HA is measured with that. If it's not, then their geo is pretty useless.
The rear travel setting on that particular frame will have a minimal effect on the head angle. You can tell just by looking at the shock's mounting points. Some effect yes, but probably not noticeable.
Also, the leverage rate is stupid high on that frame. That shock looks like either a 6.5 x 1.5 or 7.5 x 2.0 which means the leverage ratio is either 3.1 or 4.2. Not a bad frame by any means, just not very applicable for this requirement.
I would probably never buy one, but then again I am very patient with my frame purchases and tend to find what I want. If you are new(ish) it's a great choice, and you could always ebay it and upgrade to a Santa Cruz or Turner later.
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
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