Currently riding this in place of my Ogre. Got the frame set secondhand and had a bunch of rim/26in stuff kickin around. Can easily see why people love this shit hauler. Steering stabilizer cause I hate wheel flop when I’ve got stuff up front. I’m aware the rear rack needs straightening, just put these Velo Orange fenders on 🙂
Gang.
I currently have an absolutely wild Commencal Meta HT with a Lyrik Ultimate, 29er. It can shred, but it is big and heavy. I also cannot get to trails with it often, and in order for me to get to dirt I have to ride at least 20 miles. I'm a big steel fan, almost every single one of my bikes is steel.
I want to replace it with a steel XC rig. Quad butted frame, 120mm Sid Ultimate setup that I can 1) go far with and 2) absolutely shred with. I'm having a hard time figuring out if there's anything out there that fits my needs and am looking for suggestions. I often see the Esker Hayduke and Japhy mentioned, but I'm not sure if there are better options out there. AFAICT the Hayduke has near identical geo to the Fairlight Holt (which was coincidentally my first choice). There is also Ritchey sleds, but those seem to have some really old school geo that I'm not sure I'd be able to get as shreddy with like the others I've mentioned with a slacker head tube. Please help me make a choice :)
Edit: Thanks for all the suggestions so far folks. I forgot to mention my location. I'm in the US, so I'm not sure of the current situation with ordering a EU/UK made frame. Looks like there were far more options than I'd thought, a lot I need to consider, especially the HT/ST angle differences amongst these frames.
I, like many of you, also got the FX Tracklocross. I’ve only spent a handful of hours on it but it’s a fun whip. Just swapped over most of my parts to this frame. Really loving not having toe overlap and the slacker head tube keeps you going straight, and makes it easier to get a good turn from leaning the bike. If you’ve got spare parts or have been eyeing this I’d probably go for it. Can’t speak to the frames durability, only time will tell whether this thing will hold up.
Bonus rainbow and drop bar pics.
Note: WILL NOT fit anything above 45mm tires, and yes, you really do need to run a square taper BB