I am thinking of trying a 29er. I am looking at a hard tail as i wont something comparable with my 26" hardtail.

I would prefer aluminium or Ti, as i will be looking for 2nd hand and i just cant trust carbon 2nd hand.

Price range less than £1000 for the frame new.

I am looking for something racey and not too odd ball. Its not a project bike to look cool, its a race bike.

Find a Yeti or an alloy Santa Cruz. Otherwise, a Niner - the Air9's (alloy) are great, though don't buy an older one, the first run had issues.

The geometry of these frames vary by quite a bit. Buying second hand makes if difficult to test ride before you purchase. Not sure of your ability to look at the geometry and tell how well the bike will suit your riding ability/style. Most major companies make a bike that suits the wants you list though.

I was thinking of taking a demo bike out.

What is a lightweight 29er frame weigh? I guess titanium would be a good comparison.

I am looking for recomendations on manufacturers that do a particularly light race frame. I have a two 26" race frames, Kona Kula scandium frame which is about 1300g and a stumpjumber which is about 1450g. Both a similar market price, both 19", quite different weights.

In terms of geometries, i dont tend to go mad on the research into this as it gets way to confusing and time consuming. I have had so many 26" frames in the last four years I dont expect to get it right first time with a 29er.

What I tend to find something that fits the bill in terms of price weight, materials etc, then compare the geomtry to other frames, checking fork compatability and head angle as priority. And also just checking that it hasnt got some weird guinea-pig geometry and that it generally has good reviews in terms of teh handling i am looking for

The main want, in terms of geometry is a short top tube, (or effectively the bb to front axle distance), as i have a short upper body and long legs.

Anyone had experience of the 0n-one 29ers?

The new Air9 aluminum is excellent. Also any of the Asian carbon frames that abound are good as well... cheap too!

+1 on Niner Air9 2012. Even though i dont race i ride my bike as fast as i can on 50-60kms trails and the frame handles fast accelerations, is very stable at high speed and enjoys tight corners as well. Just get a light but well built set of wheels and you can race this frame any time!

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Such precision would be cheap at twice the price.

thanks people.

The air 9 looks good. Has anyone tried the on-one scandel? the geometry is very similar to the air 9, slightly longer chainstay length.

Also, any recommendations on a particular Chinese frame? Ive looked at a few on ebay and they seem to have crazy geometries that aren't explained well

i am exceptional happy with my trek superfly, i had a variaty of bikes before this one and when i had to leave my 29er at home yesterday (i bought new brakes for it but not the adaptors.) i rode my schwinn homegrown again, for the first time since i bought my 29er and it confirmed that 29er as well as the trek have been an excelent purchase ! (-:

I've seen more Superflys and hi-Fi's crack than I've seen not.