Im looking for my first mountain bike. Coming from a carbon road bike its hard to judge the quality of the frame. I have been looking at Giant, Scott, Cube, Cannondale, Trek and Specialized. Who makes the 29er alu frame with the best ride quality, build quality and weight?

Air9 is really nice and very light for aluminum especially if you get the black anodized frame.

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For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

Niner or Santa Cruz.

Thanks for the tip. Looks like they are hard to come by in Denmark. Anyone knows where to buy them in Europe?

http://www.niner.ee

I have been very satisfied with the ride quality of my One9, especially with the RDO carbon seatpost.

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I have rode/owned a aluminum Flash and had a chance to compare it to Niners. The Cannondale rode better because of the more compliant rear triangle. Weights were very similar.

The rear compliance of the Air9 and Flash are very similar. Tires, seat, and seatpost make a much greater difference in rider comfort. I do recommend the Flash 29er seat post though. That is a carbon post with a flattened section. It makes a huge difference. It is a 27.2 post so you will have to use a shim but I have one on a One9 (with a shim) and love it. Also, because of the length, it and the shim are actually lighter than any 30.9 post that is at least 400 mm long. I have the Cannondale post on 2 of my Niners, a full rigid SS Sir and the One.

I am not sure of pricing in Europe but the Flash and the Niner are both really good and between the 2, I would buy on price. In the US, I can generally get the Niner for about the same price.

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For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

I'm enjoying my On-One ScandAl. Almost identical geo with the Air 9, but for half the price.
Dunno about the new frame, but I guess they're following the same strategy...