Choosing a new frame

[Colin]

Thanks to a serious of fortunate events, I am currently in the market to build a new bike. I work at a shop that sells Pivot, Scott, and Giant. All three companies carry a bike that I would love to own, so I'm having a hard time deciding between the green Les 27.5, the black/navy XTC, and the Scale 700 sl frame.

All will be built very similar, full XTR drivetrain, crest rims laced to Hadley hubs, syntace stem/seatpost, Ikons, and probably a DT Swiss XMM fork.

The Scott will be the lightest and most expensive, the pivot being the heaviest but with a cool paint job (subjective, I know), and the Giant coming in slightly cheaper and right in the middle in terms of weight.

So, what would you do? Any reasons I should or shouldn't consider any of the above frames?

[devinci]

I would personnaly go with the frame geometry that suits my riding, looking at wheelbase, heatube angle and length.

I also don't like Scott bikes so I would not go with that one. Probably would take the Pivot

[Colin]

I haven't ridden a hard tail for a serious amount of time in a while (three ish years), and never anything other than a 26in, so the geometries are so close that I'm not sure it's going to affect me much. I've ridden both the Giant and the Scott and loved them both, and the Pivot is close enough in geometry that I think I'll love it as well!

[devinci]

Check out which ones has some nice features: 142x12 axle, type of BB and headset, front derailleur mount, seatpost size (if you have some seatpost to match with it) etc. The pivot would be original for what it's worth. There are Giant and Scott everywhere

[DanW]

Check out which ones has some nice features: 142x12 axle, type of BB and headset, front derailleur mount, seatpost size (if you have some seatpost to match with it) etc.

Completely agree. Check for the practicalities which suit you and where you ride. The Pivot has much more mud clearance for example (as far as I am aware) and the replaceable dropouts are nice. Mud clearance and cable routing would be right up there for me due to British mud. Something easy to over look like CF dropouts is something I wouldn't go for on a MTB. I'm sure they last well but for some reason I don't personally like the idea. Are the dropouts full CF on the Scott for example? Little details like that would separate the three options for me.

Plus, the Pivot is much less common than the other two and much more interesting. I wouldn't be too worried about the differences in frame weight as the build doesn't sound very WW and it would probably be better to make the frame as practical and reliable as the rest of the build (i.e. focus on practicalities not just weight).

Personally, I think they are all a hideous rip off compared to a £350 1100g Chinese frame but I realise that isn't for everyone or isn't as bling

[Colin]

All have the same 142mm rear axle, all are full carbon dropouts (I'm looking at the 27.5 Les, not the 29er), and as far as I can tell they all have similar mud clearance, but all the trails here are closed the second any rain hits the ground. They all have internal cable routing, all have integrated headsets, all have a PF92 bottom bracket. Honestly they're all incredibly similar (most hard tails are..).
As far as reliability goes, we've done very little warranty work on any of these companies (unlike some others...niner...), so I'm sure they'd all be pretty solid.

And the Chinese frames are out. Been there, done that, was never a fan. It was a fun bike to ride, but it never felt very solid. Given, that was one of the earlier frames, so I'm sure they've improved tremendously, it's just not something I feel like experimenting with right now.

Edit: I should add that I'm leaning towards the Pivot! But I've just been kind of haunted by the what ifs!

[Benno]

I have been riding various Giants for about 16 years now. I think I've owned 9 different Giant mtb's in that time and 4 different road bikes. I just bought a new bike last week and this time it's not a Giant! :-O
Why you ask? With the inclusion of waaaaay too many house brand components and silly OverDrive2 headset I couldn't justify owning one any more. I like to buy a complete bike and swap out most of the parts. Nobody wants to buy Giant branded wheels, cockpit, and good luck finding/selling an OverDrive2 fork. Complicated by the fact I went with a 27.5 Was just too much damn hassle. I bought a Genius 700 Premium. Can't wait to get that sucker under 20lbs

[ratherbeintobago]

If you're going for a hard tail, why not a 29er?

[Colin]

I looked at some 29er's, even test rode a few, but none of them felt right. I'm not exactly tall (5'8") so my fit was always kind of weird, they all just felt awkward and forced. The 27.5 wheels fit me quite a bit better.

Also, I've placed my order for the Pivot Les 27.5 frame!

[DanW]

Good choice Post it up here when built- it will be good to see something different on the forum

[kroe]

Deleted