New bike frame

I don't do enough MTB riding to warrant a new bike, but if I did, I'd likely go for the intermediate 650B sized wheel. The "29ers" (stupid name) seem to have overshot the sweet spot IMO. Bigger wheels are more stable over bigger bumps and rough terrain, but not as nimble. It's all a compromise.

Moots do a nice frame. A friend of mine has a YBB and loves it. I'm surprised that you say the finish seems easy to scratch.

Moots make a great frame. Good choice. 

I've just ordered a 29" hard tail to replace my 26" fully.  Both are x-country machines.

I found the fully felt a bit too disconnected for me so I wantes another hardtail. I only bought the fully last year but adding in a combination of issues with the SRAM drivetrain and Avid brakes I decided to get back on a hardtail and go back to Shimano in one move.

Based on a 2 week test ride the 29" takes a little getting used to, maybe one or two rides. The speed and stability are excellent. Keep in mind that you loose some agility at speed but gain that back when things slow down because you roll better over obstacles. This also helps with confidence. Track stands also seem easier, but that might be more a function of me going back to a hardtail.

Bruce that is without any doubt the neatest engineering solution to a soft-tail I have ever seen - it still looks like an elegant hardtail!!  I also love the colour and I think it's going to look absolutely stunning when you have built it so do please post some build pics as it comes together.

I've often wondered what a titanium frame would be like to ride but I guess the feel is less important than the weight saving when both ends are sprung.  My curiosity was peaked by the old Raleigh M-Trax Titanium frames and I still have thoughts of restoring one to its former glory!

I can't claim to have any great experience on 29 inchers aside from the odd short test in a shop when I was choosing the Cotic Soul so any opinion I might give would be worthless.  My only observation is that I think bicycle design is unfortunately a bit like everything else now and manufacturers try to establish 'trends' in order to encourage people to buy new gear and render what they have 'obsolete'.  My reading of it is that because 26" and 29 both have their own advantages you might actually be best with 650c!!  For what it's worth I stuck with 26" but a friend has recently purchased a 29" Carbon framed Specialized so I will be quite interested to try that at some length.  He and I have completely polar views on bicycles - he favours space age full suspension carbon from a massive US corporation, I favour high end British 853 and niche componentry from Hope, Brooks, Carradice etc!  Speaking of which - what you really need is some blue anodised Hope Tech stuff from Good old Lancashire now - the brakes in particular are stunning!!

Watch this and you'll see why I think they're the naim audio of bicycle components:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuhIMQkK3vI

Enjoy developing your dream bike - and keep us posted!!

Jonathan

Jonathan.

I do like Hope kit (and they are just down the road from me) but I'm afraid the build of the bike is a bit more USA. Chris King headset, Ritchey Wheels, Thomson stem, Fox Fork etc. They are all stuff I have used and abused before without any hassles so have great faith in the kit. 

My first decent road bike was Titanium, I wrapped it around a tree after a couple of years but it certainly rode very sweetly. I like the simple engineering of the Moots. No rear shock or pivot, just flexing chain stays and an elastomer cushion. Simple to service too and just a tiny bit of extra weight over their hardtail version. I think it will be fine for the pretty non-technical stuff that I do. I did also once have an old Cannondale Scalpel which was similar but with a short travel shock under the seat stay and flexy carbon chainstays. It was a great ride but the frame cracked where the shock was fixed and I had the impression many did the same until they refined the design. I took the refund and ran away!

Will post when I get it finished.

Just about set up, with a light dusting of mud!

Very nice - let us know how it compares to your R8 even if direct comparison is a bit like apples vs. oranges - pun intended 

Very "old school" - 26" with a triple and bar-ends. Did you trim the handlebars to complete the OS look, or leave them at "ludicrous length" as is the current fashion?

Very nice, though.

Trimmed to a sensible length, chopped off a huge amount from stock

I really don't get the big wide bars, I would just bang into tress as I go past.

I do like a bar end though

It feels sharper because it is substantially lighter, and the rear compliance is very nice. I can lock out the rear slider so that would make a more direct comparison perhaps. I liked my R8 but did feel it was a pretty hard ride and never quite gave me what I would call a steel 'feel' in comparison to my 2 steel road bikes. I tried a suspension seatpost but that was a poor compromise. It was great value though-Ti is a lot more expensive.

New kit is of course always faster.

Bruce