Hey, fellas.
tangerineowl - I may have typed my inseam incorrectly... 32.5"/825mm. It's just an inch, but it could be an
angry inch as far as standover.
Jimmy and another guy both offered up Endpoint Hunter/Gatherer frames. They look great, but slightly out of budget. I would stretch for a good NFE frame because I really have it bad for that bike, but otherwise I'm trying to stay under $800. The 'root beer' color H/G frame that was offered was
very tempting though...
aeshultz - thanks for the impressions. They help. I had considered a CrossCheck for quite some time. There are a LOT of happy owners. Other frames took my interest though. From Surly, the Pack Rat is the one that keeps me thinking.
jeremybart - appreciate the thoughts. I've been concentrating on a frame for now, but I do have a lot of notes scribbled on drivetrain. I'll circle back to that once I have a frame on the way!
A lot of interesting frames have been offered up since I posted the WTB on a National Forest Explorer over on the iBOB and 650B groups, including the Endpoint H/Gs, canti- Polyvalents that would be too small, and a very nice Rawland Nordavinden. (That one would be going all-in on low trail). Right now my list sorta looks like this (in order of preference):
- Used Elephant National Forest Explorer frame
- Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross, MCD or Road+
- Used Crust Nor'Easter, Romanceur, or Bombora. (I haven't started to sniff around for one of these yet...)
- VeloOrange Polyvalent or Endpoint Hunter/Gatherer
Of course, I'm always interested in something else that someone might think will fit my requirements. If not for people offering up the Nordavinden or Endpoint frames, they wouldn't even have been on my radar. Heck, one guy on the google lists pointed me to his build of a Soma Fog Cutter with a low-trail fork. People do cool stuffs with bicycles.
Black Mountain Cycles and Mike seem to be universally loved. Owners are passionate about the bikes and Mike. That says a lot.
R