soulbike

Hi folks,

Been thinking about what the new soul faith will be and have some suggestions:

1) 31.6mm seatpost. Currently 27.2mm, which I personally feel is good for an alloy frame, but the 31.6mm just makes the bigger frames look more in line with modern carbon frames. It increases stiffness slightly as well
2) Integrated HS. Drops the weight a little although not as durable as the previous internal HS.
3) Still mulling over a tapered fork/ HT. Although the latest (upgrade) at the moment, I'm still not convinced it's any good for an alloy frame. Your opinions may vary
4) Moving to a painted frame this time around. We are going with a lighter alloy tubing for the new frame but it doesn't allow us to go with a smooth weld so best to fill the weld joint and paint over. Weight will essentially be the same as the current frames. Thinking of a white/ black frame this time round.

Your thoughts as usual are appreciated. Hopefully we get somewhere with this thread and not see the whole "make it carbon" etc... comments come up too often.

Regards,
Sean

simonaway427

31.6 mm seatpost....lighter alloy....integrated HS....sounds like a frame I recently got my hands on, made in Taiwan.

Same supplier?

pigmode

Steeper angle on the top tube--exchanged emails with you and was ready to order, and that was my deal breaker. Short inseam here--yada, yada.

mazdatech10

will make a great riding frame even better

Crash716

Keep it more standard on the geometry, I would definitely go with the Integrated HS.

If you do go with BB30 again the tolerances need to be a little tighter on the BB. Even with loctite i still get a little creak from time to time and the bearing seam to go in much easier than the other 4 BB30 bikes i have owned.

I like the 31.6 seat post, as far as the tapered headtube i don't know, maybe 1.25"? I know Cannondale went with that and the only aluminum frame I know of with a 1.5 is the Cube Agree.

Internal cable routing would be cool but pricey i am sure.

ptle

When I'm looking for a frame obviously, looks matter. This includes the paint. I also consider some of the following options.

The stuff you listed sounds good. I feel like the stiffness between 31.6mm and 27.2mm seatpost isn't something that people care too much about. I think they'd care more about looks and availability. Isn't 27.2mm used more?

Is internal cable routing an option?

kabex

How about a lower pricepoint? I know it's a delicate subject but if you look at other options, Specialized has the E5 Allez frameset (frame fork & seatpost iirc) for $550 with the same stiffness as the "Tour-winning" S-Works Tarmac. I haven't ridden your bike, I'm just putting it out there.

I will be in the market for a frameset 6 months from now, I would love to hear more about this frameset.

Zastolye

I've heard so many bad things of BB30. They are not the most durable bb I heard. Don't want any adapters either. Otherwise the Faith would be on my want-list because it is custom.

Could you add a 31.6 seat tube on the bigger frames only? maybe >55cm. 31.6mm does not make much sense in a 50cm frame.. The same with the tapered head tube. If it is not possible, then I'd go with 31.6 and tapered HT.. I would keep the Internal HS, don't really care about the weight. a HS needs to last a long time on a custom bike like this that gets raced and ridden in all weather.

bradtx

Sean,
-1 Just for the larger frames? Sure as larger frames have heavier riders.
-2 No. Durability counts.
-3 Not needed, but this may become a marketing style sensitive point.
-4 If the welds are quality with nice puddling, leave them untouched. Build a frameset each way, same color and group and gather opinions.

Brad

brian416

1. The current seatpost diameter is fine as is, I think it could be too stiff with a bigger seatpost.
2. The current HS is pretty easy to assemble. The only difference I could think of is an integrated HS would eliminate the current spacers you can see from the headset.
4. IMO, tapered is the way to go, the Faith is surprisingly stiff without a tapered fork, but our other bikes with tapered forks are much stiffer in the front end. I can feel the difference rocking the bars back and forth while still, but I can't feel a stiffness difference while riding the bike.
4. No preference on paint vs. anodizing. Good welding looks awesome, don't cover it up.

Crash716

Sean...how's the "new" Faith working out...

any ideas on what you're gonna do yet?

cbertels

Im currently riding the "old" Faith frame and fork and never thought it wasn't stiff enough. Its built up with a 3t cockpit, SRAM red group and typically Zip 303s. Its an amazing crit bike and handles real well. I never noticed any flex while sprinting/climbing and it corners and descends really well. Its not fantastic for all day rides, but I really didn't set it up that way. I imagine if I flip the stem to a slightly more positive rise it would be much better, but thats really just fit stuff.

I don't think the tapered head tube or the larger seat tube will make much of a difference and I like the wide choices in the 27.2 options and the simplicity in sourcing "standard" headsets and forks. My BB30 installed perfectly and I've never had a creaking issue. I've raced it a full season and ride it almost daily without issue. I get tons of compliments on the frame and questions about it. I really have nothing negative to say and the ordering process was amazing. I missed out on the group buy but still love it and wouldn't make any changes. All my experiences are with the size 3 and so others mileage may vary.

I hope my feedback is helpful. I love the anodized finish and hope you can manage to keep that feature. The only tiny gripe I have are the cups for the headset. They are sliver and the tiny lip that hangs of the head tube clashes a little with the frame finish and the black headset. If the cups could be black, that would be cool. I know its a tiny complaint but I thought I should have at least something negative to say

Good luck with the new frame Sean. Let us know when you get the details sorted out. I'd love to see the new ones and maybe look to adding another to the stable.

Crash716

I believe from talking to Sean that the new frame is close to production, I've got one coming my way when they do. I'll have to hit him up soon about it. I believe it's going to be painted and have a full intergrated HS and most likely a larger seat tube. I'll see if I can get any details out of him.

cbertels

Any news on the new frames? My team was looking to get some frames soon for the upcoming season and if they were going to be available in time, this would be great.

Crash716

Just heard from Sean…should be getting info on the bike soon!