Looking for a Hartail frame

Hey peeps

I recently broke my frame (2nd time in about a year) and I'm getting tired of replacing bushings/bearings, servicing my dropper post and shock. 

I want to salvage as much from my current bike because I'm tight on money. So I'm going back to my roots and would like to build up a tough 26" hardtail. 

Does anyone have an older frame kicking around they would be willing to sell? Or any ideas on a new frame? The only company I found that looks solid is the Cotic BFe. 

Thanks for any suggestions or offers!

Cheers!

I’ve had my eye on the buy’n’sell since late spring when my girlfriend complained that her chain fell off her cruiser while she was riding down stairs. I figured I’d try to build her an old 26” mtb, but nothing great has come up.

There’s been a few old chromags which just seemed a touch too pricy, and there’s a 27.5 Taiwanese Factory (no brand name) steel hardtail frame with decent geometry in size medium you might be able to get away with running smaller wheels on that’s actually a decent price.

I did a bunch of research into hardtails earlier this year. I'm 6'6" so none of these fit me but served as good inspiration for the custom frame I eventually got. These are pretty interesting though not particularly cheap.

http://trillioncycles.com/shug/

http://www.swarfcycles.co.uk/spline.html

My buddies shop in MR has a Kona Shonky hanging on the wall for sale.

Posted by: Cheez1ts

I’ve had my eye on the buy’n’sell since late spring when my girlfriend complained that her chain fell off her cruiser while she was riding down stairs. I figured I’d try to build her an old 26” mtb, but nothing great has come up.

There’s been a few old chromags which just seemed a touch too pricy, and there’s a 27.5 Taiwanese Factory (no brand name) steel hardtail frame with decent geometry in size medium you might be able to get away with running smaller wheels on that’s actually a decent price.

I noticed that even used chromags are out of my price range.

That Swarf frame looks pretty bang on!

Correct me if I'm worng but I thought the shonky is a DJ frame

Shonky is a dirt jump frame. 71 deg seat angle 👎🏻. I momentarily looked at one to see if it could be built up the way morgman did his monk. The monk has a 76 deg seat angle 👍🏻. $740 CAD for a new Chromag:

https://chromagbikes.com/products/frames-monk-19

“I recently converted my Chromag Monk from dirt jump to trail mode. Beefy tires, two brakes, a dropper post, and a longer stem. Two rides in and I'm already in love. The tires feel amazing and I'm riding the front wheel a lot more due to the new stem and brake. Bottom line, it shralps!”

https://nsmb.com/forum/forum/gear-4/topic/winter-builds-thread-10052/?page=1

I wonder if it would handle a 160mm fork? I know very little about compatibilty and how the longer fork would effect a frame meant for 100-120mm travel

Depending on the fork, you can usually lower them. If it’s an air spring, it’s just a piece of pvc pipe in the negative spring. <$2 mod. Buy two so you can cut one too short and try again. 

I’ve cut a coil spring down to avoid preloading the fork with reduced travel too. Less ideal. Same pvc in the negative spring though.

I recall morgman’s being at 140mm, but I could be wrong. My buddy bought the bike, but he converted it back to a DJ a long time ago.