One last 26er Frame Chromag Stylus or Aperture?

Toying with the idea of getting one last 26er frame…

I have a Ragley Blue Pig that I'm reasonably happy with but the seatpost size is 27.2 and the headset is 1.1/8inch. This limits options in terms of forks if they ever need replacing and dropper posts.

I have nice 26er wheels (Hope PRO II with Stans Flow) and a set of 150mm Rev RLTs (or 140mm old Pikes) that I can use but would likely get very little for on the 2nd hand market. Rock Shox are routinely 50% discounted in the UK, which means that they are borderline not worth selling.

Does anyone have experience of both these frames? Obviously the Aperture still has a 27.2 ST but droppers can be had in that size so it’s less of an issue.
Also as I need a long-ish TT due to being 6ft1 and all torso so has anyone have/seen pics of Large frames in these two? They are 19in ST frames so they shouldn’t be too gate like.

I would naturally get matching bars and stem as it would be rude not to.

However if the new bike plan gets approved by the Family Financial Controller (that would be the wife) then this all goes out of the window and I build a Rootdown!

I have just built up an Aperture with the same wheels and fork (150mm revelation) and it is a great bike. The 27.2 seat post put me off a little, but there are more dropper options coming along for that size now, and the skinny seat tube does look right on a steel frame!

Size-wise; at 6' and wanting something flickable I went for a M/L and it has plenty of reach.

I have not ridden a Stylus but after fondling/handling both at the Chromag factory, it is obviously a much heavier and more burly frame. The head tube on the new Stylus is tapered and machined out of a solid steel billet, nicely done, but definitely built with some big forks and regular abuse in mind. If I was going to ride the bike park on it, I'd go for the Stylus, for everything else and especially the trails around Squamish (roots, slabs and [HTML_REMOVED]4ft drops) the Aperture is perfect.

Hi Dan,

I've owned both:

Unless you are dorpping like that Bumgardener dood with the wingsuit, I'd go the with the Aperture. My Stylus frame was pretty heavy, and I think they got heavier still after. Other than chundery stuff, my Aperture felt better with the Lyrik lowered so maybe the old Pike would be a better choice. Both frames (of my generation) rode pretty well the same IIRC and were super fun. The slack seat angle with a long fork was a bit of a PITA though, hence thinking that a 140mm fork would be a better bet, which is what I originally had on my Stylus. Both my frames were Large.

Cheers for the info and pics boys.

Sounds like the Aperture might be the better all round choice. Thing is I have a Surly Karate Monkey too so i can use that for XC duties so I'm tempted go for the Stylus and grab a cheap pair of 160mm forks when the opportunity arises, be good for the likes of Antur Stiniog, Bike Park Wales, etc whilst not being a huge PITA to pedal if I so desire…

150mm Revs and 140mm Pikes are basically the same length A to C, there is certainly no noticeable difference on the Ragley.

Erring to towards the Aperture at the mo…

I've had a blast on a Karate Monkey and good as it was, the Aperture is more of a fun ragging around machine especially with the 150mm fork on it.

Aperture is a very good and capable bike, I brought Walleater s when he got bored of it. My family financial controller has not approved the purchase of Rootdown (yet!)