How tall are you?

If I was looking for a 650B hard tail I'd be looking seriously at the 15.5" Trek Superfly

http://www.trekbikes.com/...ly-7/p/2073600-2017/

5'8"

It's interesting that you feel you are too short because you don't feel agile enough. I'm also 5'8 and I haven't found this - could it be that the 29ers you've tried didn't have "agile" geometries? I ask this because the newer 29er geometries tend to be a little more playful. Short chain stays, slacker HTA, and longer TTs. Just curious what which bikes you have experience with.

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Could be, not sure. I am a beginner mountain biker with low skills. I have tried an XC bike from Cube, with 100mm fork, and a all mountain type bike from Specialized, with 130mm fork. The Cube would appear to be what you describe.

I have experience with two 27.5 full suspensions cross country bikes and liked both of them, feeling more at home. It is not so much that I cannot ride the 29ers or entirely hate them, plus I do think they descend quite well, but I don't feel I am able to jerk them around enough for my liking.

Your best bet would be to demo as many bikes as you can so you get a better handle on things. A HT 27.5 will feel really different compared to the FS 27.5s you've tried.

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Trying the offerings from Scott would be a good start as they do 27.5 and 29er really well in HT and FS formats.

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This does look nice. As a bit of a snob, I am not too bib on aluminum or external routing.

At 5' 8" I still think you're a candidate for the right 29er. And for XC style/non-tech riding they are still the way to go. A friend of mine is your height on a focus HT 29er that he loves after finding bikes from Kona and Salsa too unwieldy.

If you try a few more options and still don't find something that works I would second the trek superfly recommendation.

I love love love my Norco Revolver (https://www.norco.com/...-race/revolver-7-ht/). The revolver is their XC race bike, comes in 29, 27.5, FS, and HT.

For what it's worth, sounds like we're kind of similar (with respect to desired agility and riding style, not size). I'm 5'10", so I never felt like my old 29er was too big, but switching from my 130mm Specialized FSR 29er to my 27.5 HT was game changing to me. I'm not a great mountain biker and never will be, but I love riding my revolver.

I agree with others about having the right 29er, but for me, this bike is the right one.

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

Fair enough

The procaliber is what you should look at. Although not everyone is fond of the weight and stiffness changes that came with addition of the isospeed decoupler, its still a fine bike. The superfly is now aluminium only (news to me). The procal has boost spacing, but thats something you're going to have to learn to live with if you want to buy a new frame. Boost may be a marginal or unnecessary change, but its the future.

So true of so many things. Although I did race a guy at High Cascades 100 last summer on a boost HT and he seemed to be loving it.

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

I know. But I have a power meter crankset in my shed that is not boost. That nobody wants to purchase from me for any reasonable price.

This is part of the reason for the economics behind buying the frame. I have 650b wheels and the crank and other components. All I really need is group.

Maybe will look used at the options you all have recommended here.

Thank you for the advice everyone

You can have a boost frame, which would take 110 & 148 wide hubs, but still run a non-boost crankset.

Really? This is news to me. I guess that eliminates that concern. Do you know if DT swiss also makes end caps to convert 142 hub to 148 hub easily? Or any other manufacturer?

There are a number of people that intermix boost and non-boost chainrings to optimize their chain lines, depending on which gears in their cassette they use most often. All it's doing is moving the ring in or out 3mm. Where you get in to trouble is using plus/3" tires and a non boost crank. You can have issues with your chain hitting the side knobs on the tires. There are also chain ring spacers if you want to play around with < 3mm changes.

Yes, plenty of MFRs make endcap kits to convert hubs to boost, but keep in mind you'll also need to move your disc. They make kits for that too.

http://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/boostinator

One thing you may want to think about is the q-factor of your crank and clearance on the new frame.

I'm 5'7, race Cat 1/fop bike spit xterra, and you couldn't pry my 29'er from my cold, dead hands.

Have friends 5'6" that race Cat 1 and Pro, and also swear by 29.

Ride different bikes. Epic hardtail maybe now that Stumpjumper is no more. Or the comparable Trek.

I am 5'9" and I ride a medium Scott Scale 29er (2017 model940). I love the way it fits and handles. Great xc bike!

If I had to buy a 27.5er HT, I'd take a long look at the Giant XtC Advanced. It's a really neat bike, good value-for-money. Played around with one and it was fun to throw around, though I went with a 29er in the end.

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