I've got an old GT Zaskar frame with the shitty rear u-brake. It's time to upgrade my frame because of the rear brakes. I'm looking for a small frame. Haven't decided to go rear suspension or keep it hard tail.

Anybody have anything or know whats out there? I'm looking to convert my parts to the new frame. Also, comments on going full suspension as opposed to hardtail. I don't race anymore and mainly do free riding with some good technical downhills. I'm leaning toward keeping hardtail.....

i say if you do any serious downhill at all go full susp. hardtail is the only way to go for serious uphill action but you suffer on downhill get it sessions. depends on your riding as allways but i think hardtails are just too limited for free riding.

What size frame are you talking about?

If you have a U-brake it was probably time to upgrade somewhere in the mid-90s. But seriously, check out www.mtbr.com if you didn't already know about it. Small frames usually go cheap at their classifieds because most people on their are riding 18-19" frames.

What kind of riding are you into?
Street, dj's, freeeride, DH, XC?
For XC, get a larger frame, for anything else, a smaller one.
My FR hardtail was a 13", and i'm 6'4".
What kind of riding do yo udo? (any drops?) Tonnes to choose from...
and check out ridemonkey.com, hcor.net, and dropmachine.com in no particular order... all good sites with lots of info... mtbr is pretty bullshit nowadays... (only good for the classifieds)

my current frame is 14.5". I mainly do XC with downhills, technical, drops and climbs. I have been told by many people to go FS.

Stocker.. I've been told over and over again to replace my frame along time ago. I quit riding for many years. Just getting back into it and realize how bad the brakes really are. My front v-brakes are doing all the work and I have found myself OTB a few too many times.

I've checked MTBR.com and saw that the frames are pretty pricey. I will try the other sites as well.

Thanks for the replies.

Originally posted by sporttj
my current frame is 14.5". I mainly do XC with downhills, technical, drops and climbs. I have been told by many people to go FS.

Stocker.. I've been told over and over again to replace my frame along time ago. I quit riding for many years. Just getting back into it and realize how bad the brakes really are. My front v-brakes are doing all the work and I have found myself OTB a few too many times.

I've checked MTBR.com and saw that the frames are pretty pricey. I will try the other sites as well.

Thanks for the replies.
Pricey>?
It all depends on the age and how much you want to spend.
I suggest a good 4-5" trailbike, like say the Iron Horse Hollowpoint. If you can afford it, get a turner XCE pr something like that. The specialized enduro's are also very good.
And... uhhh... your brakes shouldn't make you go OTB... you just need to learn how to modulate them...
Oh and whatever you go with, get a set of 6" hayes... they're damn reliable brakes and can stop a mac truck... getting pretty cheap if you go used also ($100 for a set!)...