Hi I'm new to this forum and the whole Chiner idea;)

Ive read quite alot through this forum, tho its not been the easiest comparing different frames solutions to my needs yet.

I'll start at the base, I'm 6.2 200lbs and longish legs.
Recently I have bought a secondhand steel SS hardtail (Niner SIR9 2011 I think) with rigid fork, a bike that I wanted to use for riding to work and some general light xc stuff.
My second bike is a TransAM 275 also steel 130mm travel very cool bike... But I like the fit & geo of the Niner and the way it rides so much better, its 2500 grams lighter and the big tires makes the ride very comfortable but still very precise fast and enjoyable.
So the idea has come to mine to atleast try to get all the winning points of the Niner and make it even lighter and use that as my main XC/trail bike. Ofcourse it's very important to stay close to the geo of the SIR9 for me to get the most out of it.
Now the thing is with the SIR9 that the headtube is very long 144mm and then it has external cup lower bearings. So any carbon frame that has internal barings would be 10mm shorter for shure, ofcourse spacer can help out but dont want to add to much vs stability of the steerer.
I see the IP-057 has a headtube of 135 in XL (I need an XL) is there anyone who knows if the is a frame with an even longer headtube, or if there is a lighter frame still that has a headtube of atleat 135mm?

Here is a comparison between my Niner SIR9 and the IP-057 in numbers:

In mm Niner SIR9 - IP-057
Seat tube                    546 - 533
Effect top tube            642 - 640
Stack                           657 - 645
Reach                          447 - 436
Standover                   835 -    
Head tube                  144 - 135
Head angle          71.3deg - 69.5deg
Seat tube angle   73.3deg - 72.5deg
Bottom bracket drop     56 - 60
Chain stay                  439 - 440
Wheelbase               1127 - 1139

To be honest the IP-057 look quite ok, I was also looking at the IP-196 27.5 frame but the stack of that frame cam out quite low in XL 618??? that doesnt feel right. The plus on the 27,5 would be that I can transfer the raceface wheelset over.. But less important then fit obviously!

And another thing I would like to now how the the rigid forks from Iplay/Hong Fu/Yoeleo (I dont know if the last rband is the same or not) are rated and which of the models is king.

Any help would be apprciated greatly ofcourse as I'm a total n00b at this, but looks like a very cool project to try;)

Cheers!