SSCX Only!

On-one geo tends to be long and low, so a frame short enough to comfortably use drops would be down by your knees.

Yep.

Other mtbs will have this problem (to varying extents) aswell I think. They're not designed for drops.

...at which point you start thinking:

a/ do I need road drop bars or will some Mary bars be ok?
b/ do I need front suss or would a fatter tyre be ok?

...and then you choose a 29er or a Monstercross frame depending on the outcome and get on with your life!

Incidentally, that orangey-red 650b thing on the previous page is currently available here for the worryingly low price of $350 complete.

You could get a Soma Wolverine. Probably not front sus compatible, but you could use 650b wheels for squishy tyres. The orange/red thing looks uncomfortably long with drops.

Edit: the price makes it look more comfortable though

I'd go for those Paragon rocker dropouts, or an EBB

An EBB has never sounded like a good idea to me. Adjustable dropouts do though, it just seems like the bike industry is pissing about every other year changing its mind. Tbh that's what confuses me about all these dropout 'standards' at present - in 5 years' time, which will be left standing? There's even talk of bolt-thru rear axles on CX bikes now.

EBB is the best solution for SS IMO

EBB is the lightest and leaves you with the biggest number of possible frames (BB30/PF30).

I actually like to be able to adjust my BBdrop 14mm in total. I.e being able to have a high BB in summer/early season when grip is plenty and being able to pedal early out of corners. When the mud appears you are better off having a low CG. And its really not as fiddly as it sounds...

That relies on being able to make full use of the drop, in which case you'd have been fine with a static BB and magic gear.
If your chain length places the BB at the front or back of the shell (as opposed to the top or bottom), you're shit out of luck and have altered the effective ST angle of the frameset.
Rocker/sliding dropouts still make more sense imo, as they offer more options (now and in future) for different brake and gear types.

is this (plus the added frame material around it) actually lighter than those rockers, for example?

Probably not but this is.

I'm not sure why you would have to use the drops. Adding or removing 14mm of spacers or stack should be easy. A lower CG will always be better as long as you can pedal freely.

An EBB will rarely end up in the front of rear of the shell since there is a very low amount of change in the overall chainstay length there. There is a much bigger change in CS length at the top an bottom an so it will more often than not place itself there. Should it end up at the end of the shell a half link will correct it and you'll be able to go a tooth up or down on the cog without upsetting the geometry significantly.
Rockers or sliding dropouts is good if you want absolutely static geometry but it will limit your frame material to steel in most cases unless you go custom.

Anyway

I'm not sure why you would have to use the drops. Adding or removing 14mm of spacers or stack should be easy.

I meant using the drop-range of the EBB shell, not handlebar drops :)
I didn't realise Rocker/sliding dropouts weren't possible on Alu/CF framesets.

Forrealsies

hhssscxb??

Strong work Z