[Closed] 29 er Frames

Salsa El Mariachi? Easy to run either geared or singlespeed with the alternator dropout, and goes well with a rigid fork.

Triton cycles are selling some bargain salsa and surly frames at the moment. A Salsa [s]Selma[/s] Mamasita or El-Mar would be a good buy (check out El-Mar full bike price too!)

Love my Surly Karate Monkey, it just rides "right"

Singular Swift? Great rigid fork or can run with suspension, EBB allows single-speed, geared or hub gear.

I have an El Mariachi, really pleased with it. Although now everyone seems to be getting one I may need to look elsewhere.

The surly and Singulars are excellent bikes also.

Those were my feelings too.
The Surly looks great, especially as the fork is included. I like the Ogre.

However how do you feel about the inbred s? This is because price wise I would be having Hope Hoops, if that makes sense.

Any thoughts on a suspension fork? I rode rigid for ten years until last year, a short spell with suspension before that. Do like it but....

+1 for the El Mariachi
Gears and suss forks
[IMG] [/IMG]
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SS and rigid
[IMG] [/IMG]
Love it both ways. 😀

However how do you feel about the inbred s? This is because price wise I would be having Hope Hoops, if that makes sense.

This sounds a good plan. A more expensive frame may be let down with heavy/flexy budget wheels. Inbreds are ace too!

However how do you feel about the inbred s? This is because price wise I would be having Hope Hoops, if that makes sense.

Personally, I'd go with the better frame. Wheels wear out or can be updated at a later date.

Personally, I'd go with the better frame. Wheels wear out or can be updated at a later date.

With the on one frames i'd say the oposite is true. Wheels far more expensive than £150 for a frame and likley to last longer as its cheep enough to swap later on.

I've fairly recently built up an Inbred with a Singular Swift fork and I'm very pleased with it. I put my money into a set of Crests on Hope hubs, which I think was the right decision for me.

The frame was bargaintastic at £100. It's nicely finished and rides really well. It may not have the zing of a Swift or similar but downhill it's incredible. Really, really rate the Swift fork too.

I'm in the go-with-a-better-frame camp. I had an Inbred, it was good but my Niner is in a different league, even with the same relatively low spec kit. (Rigid forks, Mavic TN719's on Surly SS wheels). Nothing wrong with the Inbred, but I'd try a Scandal first next time also.

Cheers everyone.

Surly Ogre is winning for me at the moment, the fork included is important.

Best way is wheels and frame, cheaper bits bogged together. Must have a hope headset though!

Genesis high latitude.

£300ish.

Salsa El Mar here with rigid carbon fork, my first 29er and I can't fault it. Came from an 26 Inbred which I still use however the El Mar is usually my bike of choice now.

I've also gone along the route of buying a cheaper On One 29er SS frame but with a nice wheelset and fork with the idea that if I like the feel of 29ers I will upgrade the frame.

Some cracking deals about on the Salsa frameset. I'm sure Charlie had them at about £350.

Charlie never has stuff in stock....

but he can get them in a day if ison have them in stock, just like every other shop.

[quote=rocky mountain ]Charlie never has stuff in stock....
Neither does Triton. They just show the ISON stock levels...

Couple of comments here mentioning the good old 'zing' of steel frames. Notably the comparison of Swift and inbred. Does the Swift really have more zing than the inbred? And is the inbred really that much better downhill or riding more technical trails?

+1 for the High Latitude. My friend has just built one up and it looks awesome...

Cheers

Danny B

I didn't find the Swift zingy. Versatile and adaptable are the words I would use.

But Mr Cheez up there rode both my Swift, my Salsa Selma, and his Inbred so is better placed to give you a comparison.

I gave a Niner MCR9 a good beasting and that was zingy, but it's double the money and add a bit.

If you come across a Selma 2nd hand give it very serious thought, it's a rocket ship.

Selma's are awesome ..........that's all I can add really

But if you want something playfull .....look at Canfield 😉

+2 for High Latitude. Building mine soon - they're lovely.

I have a mcr 9 it's zingyer than the swift I had!

Selma's are awesome ..........that's all I can add really

Best bike I've ever ridden, discontinued now and I'm told only 50 were imported. I bought another for stock!

+1 for Swift. Can't compare it to any others as haven't ridden them. But I love my swift. Have used it rigid/ss, rigid/1x9, hardtail/1x9 so far. ht/ss next. Endless fettling potential and the bike I want to ride every time I go into the garage. Which is a little unfortunate, having lavished my Rocky Mountain Element with new hope hoops & x2 brakes shortly before building the swift. And now the RM sits forlornly in the garage most of the time.

The Swift is a good bit quicker on the climbs and not noticably slower going down on the majority of the stuff I ride - mostly natural + trail centre xc around tweed valley. And the RM ain't exactly a slouch 🙂

As always a balanced view, no one opinion sticking out more than the others!

Currently loooking to build a rigid 29er with SS and geared option. So looking at frame and fork options. My budget will only cater for inbred or second hand Swift, so trying to decide between the two. After riding a mk1 PA for some time and being a little dissapointed that it didn't have the steel zing that my 90's Stumpy had I think i'm looking for some zing....

Sorry double post!

I don't think your budget stretches to zing.

Look for a 2nd hand Niner SIR9 (not common), maybe a Ritchey P29er (same).

I'd probably pick a Swift over an Inbred (well, I did!). Inbred is outstanding VFM though and Cheez up there rides it good.

I have a medium Swift (frame fork headset) that needs a good home, but you probably need a large.

Mattjg I did wonder if zing was linked to budget... I think the Swift is way prettier than the Inbred and that's got to account for something! I'll send you an email about your medium Swift.

Very roughly a zingier bike will have thinner tubes for equivalent strength, which means its made from more expensive material that presumably requires more skill to work with too, so costs rise. But I am no expert.

Will check my mail in the AM.

TBH I found the Inbred and Swift a v similar ride. The Selma is, as Matt says, a rocket ship. Not quite as confident on the downs as my Inbred but that may be because it weighs almost nothing. I've been riding rigid SS for a while but I'm fairly new to 29ers and I'm still impressed with how capable my Inbred is every time I ride it.

Cheezpleez - [i]'TBH I found the Inbred and Swift a v similar ride'[/i] good to hear - although makes the choice no easier.

[i]'Not quite as confident on the downs as my Inbred but that may be because it weighs almost nothing[/i]' This is interesting, as i've ridden a couple of lightweight carbon and alu 29ers and felt they were a bit skittish. A slightly 'better planted' bike will be better for 90% of the riding I do - after all i'm never going to win any races.

If anyone is in the SW with either inbred or swift I wouldn't mind trying one out...

What about a Charge Cooker, that tange prestige tubing should provide some zing. They are going for £300 at JEJames..

I went from Inbred to SIR.9. The Niner is lovely, really does have a suppleness that the Inbred didn't but I'd happily go back to an Inbred. The Niner certainly isn't worth 5x the Inbred. The Niner, in terms of feel, reminds me of a Cotic Soul I had once. It's quite a bit lighter too.

This thread feels naked without a picture of Taki's SIR9.

julio YGM

I wouldn't describe the Selma is skittish, however Cheez does run monster truck tyres on his Inbred, I don't, so that's going to change the feel a lot. It is light (with Niner carbon forks on it). Oh yes.

Had a Kona UNit 29er. Lovely frame. Was one of the older Deddaccia SAT frames. I'mnot sure if he newer frames have the same quality steel. But mine was a fine ride. The current one is lacquered raw steel, if that's your thing.

Had a Kona UNit 29er. Lovely frame

don't get a Kona Big Unit, made of tinfoil and Kona don't honour the warranty

I also had a Unit with the Dedacciai tubing and very nice it was. I do prefer the current Scandal I have though. FWIW I'd invest as much time pondering geometry and wheels before frame material.

on Swift vs Inbred, I rode Cheez's Inbred (with Swift fork) for half an hour today.

It's a bit heavier and a bit stiffer than the Swift. It's a bit less cultured, a bit more thuggish. It was fun.

For something versatile, that can handle the local loop, do LEJOG, get you to work, then go home to meet your parents, think about a Swift.

If you want a bike to sling down root drops, plough over logs and generally rag around the woods, the Inbred's your bike. It would take a lot to stop it.

What about a Charge Cooker, that tange prestige tubing should provide some zing. They are going for £300 at JEJames..

+1 😀

Very good frame for the money, running mine rigid.