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Going to build up a Rigid geared 29er for longer "mixed" rides (sustrans tracks, bridleways, singletrack through the woods etc)
Looking at either an Inbred with a Salsa Cro-Moto/Fargo fork or a Karate Monkey Frame.
Plus for the Inbred is that it's cheaper. But it only has one set of bottle bosses and rear tyre clearance on the vertical dropout bikes is a bit tight.
Plus for the Karate Monkey is that has 2 sets of bottle bosses, lots of tyre clearance, could be run singlespeed if I decided to go that route in the future.
Anything else worth considering?
The Salsa El Mariachi looks great but is just a bit too expensive at £500 for a frame and a fork.
Would have said Singular Peregrine but you're back into the F+F price. 3 sets of bosses.
I have one. Love it to bits, very versatile, 100 mile mixed trail rides, blast round local woods, poodle on local roads, mixed in with some fire roads - has been great.
But folk swear by the Salsa..
what size are you after??
Triton cycles have the salsa el mar small and XL on special offer they also have the charge cooker pretty cheap too.
I've been really pleased with my salsa El Mar, after a list of other 29er frames.
I love my el mariachi too, for bike packing you could get an enabler fork (and build up a front wheel on a cheep screw on SS hub) to get more braze on mounts (and if you ever wanted to run a 4" front tyre).
Just recently bought a 16" karate monkey for the same use. Can't praise it enough.
Looking at my spreadsheet I'm going to need a 18 or 19in frame depending on TT sizing.
There's a lovely Niner MCR over on the classifieds. If I could could swap mymedium Fargo for a large that would suit your needs well.
This plus a rigid Salsa fork might work nicely...
I'm looking for a new 29er for similar type needs after I stupidly sold my Cooker. Can't praise them enough, brilliant bike.
Budget for me is quite tight at the moment but can't stop looking at this for the money and upgrades for the future. I've always had steel frames so will be interesting to see the change.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/ramin-one-2014-mountain-bike-ec055206#features
I have a 3rd hand medium Cooker frame I need to sell. Bought it a couple of weeks ago and didn't even get round to building it fully - just enough to confirm it was a shade too big for me.
Krampus
I bought a genesis fortitude adventure for such duties, rack mounts mudguard mounts and even extra mounts for other stuff I haven't worked out yet. I think there are still a few shops who have stock, and prices have dropped pretty low last time I looked. Alfine gears though so not to everyone's taste.
I have a KM with an alfine and chunky-monkey tyres called bubbles. It rocks beyond all measures and has pretty-much become my go-to machine for everything.
Karate Monkey was made for you OP.
Should have bought the gryphon I just sold
How about a cross check- I just so happen to have one of them in the classifieds too!
Saying that the mcr is a stonking deal
Steel cross bike with discs and a rack ?
McM...
If you ever decide to sell your medium Fargo, can you let me know?
Does it absolutely have to be a 29er? You could build a bridleway flyer onto an old but high quality steel mtb frame. I did it and recently rode the Pennine Bridleway fully loaded.The frame was a 1990s M Trax with titanium front triangle. I got it from Retro bike for £30. The build was a lot of fun and the bike a dream to ride.
29er Inbred here. Ive had a 2.4 OO Chunky Monkey on the back with no clearance issues. It does only have one set of bottle bosses but you can get clamps to attach others if needed. Great for bikepacking and general hacking around. Very happy with mine though if Id had the money at the time it would have been a Singular Swift.
McM...
If you ever decide to sell your medium Fargo, can you let me know?
Sure thing.
Ragley TD1, if you can still get them...which I don't think you can :-/
Shame, it would have been bob on
Teadrinker - the Ramin 1 is well worth considering, £386 using topcashback. It rides very nicely and isn't the slightest bit harsh which is most pleasing for a cheap aluminium frame! That said given the choice I'd have pushed the budget to buy that niner!
I have a Singular Gryphon in L with Avid road BB7 brakes on Dia Comp levers, Ultegra 10 speed bar end shifter and On One Midge bars that are clamped in a Ritchey Comp 90mm, 30 degree stem, a good-as-new Hope headset and a Shimano UN sealed BB for sq taper cranks ...but obviously you can fit an external BB if you wish. I'll even chuck in the 9 speed Deore rear mech which works a-OK with the 10 speed shifter for a 1x10 setup.
It's a lovely, comfy and swift bike to ride on road and on dirt, it handles singletrack beautifully and has the EBB for single speeding options. And two sets of bottle bosses!
If you're interested let me know and I'll take some pics once I've given it a clean. Not sure about the price yet but it'll be keen. I'm in Manchester / Peak district.
Cheers.
Decent range of frames out there for this kinda bike - Swift/Gryphon/Peregrine/El Mar/Fargo ... (but all at a price I guess).
Enabler forks are a good option (inevitably now recommending what you own) ... I run my Swift with Salsa Enabler forks, which have lots of mounting options, and give you 135mm at each end (which I really like, but it may or may not be useful to you 😉 ).
Tyre space wise - I've got a (version I) 2.4 Conti Mountain King on a 30mm Salsa rim in the back of mine, and there's plenty of room to spare. The next generation Swift/Gryphon will have still more room I understand. I'd expect the El Mar' to be an equally good bike (It was a very close second to the Swift on my list).
I'm allergic to drop bars offroad so anything cxey or fargo-esque is out. Struggling to find anything bad written about the Karate Monkey anywhere, so I reckon it's the leader at this stage...
I'm allergic to drop bars offroad so anything cxey or fargo-esque is out
Have you ever ridden off road drops (Midge, Luxy, Woodchipper et al) at a height and reach that puts your hands when in the drops in a similar position to what they would be on a flat bar?
I'm allergic to drop bars offroad so anything cxey or fargo-esque is out
To be honest I was unsure before my first proper off-road excursion but, as Sam implies, it's an ace seating position and one that the Gryphon executes very well.
I think I'd have enjoyed keener brakes, or at least a better setup, as I found power lacking but I think better cables and better levers might have sorted that out.
I'm pretty sure I've heard of Gryphons with flat bars too.
I run my Gryphon with a 90mm stem and a set of flat (740mm)bars.
Works suprisingly well .
To be honest I haven't tried drops offroad as I have never really felt the need. Also, I already have brakes, a nice low rise bar and a stem that I'm going to use for the build.
Lots of Karate Monkeys seem to get built with drops so if I go that way, you never know...
I've got a collection of alt drop bars and I like them, not a massive fan but I do prefer them to flat bars for a rigid 29er distance bike. H-bars are the best compromise ime, or anything similar that lets you use MTB controls with more sweep that the usual 9-10 degrees. Salsa bend 2s are good.
The new wider Jones bars be an option at some stage.
..Or far cheaper, the H-bar copy that is the Humbert Space Bugel for about £20. A friend has some and says they're great.
I have a set of the humberts bugles for sale if anyone is interested.
It begins...
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Monkey?
ogre......... 8)
Ton - are the space bugles 25.4mm clamp??
DrP
Just seen a lovely Ogre built up that looks bullet proof and is set to go round the World. Didn't attempt to pick it up though.
Monkey!