I haven’t owned or rode a mountain bike in quite a few years so something that’ll force me to relearn good habits and skills rather than relying on suspension is appealing.
I’d mainly ride yarra trails and occasionally you yangs, lysterfield and some stuff in bendigo area.
Would want like something relatively cheap, (thinking kona unit) but open to other recommendations.
Anyway, advice, pros, cons and all that stuff please.
I had one for a while.
It will definitely have you learning good habits rather than relying suspension.
I didn’t enjoy mine heaps, mainly because the whole thing was shit, but a not-shit bike should be fun.
There will be moments when your mates are bombing down rock gardens and off drops and you’ve got to take it a bit easier, which sucks. But for general non-endurobro, single track stuff it will be great to fang around on.
2 out of three of mt MTB’s are SS.
Old Trek XC SSer, SS Djer and gear DH bike.
I love mine, no maintenance, can be used and abused.
Mine is rigid and I mostly ride mullum mullum, Yarra Trails, Lysterfield.
I certainly feel at places like Warby, Buxton and Warramate I am not as quick as the others do to no gears or suspension
Yes you do.
They’re awesome fun. Direct. Simple. climbing on a SS is way more fun and I can go almost as fast down anyways. The only time when SS sucks is on the road when you’re spinning at 130 and going 30kph.
You’d be surprised with what you can hit on a rigid 29er with fat tyres (2.4 F&R say). Where I ride mainly its 200m straight up and straight down. Well-cut trails but the descents are steep and technical. All the guide books describe them as ‘Freeride’ etc. Nah, its all doable unless you’ve got big drops. The only difference between the trails I’ll hit with my SS and by 150mm trail bike is the speed at which you tackle it and the lines you take. I don’t tend to gap things or take drops that are more than a couple of feet on the SS. I can however recommend running a firm 100mm air-sprung fork, it makes a SS super fun!
Kona unit frame is good but its pretty heavy for what it is. The wheels and other components are pretty nasty.
What about the Spesh Crave?
I’s keep an eye out for something secondhand. Niner, Salsa, Spot Brand, Trek Superfly, Convert a Stumpy with an OSBB EBB?
ps - Don’t buy a Voodoo their geo is fkn awful.
SS would be perfect for Yarra Trails, Wombat, Smiths etc… fukka Lysty (eh Nic ;))
Can vouch for the Specialized Carve, love mine… I however run mine 1x10.
Yes.
I would think about getting one that can be geared and suspended if you want to in the future. I.e crave, el mariachi etc.
Having run both rigid and front sus I would recommend having a 100mm fork. There’s a lot of heresay about rigid blah blah building skills but in reality I find that having front suspension is just nicer to ride for actual mountain biking, I prefer how the bike handles, particularly on chattery/brake bumped corners. Also I rate front sus+2.2 (or similar) vs. a big bag 2.4 tire and rigid.
If you’re keen on the rigid though a second hand Reba pops up every now and then if you wanted to add sus later on.
EDIT: Having said all of this this bike is sweet.
Remember that time we went to the wrong part of Kowen and there was that section that was all corrugated from MotoX?
That fuggin sucked. Rigid was not fun that time.
I bought a specialized crave sl. Loved it, went 1x10 to do the goldfields trail, still love it, but then built up a cheap ss rigid 26er because I was missing the way ss forces me up out of the saddle and to carry momentum a little more through corners/obstacles. Rigid is great on yarra trails. The spesh carbon fork is really nice too.
isnt there a cheap haro for sale here? at least to muck around on?
Subscribed as this is me but would like a bouncy bouncy fork
This.
If anyone does want to put a 100mm fork on this type of bike I’ve got a brand new straight steerer Reba that I keep meaning to put up for sale.
I bought it for a Unit but the bike got pinched before I got a chance to put it on and then I went and spent the insurance on the Kumo.
Imma swing the other way. Rigid hardtails are cool and all, but the few times I’ve owned one in the past its been the 2nd or 3rd MTB in the garage. They’re cool on smooth trails, or if you’re looking for totally different style of riding. But for frequent MTBing, its frustrating have to slowly pick through fast, technical downhill bits. Or trying to go for a 3+ hour ride on a single speed hardtail with guys on geared duallys.
I’ve wound back on MTB riding a lot recently. My garage only houses one off-road mtb (and one DJ bike). That’s a Kona Honzo: single speed, 130mm fork, huge bars and wide tires… Probably gives the most smiles per mile of any MTB I’ve owned.
But eh, a bike like the Kona Unit or Specialized Crave is probably the cheapest way into a “high end” complete MTB.
Damn I love how helpful folks can be on FoA, thanks for all the advice and knowledge! Specialized Crave seems like a good option although I do still have a soft spot for the Kona Unit and it’s last forever steel frame (and aesthetically it’s more pleasing to me eyes). Not so stoked to hear it comes with average components as I do want something I can buy and forget about without the need to upgrade a bunch of stuff.
Yes there is, thanks for the reminder. I think 16" might be too small for me though… That said I don’t have heaps of experience with mtb sizing so I’m not 100% sure what the acceptable size range is for my height/leg length/reach and all that.
I had this for a few years
http://www.fixed.org.au/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=521&d=1281765594
Was rigid most of its life unlike photo - I loved it, was grueling yet satisfying to ride. Unfortunately I sold it and to this day I live in regret.
has MikeD sold his SS thingymjig?
hahaha… but yes SS for all the above. you also have a better than average fitness so buxton and some other places would be ok (but you will be working a lot harder than those with gears).
yes, yes and yes!
my view is that if you are getting back into it a short travel fork will increase your enjoyment as you learn. rigid does appear to help refine skills but there seems to be a need for a skills base beforehand, or strong sense of stubborness to ‘enjoy’ full rigid.
chasing friends who arent full rigid for longer periods (or going to places where full rigid isnt as appropriate) will diminish your fun factor, which if this isnt your primary form of cycling will likely mean you arent as likely to head out. which means you dont ride the bike… etc etc.
I rode a SS hardtail for over 5 years exclusively after giving up DH when I had kids. My first was an old 26" with a 100mm fork, then I bought steel Kona Unit 29er and rode it rigid for quite a while. It was fun and perfect for the type of riding I was doing at the time but as most of the trails around sydeny are quite rocky & technical, I ended up getting a 80mm fork which made it even more perfect. Then as time went on I was riding even more technical “enduro” and even DH style trails on it and it was too much, so i went back to a dually. I wish I hadn’t sold it though.
long story short - yes you want rigid SS, but maybe with an 80mm fork if your trails are less than perfectly groomed some of the time.