Mountain Biking - Singlespeed XC bike

I'm thinking to get some parts, and build (I'd try and do most of it myself this time, learning experiences and all that) a singlespeed, lightweight mountain bike with XC geometry. Going to be used for trails, dirt roads, etc. For now I'll keep my hardrock, but might sell it in favour of a P.1 or maybe a more trials-y bike.

I'd like to have it be around 23lb or so. Price isn't a huge concern, I just have to justify it to myself. But under or around $1k would be good. And I can hold off on some lens purchases for a couple months anyway.

Does anyone have recommendations for good frames with horizontal drops? Cromoly is good, aluminum would work though. I'd like to use my MX Pro, rather than a rigid fork.

I saw this IRO Cycles Mia, which looks pretty nice - http://irocycle.com/id104.html
Or there's the Soul Cycles Hooligan, which has an EBB instead of horizontal drops - http://www.ridesoul.com/content/hooligan.html
Or the Fetish Fixation - http://www.fetishcycles.com/Fixation.html

But out of those, only the IRO is cromoly...

How about a wheelset? Do you think I'd be better off choosing a singlespeed hub and a matching front and getting them custom built? Or looking for a prebuilt singlespeed wheelset, or using a singlespeed kit on a 9-speed cassette hub (I'd rather not, considering this is just about a ground-up build anyway).

I'd like disc brakes, but if it's a huge money savings to get a non-disc singlespeed hub, V-brakes would be alright too.

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated

Kona Unit or one of the Bianchi singlespeeds are the first bikes that come to mind. You could probably build up a surly 1x1 for just under a grand if you put your mind to it, too.

i'm currently working on the SAME project... but i'm hoping to keep under $500 myself. (we'll see) i found a sweet Rock Lobster frame (SCORE!) but it has vertical drops so i'm trying out the ENO eccentric hub, building up my own wheels. it's always an option if you can't find a frame with vertical drops you like. also remember when you are looking for a frame what the brake bosses are, whether it's for V or disc... i'll be running a disc up front with a v in the rear.

Santa Cruz Chameleon. Horizontal dropouts, up to 6 inch fork, and its only like 4.25 pounds. pretty good.

sorry to sort of gank this thread, but looking at the fetish cycles page, that Fetish Lust is a sexy piece of machinary

http://www.fetishcycles.com/images/Img442.jpg

http://www.fetishcycles.com/Voyer.html

It looks alright. I like the look of the Demo series best for long-travel freeride bikes, though.

Hunt around for a used SS to build from. I picked up a used Brodie Unibomber with horiz. dropouts. It has no disc mounts, but I can just put one on the front by switching out the fork for a Kona Project Two Disc or a Surly. You can use any front wheel - it 100% doesn't matter as long as it works with your brakes. For the rear wheel, it's your call on whether to get something custom or not. I definitely wouldn't go with a freehub adapter. The torque involved when climbing could trash a skinny cog pretty easily, IMHO. IRO's wheels have a pretty good rep on the SS/FG forum here. If you want to be really hip, get a fixed/free flipflop hub and ride your bike backwards. Chicks dig it...

If you want to be really hip, get a fixed/free flipflop hub and ride your bike backwards. Chicks dig it...
Huh, Ill have to try that!





harris