Tom Bombadil

Came across this dinosaur ... an all cro-moly steel frame & fork, unsuspended mountain bike. Reasonably decent components, mostly Shimano Deore-level. Disc brakes. List is $899, have seen it for $799.

And of all things, it is a GT. The GT Peace 9R Multi (for multiple gears). They also make it in a single-speed.

The standard color is awful, IMHO. A glaring multi-color. I'm sure someone must like it. I think it is also available in blue.

I know one can get such bikes from Salsa and a few other specialized companies. But it has been a while since I've seen one with a mass production label.

https://www.gtbicycles.com/usa/eng/Pr...-Country/#5803

BluesDawg

There are actually quite a few rigid steel 29ers on the market.

The blue model is single speed.

stapfam

Hate to say it but GT is no longer a marque that I would look at. And I have owned a couple in my lifetime.

Looking at the spec- there is nothing that grabs me as being anything above "just about acceptable"-and I am afraid that even if I saw one in a shop- there is still nothing that would make me take a second look. I know that we are more expensive over here on prices- but this does seem an expensive bike to me aswell.

May be that I am getting more fussy on bikes- but I feel that there would be better bikes around at a more economic price to look at.

maddmaxx 

Not bad at the price. Deore has been replacing LX of late on many bikes to help hold the price stable but its a big step up from Acera. I wish the manufacturere wouldn't use 15ga straight butted spokes on their wheels, especially on disc wheels.

I like the fact that the bars, seatpost etc are Easton, not some undefined OEM part. This is an excellent starter bike with much more promise as a keeper than many other starters. For a lot of riders, this is all of the bike they will need.

You will always be able to find it when coming out of the pie shop after lunch............

Tom Bombadil

I agree maddmaxx, it isn't bad for the price. Take a look at some of the components on road bikes in that price range. I agree about the spokes, that's an unfortunate decision for a rigid frame MTB.

I'm kinda surprised that GT is offering such a bike. You can't find this type of bike from Trek, Specialized, Giant, Cannondale, Marin, Jamis, Gary Fisher, or Fuji (to name a few popular brands).

Tom Bombadil

I hate the color so much that I would be tempted to take a spray can to it. Could live with it (but still not like it) if the red part was painted yellow or green to match.

Retro Grouch 

Nope, not interested.

I vaguely remember Cinelli (Ithink) making a "rasta" handlebar tape that used those colors but I couldn't find it in my QBP book.

Even if I could, buying a whole new mountain bike just so that I could convert it to dropped bars and use some garish colored handlebar tape seems like kind of a stretch.

BluesDawg

Kona, Raleigh and Redline (to name a few) offer similar bikes. Most of the brands you mention and many others have hard tail aluminum 29ers. The early development of 29er MTBs was mostly done by small builders and leaned heavily toward steel frames, hard tail designs and often rigid forks. A great many of the most popular 29ers from the small builders are still steel, rigid and single speed.

29ers and the people who ride them were a little different from the start.

Tom Bombadil

I searched Raleigh's and Kona's web sites and could not find multi-geared, all-steel, rigid frame bikes. I did find single speeds from both. Perhaps I missed the others, as there were a lot of bikes to sort through.

From Redline I did find the D460. It looks nice. But even it is only a 9-speed, which I think makes for a nice bike. But as the front crank is only a 34t, it isnt' for everyone. I think it would be an excellent bike for riding gravel bike trails. List is $1049.

https://www.redlinebicycles.com/2009-...dline_D460.jpg

And then their is the downscale 8-speed D440, with a frame that reminds one of the old mixte style.

https://www.redlinebicycles.com/2009-...e_D440_blk.jpg

Jet Travis

Tommy me lad, that color IS you.

BluesDawg

I see that the Raleigh with gears also has a suspension fork and the Kona rigid steel bike is a single speed.
Raleigh XXIX+G

So whatever point it is you are trying to make about the rarity of bikes of this configuration, I'll concede it.

But I am not at all surprised to see GT making such a variation of their Peace 9er. You'll probably start seeing more variations of these bikes available from more sources as 29ers become more and more mainstream. Many people who have traditionally bought these kinds of bikes are tinkerers who are likely to configure the bike many different ways for different purposes or on a whim. It's a small step to offer one with gears to appeal to a different group of potential buyers.

BikeWNC

My old Bridgestone has been a workhorse for me. I've used it extensively since our daughter was born, pulling the burley trailer, and lately a tag-along. I think everyone should have a rigid mtb.

Tom Bombadil

I honestly would prefer some home job'ed blue or green spray can paint job with a few drips and runs over riding the GT in its standard colors.

I do admit that the whole concept of a single speed 29'er mountain bike escapes me, especially with a rigid frame/fork. What do people do with them? Do they ride difficult trails with a SS? Or is more level-terrain off-road? I like these bikes when they have multiple gears.

BluesDawg

You wouldn't like what people do on rigid SS MTBs no matter how many gears or how much suspension you had. I know people who ride those things on some of the gnarliest and hilliest trails I've ever ridden...and they blow me away. Of course, other people ride them more casually on milder terrain. Different strokes for different folks.
(and the people who race rigid SS bikes are about as different as you can get - they just aren't quite right )

Tom Bombadil

I cannot even imagine trying to ride a SS up a difficult trail. Unless the only gear I had was something like 22t in front and 32t in the rear.

Tom Bombadil

I checked a couple of those SS 29'ers for their sprocket sizes. One had 32t front and 18t rear, which is approx 51-52 gear inches. The other was slightly lower at 33t & 20t. On the low side, but not nearly low enough for me to get up a nasty dirt hillside.

Retro Grouch 

Sounds about right to me. Back in my mountain biking days I sometimes wondered why I thought that I needed all of those other gears. I was riding in my granny almost all of the time.

In truth, I sometimes even wondered why I'd brought my bike at all because I spent so much time pushing it up the hills.

I rode with the same small bunch of guys every Saturday morning rain or shine, heat or snow. We had a great time getting dirty. [sigh]

stapfam

I only changed off rigid forks in 2001 after the bypass and it was to ease the shocks going on the chest that did it for me. I that I am now older and would probably not be able to ride rigid with any force- but the only place I make use of Suspension forks is downhill. Uphill and on the flat- I do not need suspension.

And Since riding road bikes- I find that I do not need the lower gears on our offroad hills- I may still use the granny but it has to be a steep or long hill for me to use the 22/32 that is the lowest gear on the bike. It may be hard but higher gears will get me up the hills faster.

BluesDawg

So tell us, Tom, what gear combination do you normally use to climb steep, rooty, rock-strewn hills on a geared MTB?

Retro Grouch 

Wouldn't matter to me. I could push that bike up the hill in a 53/12 just as easily as in a 24/32. Actually, I'd be faster because the 53/12 would be my road bike and it's lighter and easier to carry.

Oh and if you can ride all the way to the top it's because you're a wuss and were afraid to try a hard enough hill.

roccobike

Good point. I always have an old, rigid fork MTB hangin around my basement shop. We still have my son's 88 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo and I currently have a Bianchi Ibex, but it's too small for me. I've converted my Nishiki Ariel to a front suspension so it's not a rigid fork any longer.

Other than obtaining the 29" rims, I don't know why someone would buy a new rigid fork MTB. There are so many nice, old rigid fork bikes out there that are cheap, easy to service, and would take low bucks to rebuild. If you did the work yourself, you can usually come up with a fine, rebuilt bike for around $100. If you hire an LBS to do the work, make it $200.

Digital Gee

I put the Orange Crush on Craigslist for $200 and got nary a nibble. Steel, barely used bike actually, despite the age. The first owner rode maybe 200 miles and then stored the bike in his garage for 17 years. I put another cupla hundred on it and then got the Globe.

May have to lower that price, I suppose.

Tom Bombadil

That would be my New Balance Country Hiker gear.