elemental

Hey everyone. Before I start, let me introduce myself: I am a college student and primarily ride road and a little 'cross. I started on a fixed-gear road bike almost a year ago, but was forced to part with it to get my geared bike. I have ridden enough singletrack to know that I like it and I am awful at it, but no longer have access to a borrowed bike to hit the trails with. Like many cyclists my age, my finances are quite restricted but, as always, more bikes is better. I would like to get a mountain bike of my own, and considering how much fun I had on my SS/fixed roadie, my restrictive budget, and the type of singletrack we have where I live, a singlespeed 29er seems like it would fit the bill. These are the two I'm looking at.

Searches seem to suggest that both come with crap parts that will spontaneously combust on my first ride, but even if this is the case, I have access to a deep cheap parts bin to replace them. I'm also not afraid to upgrade or tweak things to my liking down the road. If they're of similar quality, I may as well save the $50 and take the Motobecane (which I also think looks great in white), but if there's a big difference in quality, I would be better off with the Redline.

Also, for those of you with more experience than me, am I barking up the wrong tree so to speak? I could pick up something like a GF Pirahna for around the same price, but if I'm going to be riding a low-end bike, I'd like one that's as simple as possible. However, if a rigid 29er is a bad choice for East Coast rocky, rooty singletrack, feel free to tell me I'm an idiot. It seems like the rigid fork might be too much, although I'm sure riding one would help improve my terrible mountain bike skills.

mx_599

hi!

soma juice

elemental

Appreciate the feedback, and really wish I could, but $550 for the frame and fork sort of takes me out of the $400 pricepoint. If I were spending $900 on this, I could get a GF Rig and be done with it. Unfortunately, I don't exactly have that sort of cash to drop right now ($400 is a stretch- convince me before I change my mind guys!).

croscoe

The Redline frame is disc ready if you ever decide to go that route. I'm not sure if the hubs are ready for discs though. The frame is steel and should ride a little nicer than the MB (so they say). The MB does look nice for the price though.

elemental

Given the choice, I would prefer fixed-gear ready to discs I think. I believe the Redline has disc ready hubs, which would mean no flip/flop, but I'm not sure. The Redline spec sheets are pretty weak on their website.

Anyone know what the rear hub on the Redline is like?

BearSquirrel

I think a lot of folks would recommend full suspension for rocks and roots, but that's clearly out of your price range. So is any bike with a decent suspension fork. In that light I think the Redline Monocog may be the perfect bike for you. It's great out of the box and it's upgradeable.

M_S

I'm in a very similar situation as you (also a college student). I'm pretty much only riding my cross bike now but am seriously feeling a pang not having a mountain bike in the stable at the moment. The Monocog looks like a fun bike at an awesome price--just the ticket.

A quick check online shows that the wheels are disc ready...so all you need is the brakes and levers for that upgrade. The stock levers and brakes are Tektro. Not very good, but not complete junk either. The crankset is apparently square taper, Redline in house brand stuff is used seemingly wherever possible. From the spec sheets the Motobecane simply has better parts.

However, by all accounts, Redline seems to have gotten the 29er geometry right, which is no small thing. I've talked to several people who have owned or ridden one and they all say it's just plain nice to ride. I don't know if the Motobecane is actually a well designed 29er, or if it's just a stretched out 26 inch frame. That and the ability to easily run discs outweigh the better parts list, for me anyways. I would be curious to hear from those who have actually ridden the Motobecane.

Oh, one more thing: don't go saying that riding without suspension will make you a better rider in these parts. They'll eat you alive.

croscoe

You could get one of those cogs drilled for the disc pattern if you wind up with disc ready hubs.

taylor p

[QUOTE=elemental;5932499]Given the choice, I would prefer fixed-gear ready to discs I think. I believe the Redline has disc ready hubs, which would mean no flip/flop, but I'm not sure. The Redline spec sheets are pretty weak on their website.

Anyone know what the rear hub on the Redline is like?[/QUOTE

The hubs are disc. I would go with the redline

elemental

So it seems to come down to disc ready (Redline) versus flip flop hub (Motobecane)? I don't think I would ever spend the $$$ necessary to put discs on a $400 bike anyway, that would probably be going towards a more socially acceptable mountain bike or a more iced-out road bike. It seems like they are both fairly low end, so I will probably decide based on the price difference. I'll have to see what the Redline dealer back at school wants for a Monocog 29.

I have also not ruled out buying something like this:



which would wind up around the same price, but it kinda seems like selling out. Is the X5 stuff decent? The only mountain bike I've ridden recently had a poorly adjusted Deore drivetrain that shifted like crap, and I would certainly have preferred a singlespeed to that.

Maybe I should just get the GF. If I end up racing next fall (for my own amusement, as I am currently the world's worst mountain biker), I think the Moto or Redline would be miserable.

ZeCanon

I would definitely go with both the redline and the moto over that GF. No question.

Are there any geometry numbers out there for the Moto? You could compare to some frames that are known to ride nicely. One know one guy who rides one, and he really likes it. But that's only one guy...

Bike Lover

Eh. There are always good deals out there. I'm planning on getting the KHS Solo One SE and it has some "no-name" disks (Bengal cable disc MB606, 6" rotors) on there but I may upgrade to BB5 or BB7 since they're fairly inexpensive. Of course, I'll need to try the ones that come on the bike before I make any decisions. And I might just add a CF fork and swap out the wheels for something lighter, and...

Oh, you get the idea, I'm an idiot that'll probably spend as much money on the bike as it cost. But that's part of the fun...

IAMTB

I own a Monocog and it is truly a pleasure to ride. Redline really nailed it with not only the geometry of the frame but the whole bike(sans headset). I'm 240 ready to ride and have yet to break anything on the bike. Haven't even trued the wheels yet, although it only has around 700 miles on it. I personally prefer the steel Monocog frame to the Alu frame of the Outcast, but that is a personal choice. One other difference in the two is the Outcast comes in with a 42x18 and the Monocog comes with a 32-20. You'll likely have to switch out the chain ring on the Outcast for any kind of hilly singletrack.