sloppy robot

ive got the fever for a ss mtn bike to jump and ride on the streets.. i was looking at sometiing like the 16inch IRO highlander... any other suggestions of frames to look at? any help on any of this would be.....helpful

douchebagonwhlz

I just had this brainstorm today as well!!!!!! well, a similar one, a little tangent.
I am pretty much too big and need custom bikes, and I am not rich, so I could get a custom mtn bike frame and just make it a single speed. There's a 24 hr race here and I wanna do it next year.
keeps the cost down on the custom setup, keeps you from getting all this wacky components on your bike that are giong to break when you take a digger, or just get worn out quick cuz of all the grit, lighter for climbing, and downhill, I weigh enough to p/u plenty of speed.
There was a pic of these three dudes from breckenridge who took single speed mtbs way up above treeline. I give credit, seems everyone has all these 45 lb downhill bikes, minimalizing is good. the KISS principle.

riderx

I would highly recommend checking out the Surly 1x1. It is very comfortable when airborne, love the overall handleing and it's made of 4130 for a reasonable price. Plus you can fit huge tires in it.

******bagonwhlz - As far as big frames go, how big are you? You might look at a 29er, like a XL Karate Monkey. I'm a bit over 6' and like riding both 26" and 29" MTBs, but once you get taller than me I think they make a lot of sense in getting the bike sized proportional to the rider.

Aeroplane

If you're checking the 1x1, I'd also look at on-one's Inbred/Pedigree. It's got a very good reputation, and is comparable in price. Plus, the pedigree has new sliding dropouts, like the Kona Unit.

DiRt DeViL

What about one like this:



For '06 will come in 26" and 29", sliding dropouts, steel; what else can you ask for?

Not for urban riding or jumping but it's a nice bike at a great price.

somnambulant

hmm.. now the wheels are turning in my head too!

max-a-mill

if your really slummin pick up a redline monocog heavy, durable, and cheap as *****.

DiRt DeViL

You could also grab a Fixation from eBay.

lala

Yup, I picked up a fetish fixation from the ebay. That Kona looks interesting. And you certainly can't go wrong with Surly.

SpiderMike

I built up a Surly 1x1 about a month ago. Its a blast to ride, so much I forget to bring the camera. If you go this route, check if you LBS deals through Quality. Quality has a build package to go with the frameset. It would save some money, compared to buying the parts individually.

Another option is the SE racing O.M. Flyer (2004). The 2005 model is more urban assault.

yonderboy

The Specialized P.series bikes are pretty much urban assault machines. Norco's two50 looks pretty good. There's a few frames built for DJ and urban riding with sliding dropouts, like the Azonic Steelhead, .243racing's cro-mo frame, or the On-One Gimp. Any frame that will rock 24" rims would be a good choice.

You could use a trail MTB frame for urban and DJ, but I find the top tube is sometimes too high. The rule of thumb used to be take the next smallest frame size from what you would normally ride.

jim-bob

A friend of mine rides a surly and loves it. I've never been disappointed by the ride of a kona (we'll pretend the Scab never happened..), so I'd wanna check out the Unit as well.

What sort of budget are we talking? Bumbike pennies, Pista bucks, or NJS ducats?

max-a-mill

i'd steer clear of aluminum frames for off-road riding if i had the choice....

steel is even more real off-road where it's bumpy as *****.

ImOnCrank

Aluminum off-road is fine, specially with shocks. I'm thinking of SS'ing my jekyll but I'm not sure how I'm gonna go about it yet.

mascher

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the Bianchi U.S.S. bikes, in the ~Pista/IRO/KHS fixed bike price range. The seem to be a pretty decent deal, and now you can pick between suspension or rigid on the stock bikes. Plus I saw a picture of a pink one, and the chrome ones are sweet too.

BostonFixed

My first foray into the dark world of SS/fixies was with a SS MTB project, which led to a SS road, which lead to the couple of fixies that I now own.

So there.

jasonyates

Do you guys know anything about a Cannondale M400? There is a guy selling one around here (haven't seen it yet). I thought it might be cool to convert to SS if I wouldn't have to spend too much money (ideally I would only buy new tires).. ??

ImOnCrank

It's old school, alum frame, pretty standard

somnambulant

Pink One: https://www.bianchiusa.com/594.html

arcellus

i have a fixation that i've been riding for a while.. it's great. seems tough so far (about 6 months or so now).

Aeroplane

SS'ing a FS is pretty rough, from what I've heard. Your best bet is to use an old deraileur as a tensioner, nothing else will give you enough slack. And a magic ratio/ENO hub will just make your chain explode.

DiRt DeViL

Correct, unless you can get a hold of a FS with an URT setup like the Trek Y series or Klein Mantra. The rear mech will be necessary to allow the chain to strech when the suspension compreses.

The Kona A is the only FS that works right out of the box that I know of.

Search the mtbr.com ss forum, I remember reading about this on several threads and someone even posted an Intense 5.5 singlespeeded.

ImOnCrank

sweet, thanks for the input guys.

DiRt DeViL

Glad to help.

Here's an updated and clean pic of my Unit. The XMax on the previous pic belong to my geared bike but depending on the situation find themselves on the SS.

deskpedaler

Somebody had to quote it...
Here are pictures of my surgically altered unit. It is a 2000 Stumpjumper I believe.