jpage

Today I picked up my new, fresh-off-the boat 06 Monocog cromo. It's a really good-looking bike in matte dark green with painted (as far as I can tell) "pinstripe" graphics. The graphics are definitely subtle and nice-looking compared to the ugly sticker decals on my 2003 Monocog. My black 03 was also a beauty once those decals were removed. It's a tossup which is better-looking.

Overall, a better parts spec than the 2003 bike. The frame has changed some for inclusion of disk tabs and for 135mm rear hub spacing. The hubs are disc-ready and according to the LBS are the same sealed bearing hubs as the Flite. Hopefully they will be better than the crappy hubs that came on the 03 - they appear to have better seals. Rear hub is a cassette type now instead of the flip-flip freewheel hub. Bars and stem (31.8) much improved. The frame seems a little more refined and contoured than the 03, welds are not quite as slick as my SOMA Groove but still very nice. The front gusset and some other areas of the frame look a little lighter. There's a 4130 sticker on it. As far as I can tell the geometry (perfect for me) has not changed. My old fishing scale weighs it out at around 25 1/2, about the same as the 03. I'm guessing the frame is a little lighter now to offset the weight of the disk mounts and hubs. Same old Tektro brakes but they will get changed out for some Avid discs anyway!

Overall, I could not be happier. The price is up a little from last year (my LBS says the MSRP will go up $50), but with the upgrades it's even a better deal than before IMO.

https://www.redlinebicycles.com/adult...full-specs.pdf

magoolc1

Yeah i was looking at these as well. I came to the conclusion if i go that route i think i will get a iro Mia. Seems like more room on there for me

Aeroplane

Nice. Glad to see they finally caved in and went with the 135mm spacing. Interesting to hear that they went with a cassette system... seems like a cheap way to get into SS cassette hubs. The only thing that really jumps out at me is the seatpost size: 26.8. Aren't most MTB seatposts 27.2? Kind of narrows down your options for upgrading, which is one thing that the monocog is usually a prime candidate for.

WakeUpOnFire

You can get almost any brand seatpost in a 26.8 size.

Aeroplane

I checked Supergo, and they only had one. But Nashbar has a ton of them. I thought 27.2's were a lot more standard than they seem to be. Thanks.