Unbranded CF frames start at about $300 on e-bay and come in all sizes for road bikes and 26" wheel MTBs. I built a road bike and a MTB with ebay frames and have been very pleased with the results. I researched these, and it appears those who ride much harder than I do have been pleased with them also. Next, I'd like to build a kind of a comfort bike with one of these based on a generic CF 29er frame, but after searching through 16 pages of listings on e-bay there is NO affordable CF 29er type frame to be found.

Any leads or any known eta?

Before telling me you can build a good bike without using CF, I will tell you that I already know that -- I just have a bug up my ass. Also, I get a lot of compliments on the two CF bikes I have already built. Also, I know I could buy a nice bike used, but I very much enjoy piecing my own stuff together. In any case, there probably isn't a bike on the planet where I wouldn't want to change something to suit my taste so best to build my own.

Don in Austin

As you say there's lots of good performance style frames in CF. And a casual "errand" bike should be a bike that you don't fret over damage or theft. And it doesn't take much of a ding in a CF frame to call it a write off. To me that says I should go with a material other than carbon. But it's your nickel.

As far as I know nobody makes a tourer or a comfort bike in carbon. There is no market for it.

I don't think 29ers have a big enough market share for knock-off frames yet. You'll probably have to decide if you want CF bad enough to pay the price. At least for the near term.

[QUOTE=Don in Austin; I just have a bug up my ass. [/QUOTE]

Sounds painful. Have you talked to your doctor about it?

Well Cyclo-cross Bikes are the same wheel size, just restricted to a 33mm wide tire .

MTB 29ers are a rather small Niche.

Excuse my ignorance but what is a 29er?

A "29er" is a mountain bike that uses 700C rims and wide, fat 700C tires (ISO 622) instead of 26" (ISO 559) rims and tires. The "29" name comes from the approximate outside diameter of the overall rim and wide tire.

These larger diameter wheels and tires are supposed to roll over obstacle better and have less rolling resistance than the older 26" size. They are the latest new thing in MTBs.

A "29er" is an MTB-hybrid/cross/touring bike labelled as a "29er" because some marketing/sales genius trying to create a niche market with a really "cool" name so as not to have to compete with an already crowded and mature MTB-hybrid/cross/touring market can make a sale.

(I'd love to whack the dude upside the head for creating another tire size confusion item...)

To the OP: Just look for bargains on CF MTB-hybrid and Cross frames - some will take really wide 700c tires if you really intend to go wide.

=8-)

I have noticed that already the "29er" label seems to have cooled off already - and more and more I'm hearing customers chuckle and joke about the "29er" label when it pops up: "Hey, nice hybrid!"

=8-)

Don, 29ers are here to stay, most of the harder xc riders I know ride them. You can find a more thorough discussion of the generic carbon 29er frames over on mtbr. Does this look like a hybrid bike to anyone?

Well, the 29er may indeed be a marketing name to try to sell new stuff into an otherwise mature market. However, the Pros are starting to use them preferentially in many MTB races even when they have a free choice since their sponsor makes both 26" and 29er race bikes. I assume they feel there is an advantage.

Since I own neither a 26" or 29er wheel MTB (or any other MTB) I have no experience with the difference but from the above consideration I have to assume the 29er has some real benefits beyond its novelty.

MTB-Hybrid

=8-)

I don't think it's really fair to say "29er" is just a marketing term. Yes, they use the same wheel diameter as traditional road bikes but there are very few hybrid or cross frames (especially carbon ones) that will take 2.3" tires like my 29er will. If you look at the geometries of touring bikes vs. 29er off road bikes, I'm sure you'll find some important differences.

It IS just a marketing term...

Right here in the bay area lotsa folks are digging up old 700c touring road, cross, and hybrid frames - and putting on so called "29er" tires without issue. The same is being done with CF frames that have steel or ALU forks. A popular rim choice appears to be the Sun MTX33 - built onto Phil Wood MTB single speed hubsets.

My favorites are the folks buying Raleigh framesets with White main paint and Red logos/lettering. When finished up with Red or White saddles, tape, pedals, grips, etc., I often think: "Old School Budweiser". I even told one guy this and his response was literally, "Exactly!"

They know what they are working with, they know what their 700c tube and tire choices are - and they know "29er" is just another "cool" trendy marketing term.

=8-)

This puzzles me. It seems to me that the latest product lines from MTB manufacturers like Specialized, Giant, Trek or Kona show a pretty clear indication that 26" wheels are quickly being phased out. I guess it takes a year or two for the generic frame manufacturers to catch up.

They'll probably start showing up within a year or two now that companies like On-One are making carbon hardtails. Why you want one for a "comfort" bike is somewhat beyond me, but it's your money I guess.

I have never seen an old touring frame or whatever that could take more than about a 1.8, and it still wouldn't be a mountain bike.

Go to your LBS and count the number of 29ers vs. the number of 26" MTBs. If it is anything like the ones around here, the 29ers will be far outnumbered by the 26" MTBs. The 29ers are the "latest and greatest" so they capture the bulk of the advertising but I don't see 26" MTBs being obsolete any time soon.

Look also at Bikes Direct (the online seller of "generic" name brands) and you'll find 17 29ers and 62 26" MTBs listed. 26" MTBs are far from being displaced from the general MTB market.

Yeah, no kidding. When you can get 2.0"-2.5" tires (to fit ISO 622 rims), tires that didn't even exist what, 10 years ago, then I'm pretty sure it's not "just another 'cool' trendy marketing term". Go tell Niner they're not making anything new, that the W.F.O. 9 is the same as some ancient touring and hybrid bikes.

Well Don, the Big Trade show in Taipei , On Taiwan is coming up, Soon
You could get credentials , It's a Trade show after all..

and fly there an have a look around, as that is the largest concentration of the manufacturer exhibitors

of the worlds largest bike companies, the ones that make that low cost stuff..

29'ers are a fringe spec on the edge of the showrooms around here as well. But then I live in the land of The Shore and other areas similar to the North Shore. Also the cities and municipalities around here have gotten on board by building Parks Board built and maintained bicycle jump parks.

So yeah, 26'ers and serious urban jump BMX'ers are the rule around here. 29'ers are all about going fast over relatively smooth trails. And we just don't have a lot of that sort of riding around the lower mainland. And on what trails we do have that would cater to that sort of bike everyone just uses a basic lower end 26 inch hardtail.

I strongly suspect that it's all about marketing. They want to push the 29'er to move stock. So the big makers that invested heavily in the dream flash them up on the websites and make it easy to find them. Same in the magazines. But look on the showroom floors of the LBS's. They are only going to stock what they can sell in the proportion that moves. No dealer wants to see stock sitting and collecting dust.

On smooth trails, the lighter 26" wheels are at least as fast if not faster, IME. When the trails turn rough is when the 29 inch wheels make a huge difference in maintaining momentum(and speed). Have you ever really ridden a 29er?
OP: here is an address to a wholesaler/importer on mainland china, just fyi. https://www.alibaba.com/countrysearch...ain-frame.html

Just briefly and I admit not on a trail. And while I totally agree that bigger wheels would smoothen out a casual trail up this way the trails we have pretty much demand a full suspension bike. Around here a "casual" trail is one that hasn't got any drops bigger than 3 feet. And be it up, level or downhill all the trials are infested with 6 to 8 inch roots and rocks plus lots of turns to wedge between trees that are barely bar width apart and sharp switchbacks on the downhill parts. For us the advantages of a 29'er are just not significant enough.

I loved my hardtails that I started trail riding on until I agreed to a riding buddy's offer to try his full suspension bike. I was totaly blown away by how easy the full suspension made riding both up and down rocky trails that were pretty much like staircases. I'm sure it's fair to say that whatever difference there is going from a 26'er to a 29'er that going to full suspension is at least 2 or 3 times more of a switch. At the time I paid a 4 or 5 lb weight penalty to get my first full suspension bike. I'd gladly have done it if the bike was 10 lbs more as the suspension made it easy to go further and faster all at the same time and not wear myself out and have to come back early.

I don't doubt that there's regions of the continent where a 29'er give that nice step up over the 26'er. But around here whatever the gain is just has not proven to be enough. This is solidly the land of 26 inch wheels and full suspension other than for the urban jump group. The customer base voted it so and chose to bypass the 29'er movement with their wallets.

How long before full suspensions make it to the 29ers? I see no reason that a 29er full suspension bike can't be built.

Corrected:

How long before full suspensions make it to the Hybrid/Cross/Touring bikes? I see no reason that a 700c Hybrid/Cross/Touring full suspension bike can't be built.

You seem to have the attitude that every mechanical change is some nefarious plot by evil manufacturers to FORCE you to spend you hard earned money on the latest equipment.

To answer your above question, full suspension will appear on touring and hybrid bikes when they are ridden under conditions that make it beneficial. A lot of off-road touring is indeed done on full suspension bikes.

Cyclocross bikes are defined by the UCI so they don't have suspension because the rules don't permit it and the extra weight would be too much of a disadvantage for the type of riding they are used for.