igloomaster

it does what it is supposed to do, and quite comfortably. i swapped out the 20 tooth rear cog for a 16, put on shimano clipless pedals, and have some fenders on order. might consider a stem riser for this too.

deputyjones

Really nice bike. Should be a great all-weather commuter.

igloomaster

thanks. raleigh did a good job on this 29er. but truthfully, this is my #2 bike, reserved for messy winter riding and the odd time i go into the mountains. my main commuter is a Redline 925.. obviously much lighter and faster, and i've upgraded some things on it. so the 925 is my #1 bike. but i won't ride it on crap roads in the winter.

the 29er can go over everything and it's very sure-footed.

jyossarian

What kind of rear hub is that, an ENO? I couldn't tell if the dropouts are vertical and w/ the disc, I'm wondering how you position it for correct tension in vertical dropouts and disc brake position.

Looks nice though. How's she ride?

igloomaster

hmmmm.... i'll have to inspect it further myself. she rides beautiful. i had them change the gearing in back cause i was maxing it out on the test ride. stock=good climing but not good on the flats. 16 tooth back there is tougher on a tank like this but works better on the flats. probably get more tech info here:
https://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?...=11&itemid=341

BIG-E

Vertical dropouts. It has an EBB.

igloomaster

So, I rode the be-jeezum out of this o'er the lovely bawstonian weekend. FUN! got the seat height just right.

What about a stem riser on a bike like this? Would it work? I don't want it too much higher, but a little higher would be smashing.

fender1

I put a riser on my Cannondale 50/50 which is essentialy a 1FG w/ Shimano nexus 8 speed hub. It can look a bit funky but it really helped w/ my wrist pressure. YMMV.

igloomaster

do you happen to know what size riser / make / model ? thanks!

fender1

It is a Delta AHead Stem riser 1 1/8. I got it from Nashbar. It is currently on sale for 17.95 but you could probaly get one at Harris since they are close to you. It is black to match my bars & head set. Installation was easy and while it looks a bit wierd, I am very happy with results. When I put it on I swapped out my riser bars for a stratght bar w/Cane Creek ergo bar ends. I found he the smaller width bars were more to my liking anf I really like the Cane creek bar ends.

Old_Fart

If you want to get another inch or maybe inch and a half, there are a couple stems you can get with more rise. Look at Nashbar:
Nashbar comfort stem
Or a tad nicer one at Bikeparts.com:
Dimensions Stem
These are just a couple high ange stems. They are made by several companies. Salsa and Profile Designs are a couple other brands to look at. I like the Dimensions because of the four-bolt cap.
If you want to get two to three inches you will probably have to gt a steerer tube extender as mentioned above.

max-a-mill

dang dude did you just buy a more expensive bike (than the 925) as a winter beater???

looks super nice though (rode around with the editor of dirtrag while he was reviewing one and he had nothing but good things to say).

i'd put road tires on it if your just gonna ride it in the city! but you know that bike really begs to get out in the woods. if you do that i'd revert back to the stock gearing.

igloomaster

i got a deal on it as it was special ordered for a customer who no-showed. it will be my winter commuter, but it will also be my mountain bike. my grandparents (no longer with us) left a cottage in Maine to my parents. there are some nice trails there that i'll be investigating this summer.

i had a blast riding it around this weekend. i felt like a kid... or an adult riding an adult sized BMX bike and acting like a kid

it is an awesome machine. i will leave the tires as-is. i want it to be more difficult than my road bike. i want it to kick my ass more. then when i jump on the Redline, i'll be flying like a son-of-a-buck.
yeah, right !

max-a-mill

cool deal! especially since you already enjoy the singlespeed on the commute i am sure you will love that bike on the trails...

don't let anyone convince you that you need suspension. those people are wimps

igloomaster

You should try this thing with it's 29" wheels.... it's got P L E N T Y of natural suspension!