After seeing the improvement to my hardtail from swapping in wider tires (2.4 Maxxis Ardents), and other research, I have decided my next (and final?) mtb will be a Surly Krampus. I was fortunate enough to find a friend of a friend in town who let me borrow his Krampus for a few days, and I'm sold!

The Krampus I borrowed was an original model (green, with jump tube) in Medium, with some nice upgrades (most notably deore hydros, and 34x11-46 11sp drivetrain). While a gear calculator shows I would probably need to drop that chainring to a 28 to match my current 22x36 bottom, I was able to get up all my usual hills.

The ride was fantastic! I always knew that even when 'locked out' I could see a little bit of bobbing in my Reba RS fork, but I didn't really feel it, so I thought the lockout was doing its job. But the first time I needed to stomp on the pedals to get up a little rise on the Krampus, the difference of the rigid fork was obvious! On a rigid bike, I'm free to stand again, rather than be trapped in the saddle to try to grind it out. And with the 3" width, there's no worry of losing traction on sandy/pebbly slopes. There's a section on one of my regular trails with a short left downhill turn, then maybe 100yd of flat before a longer descent. I had never been able to coast that entire flat before, but on the Krampus I was finally able to! I think it was extra confidence to take the initial left/down faster, plus the WTB Ranger tires seem to be pretty fast-rolling (like they say on the sidewalls)

I like the rigid fork better also for drops. I'm not skilled with large (or what others would probably call small!) drops, I've had enough endos that they always make me twinge. But without that extra pitch forward from a suspended fork, dropping the front wheel feels much more secure!

The whole thing brings back sense-memories of riding my bmx bike around as a kid. If rigid is better for climbing AND dropping, what's the point of suspension? Why did it take the industry this long to figure out that bigger tires is where it's at?

Going down a fast, rocky descent was bumpy, but not a whole lot bumpier than on my hardtail, and I didn't feel out of control at all. And the weight of the bike is comparable; stood up on my bathroom scale, my hardtail came in at 30, and the Krampus at 32.

The only negatives were because the Krampus I got to borrow is a M, and I need a L. (That undersizeness may have contributed to the 'bmx' feel). I had to raise the seatpost to the min insert line, and I was tempted to try swapping in a longer stem as well.

Now I'm on the hunt for a used L Krampus!

Anybody else love their Krampus, tell me about it! Also, are there other rigid-fork, 1x, 29-plus bikes out there? I'm not aware of any, but I'm sure there must be 1 or 2 others

Just got back from a hard (for me) 17 on my hardtail, it was good to be back on a bike that fits me, and not too bad to be back on a suspension fork with only 2.4" tires...

OK still nobody else seems to care, but ANYways, here's my new (used) pride and joy!

Hat tip to [MENTION=339610]Darth Lefty[/MENTION] for hooking me up with a guy from MN who had this up for sale on the fasebuch Surly/Salsa group (and to that guy, who was flexible on parts, dealt me a fair price, and worked hard to make sure it got shipped right)

Deore XT all around (except Mr Whirly crank), and a sweet-azz green brooks! The bars (jones h loop) and pedals were mine. I have swapped the 70mm stem out for a 110 because the Jones sweep back so much. The Knards are tubeless. First ride @15psi was too firm, my pump gauge doesn't have much precision in the 10-15psi range, but 2nd ride I aimed for 13rear/12front and it felt pretty good.

Next step, convert it to 1x like the 29+ platform was designed to be.

Looks sweet! I have a rigid that I like to play around with but prefer a suspension fork for taking drops. Those are some pretty crazy bars you got there!

Jones H Loop. Before, with straight bars (really not quite straight 9deg sweep?) I was getting numb hands and I realized I always felt pressure on the insides of my palms, so I wanted radically more sweep. Jones are 45deg, and the loop gives plenty of hand positions

Isn't 11-46 only 11sp? For 10s I think I'm gonna have to max out at 42

Sunrace 11-40/11-42, this guy did it on a Karate Monkey.

Apparently there's even an 11-46 for 10s, but I don't want to push my luck

Made my order for Surly 28T Stainless Steel Narrow-wide chainring, sunrance 11-42, and goatlink. Chainring, will replace my current granny, big ring will either get discarded, or left on as bashguard. Front shifter and FD will come off. 11-36 cassette will be a backup for other mtb in the family.

I use a Krampus fork to replace a cheap Suntour XCT. Love it.

Very nice! Love that color. I'm totally down with a rigid fork too, for the way I ride at least. I tried putting a suspension fork on my Unit and I hated how it made that bike feel - swapped it back after 2 weeks.

Got the 28T narrow-wide in the mail yesterday so I put it on and took off the old broken big ring, as well as front shifter/derailleur.

Found my crank puller was still loaned out to a friend (who just went on a monthlong vacation), so I couldn't pull the crank and get the old granny off. Rode around the parking lot a little with the 22T rattling around on the bottom bracket.

Narrow-wide is noisy! It clicks whenever the wide links pop off the wide teeth.

A couple pics in the wild...