I started out on a rigid MTB back in the late 80’s. It was a Bridgestone MB2. I later owned a Surly 1X fully rigid single speed. I really enjoyed riding both of them. The simplicity of the single speed was wonderful and I rode every where my friends did on their FS bikes. I had to work harder going uphill but my bike also weighed a lot less. I’m a fan of rigid MTBs and single speed MTBs. Everyone should own/experience one in their MTB journey. Here’s a couple more recommendations. Full disclosure, I own a Surly Krampus but I have the version with a front suspension fork. I have another hardtail so I’m seriously considering replacing the front suspension fork on the Krampus with a Surly rigid fork. Good luck with your search.

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/karate_monkey. 27.5

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/krampus. 29er

These two links default to a pic of hardtail bikes. Scroll down and you’ll see the choice for the fully rigid versions.

What say you BFers of the Breezer Thunder and the flat-bar State 4130 All-road for the kind of riding I describe?

Breezer sort of invented the mountain bike in the U.S. so I would say his stuff is pretty good though these days he certainly has a bigger focus towards commuter stuff but if I wanted a fully rigid bike the Thunder seems like a solid option with decent parts on it.

In my picky ways, I would cut both of these:

- the Breezer is designed for a suspension fork, so you have a giant gap between the top of the tire and the fork. It's more versatile (you can add a sus fork later on), but it doesn't have the cool, dedicated look of a rigid bike.

- the State's top tube is super short, at least in their XL size. The ETT on their size XL is only 575mm... that's too short for me (at 6'3") even for drop bars, much less for flat bars.

As a matter of fact, that feature was one of the first things that caught my eye when I saw the bike for the first time on Matty Active's channel and I liked it very much.

I'm vertically challenged at only 5'3" (160cm,) Looking at the numbers, the State Flat-bar All-road in size S has a reach of 373.7mm and a stack of 581.6mm which is right around my sweet spot. In fact, I could probably size up to M and likely be more comfortable with a shorter reach and higher stack; 371.5mm and 602.5mm, respectively. But given that there's no chance of swinging a leg over any of these bikes where I live, it's all a crap shoot at best and an expensive mistake at worst.

This is what I need to find in the thrift......

The State all road with 650b (27.5") should be a nice ride and the price seems reasonable. I have had a State Warhawk for maybe 6 years or so and it has been a great overall bike. The spoke tension was all over out of the box, so I fixed that, changed rear cog and have done nothing to it since. Just keep riding.

Fully rigid you say?

I'd recommend trying out tire inserts. They allow you to run lower air pressure giving some much needed cushion in the wheels. I have them my full sus XC bike and love them!

Here you go, OP. You nailed it on the head in your original post. Trek Dual Sport.

Geometrically, trail bikes typically have a relatively long wheelbase, long chain stays, more slack head tube angle, more forward riding position, and wider handlebar. Built for more stability on fast descents over chunky terrain.

XC bikes tend to be a bit lighter in weight, have a somewhat shorter wheelbase, a little shorter chain stays, a little steeper head tube angle, a little more upright cockpit position. Built for speed on less challenging terrain, faster on climbs, and better handling/cornering than a trail bike.

Hybrid bikes are just a little more in the direction away from the trail bike and XC bike... tend to be a little lighter in weight, slightly shorter wheelbase, slightly shorter chain stays, slightly more upright riding position, slightly steeper head tube angle, slightly less reach, slightly shorter handlebars. Thus these bikes are fast, nimble and quick, turn more readily, and maneuver with great agility. They are really fun to ride!

I took mine and switched to running tubeless XC tires: Schwalbe Racing Ray/Racing Ralph in 27.5 x 2.25" wide. And these tires actually measure a true 2.25" when they're blown up - nice!



This bike is so fast, nimble, quick, smooth as silk, solidly built, and most of all just FUN!

The Shimano CUES drivetrain is very good, but just because I could, I decided to swap in a Shimano Deore M5100 11-speed drivetrain and an XT shifter. I get some hills that can be a little steep, so having extra gears and a larger low gear made sense for my application.

The XC trails that I ride on here in Arizona are mostly loose-over-hard pack crushed granite and this is an ideal bike for these trails. Everything you need and nothing you don't.


I ride this bike on a 1/4 mile of very weathered, rugged & ragged chip seal road to get to my nearby XC trails and the tires smooth out the roughness beautifully. Then, on loose over crushed hard-pack granite, light to moderate XC trails, and smooth paved bike paths, it cruises smooth and fast across the board.

The Dual Sport is one of the very few (perhaps the only?) hybrid bike that can run XC tires up to about 2.3" in width. This capability is a HUGE benefit! Run them tubeless and you can air them down to low twenties for a plush but grippy cushion on the off-road trails, and still very fast ride. Air them up in the high 20s for smooth bike paths and just fly. Nimble, quick, and fun!



On off-road XC trails, rough chip seal roads, gravel, and smooth bike paths that I ride, with these 2.25" tires (very nice air volume to ride on) I don't miss having a shock fork, nor a suspension at all.

In fact, I don't want any suspension features at all on this bike. Just simple and solid with great tires keeping the ride cushy and fast. I'm thrilled that this bike is solid, rigid, and firmly-planted. No squishy business going on and no suspension maintenance nor complications to mess with. Simple, clean, and solid. As a bonus... these bikes are sensibly priced.

Obviously, I'm truly very enthusiastic about the Dual Sport; it is pure joy to ride and puts a big smile on my face every time I do so.

Take just ride on one and you will instantly "get it"; they're a joy to ride and so very easy to own.

Very nice bike I have three full rigids that I like to ride as well.here are mine
1995 Scapin Dedacciai 18 MCDV6HT a 10,5 kilos hardtail with XT 780 T 30 speeds

1998 Kona Kilaeua Reynolds 631 a 10,5 kilos hardtail with XT 780 T 30 speeds has the widest riser bar of all my MTBs and is the most agressive bike to ride due to its very sloping geometry followed by my Heavy Tools Transalp

1992 Merida Albon, a 12kilos front aluminium bonded rear tig welded steel MTB that is a very good rigid bike, its near like road bike geometry, very short bar and long stem make of it a very good trails bike and a very fast cornering bike

I often like to ride the Kona due to its very agressive geometry.

Very cool. I especially like that Merida - I would imagine it's a lot like my '91 Stumpjumper, light weight, nimble, quick, flickable and twitchy! Tange Cro-Moly steel.

I fully refreshed and serviced it last fall. Rides like a race car. I brought the stem way back and up, for a more upright, hybrid style riding position. This thing is the epitome of "flickable" and I love riding it on light XC type trails, as well as paved bike paths. I've got 1.95" Specialized Crossroads tires on it at present. They are decently grippy tires on light dirt trails and super quick on pavement.



Fully rigid hybrid-style bikes are awesome - just so much fun to ride!!!

2 pages and no mention of the Surly Krampus?

Aggressive, steel, rigid, ability to run plus size tires, boost, compatible with big brakes, able to accept a big ol fork if you ever want to.

It probably weighs more than my car. Surly considers this a feature.

If I were to buy a Surly, this would be it. The only thing I’d change would be to add a dropper.

https://surlybikes.com/products/krampus-rigid

You could run this everywhere from the bar, to the bike park, and even black trails faster than you probably would expect.

Someone did, in posts 22 and 26.

But no one is going to confuse a Krampus with an XC bike.

Some time ago I realized the Krampus and KM are really the same bike with a choice of wheel sizes. You can't get an XS Krampus. The same is true of the ICT and Wednesday.

Trek 930 Rigid...

The Kona Unit is still around, geared or singlespeed.

https://konaworld.com/collections/unit

Yes but it is a very far cry from what Kona used to propose back in the days with high end steel frames such as the Explosif and the Kilaeua, it is just an entry level reynolds 520 frame so nothing special nor exceptional.

It fits what the OP said he was looking for.