Single Speed for $400?
 

Alright, I'm ready to take the plunge.
After living in Boston and messaging on an old, Miele mess of a single speed, I'm ready to return to Vermont and pick up mountain biking. My road bike will stay active, but it's Vermont for God's sake. Take to the hills!
My ideal would be to get a nice single speed, but I need to ask a couple of questions first:

1.) I'd prefer to go for no suspension. Would that be jumping in over my head, given that I have no experience in mountain biking?
2.) This is even more a matter of opinion: Build or buy complete? I know I could save a lot of money building, but I don't know how much I trust myself to put together something as functional, simple, beautiful and fast as I would like. Who should I look to for complete bikes? Parts? Keep in mind, I'm trying to spend $400 or less (which should get me a decent single-speed, eh?).

Thanks a lot. I'm looking forward to getting much more into this forum...
Rock.

The simplest answer possible: Redline Monocog. No suspension singlespeed, built tough.

Or if your rich, the Kona Unit.

I built mine from a 9 year old GT steel frame. So I believe you could build one. A lot more satisfaction from building a bike yourself. I was able to figure everything out, I went to the shop once to press in the headset for me.

Build one and then show it off to us when your done!

Okay, thanks. I guess the big question I have still would be: suspension or no suspension? I like the idea of simplicity, but I also like the idea of being able to have some help going over the rough Vermont countryside. Is the no suspension just for grizzled veterans or could a newbie still kick some ass on one?

If you are going to build a bike go with no suspension, especially if that is what you prefer. Generally building a MTB is much more expensive than just buying one prebuilt. The main reason: fork/suspension. It is quite expensive to buy an aftermarket fork w/suspension. If you pan on building a bike and decide you want suspenion, I would suggest trying to find a good used fork. Probably the best you can hope for when building a bike is to break even with the price of a prebuilt. There are lots of variables we need to know though, i.e. what kind of frame and the price (the $$$ spent on the frame will set the tone for the whole build).
Good luck!
:beer:

If you want to speed-up the process of becoming one of those "grizzled veterans", then I would encourage you to start out with no suspension. That will force you to develop better bike handling habits, like picking the good lines, using body english to finesse your way around obstacles, and training your body to anticipate and absorb the bumps, instead of just plowing mindlessly over everything in your path. Of course, once you've paid your dues and make the jump to front suspension, you'll notice a dramatic increase in speed. But what's the hurry? Master the basics first.

If you get a Redline Monocog or On-One Inbred (my pick) and hate riding rigid, you can always add a fork. Its not a big deal. Right now I've seen Manitou Blacks from last year going for under $200 so its not too terribly expensive should you want it in the future.

Is the Monocog geometry set up for a suspension fork? It's hard to tell from pictures, but it looks like putting a shock on might jack up the front end too much.

Anybody have any experience with this?

Yes its suspension corrected... I don't know any frame that isn't these days.

I'm pretty sure the monocog doesn't have standard mtb spacing (135 cm?) so it will have to stay a singlespeed. If you've got an old bike just do it up. Kona project 2, or surly 1x1 are good forks. The 1x1 frame is pretty sweet too (steel). Those blacks are a solid fork too, I have one on my urban/slalom/dj bike. It's held up well. I found this on mtbr.

http://www.webcyclery.com/product.ph...5&cat=0&page=1

The Monocog uses a 110mm BMX spacing. I don't know how you plan to add gears to any other singlespeed frame, even with 135mm spacing--most of them have horizontal dropouts with no derailleur hanger or cable guides, so I see this as a non-issue.

Are you going to be trail riding, or commuting. In Vermont, either way you want suspension. The trails are rough, and the roads in some cases are worse. Ive lived in Vermont my whole life, and I dont know what "good" roads are, because we dont really have them here. Trails can be either really smooth, or really rocky and rooty, so my suggestion is prepare yourself for the worst and get suspension.

I just bought a 2004 Redline Monocog for 175 dollars in like new shape. It is amazing ride. I have two really nice full suspenion bikes and it is so much more fun to ride the monocog. Get a monocog and do not worry about the suspension. It is more fun to ride without it.