dminor 

Gratuitous photos of Mike Mooney's wild ride:

ed 

You're not going to get much for a parted out mid nineties Paragon on eBay. I'd keep it and use it for a crap weather bike or a grocery getter.

Monocogs are fun. Redline also makes the d-series bikes if you think you may want gears.
D610 - D680

Another thing you may want to test ride is the Redline Monobelt 29er
I've never ridden belt drive, but wouldn't mind giving it a go.

otismedina

Would the lack of suspension fork on the monocog be important for riding in MN? My LBS said it wouldn't matter that much for a beginner, and that it would teach me to ride better lines instead of letting the suspension do the work.

ed 

Test ride one of each and make that decision based on your comfort level.

samburger

EDIT: Whoops, clicked on the wrong page, looks like Eds got it under control already

otismedina

Unfortunately, my LBS only has the monocog in stock.

MAGNOTRON

Sup!

So I've been debating for months over picking up a single speed 29er. I decided it was unnecessary and I wrote the idea off. But I was reading the newest Mountain Bike Action yesterday and they convinced me that I will continue to suck at trail riding until I train on one.

So the search is back on.

Looking for a cheap* 29er. Frame material doesn't make a huge difference to me. Steel will most likely be more affordable and have less chatter. Must have disks. Front suspension - doesn't matter. I'll go full rigid. I've got enough left in my joints for a few seasons.

By cheap* - I'd like to keep it under $600-$700. I can upgrade components later.

From basic searching I've come up with a few:
Redline Monocog (my favorite, so far)
SE Stout (is there a 2012 model?)
Nashbar no name (cheap!)

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

(I searched for a thread on this before I posted, assuming it's already been discussed, couldn't find anything)

ed 

I find it difficult to fathom that you haven't found a "Which SS 29'er to buy" on these forums. Maybe try searching via the body of posts versus thread titles.

Either way...you've come to the right place and I'm sure you will get some constructive feedback shortly.


Cheers!

e

dminor 

And some of the other feedback too .

When I got the latest issue of MBA and saw the cover (TWO articles no less), I cringed.

samburger

That reminds me of a joke I never heard:
What do you get when you take a hack on a 26er, & put him on a 29er?
A hack on a 29er!

Zephyr11

I guess I'm going to suck forever. Oh well.

Check this out: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...place-to-start.
A whole bunch of topics on 29ers, collected by this forum's #1 29er fan!

samburger

+ =

ed 

I don't get it. (but I'm on muscle relaxers)


MAGNOTRON...if you're looking at the Monocog 29'er...also check into the Monocog Flight 29'er. A little nicer spec for ya there. There are alot of big wheel options out there. I don't know if you've heard about it yet, but 650b is right in between the 26 and 29" options. I've not yet been able to try one out, but am eager to give it a go. You may be able to find an OEM Haro Beasley in your price range. You'd probably have to get creative in finding one to test ride though.

The Vassago brand has been tossed around quite a bit...lots of loyal and happy customers there.

MAGNOTRON

Whoa hooaa...
Guess I did post in the wrong spot. Don't mind me - I'm the noob.

I really appreciate the feedback so far, thanks guys.

I only did a quick search, I assumed something would definitely be on here and that I would be redirected anyway.

@Ed - thanks for relocating it.
@samburger - burn...ouch

I haven't heard of the 650B yet, whats the approximate size difference?
I'll dig into the beasley, and the Jabberwocky.

Any other suggestions?

ed 

650b is 27.5" I think the main thing is to go test ride some bikes. See if you actually like 29" wheels. I don't, most of the locals 'round me do.


What are you riding right now?

skibum157

Hey, So I'm thinking of buying a decent mountain bike for a change. I normally ride a road bike, but I just started to trail ride on my old walmart bike and I loved it. The only thing I didn't love was how crappy my walmart bike was. I want a decent mountain bike that I can take trail riding and maybey even a bit of downhill riding without it falling apart. I also don't want to spend a fortune as I'm a high school senior and I don't have a huge sum of money at my disposal and with college on the way money is precious. Any suggestions for a decent cheap(ish) mountain bike that I could take trail and mountain riding would be greatly appreciated

samburger

Haha sorry I've been in a harsh mood lately. All in good fun though

And just so ya know, I wasn't trying to call you a hack, I was just saying that bigger wheels ≠ more skill. If you haven't already, test ride a few 29ers & 26ers at your LBS & see which one feels the best. 29ers do have a technical advantage on most XC trails, but if it doesn't feel right in the parking lot then it definitely won't feel right on the trails, & you'll likely be less inclined to ride at all. Don't buy into the whole 29er trend just because it's trendy--do it because it makes riding more fun.

Oh & if by some one-in-a-million chance your LBS has a 650b, test it out & report back. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's curious.

MAGNOTRON

@ed - I'm on a '10 Stumpjumper 26" hardtail - XT built kit. It's my baby...my battered baby.

The 27.5" was something else I had considered over the past year as well. I have yet to ride one though. I've ridden a bunch of 29ers. 2 Niners - Air 9, Jet 9; Yeti BigTop, Spec Stumpy comp 29er & FSR 29er. My favorite was the Gary Fisher Rig, a SS, I had a BLAST on that. But it's way too expensive (and I dont think its still made?)

@samburger - I knew it was all in good fun. Since when are mountain bikers actually jerks? Sometimes we have to bust balls though. Thanks for the jab, I earned it, haha.

I'm not expecting it to enhance my skills, as much as I'm expecting it to scare the crap out of me a few times! I think it'll be more for fun/self-punishment.

I think I might try to get my LBS to bring in a Trek Marlin. Cheap, with suspension. I really like the look of steel though.

samburger

Wow, that's one hell of a line-up of 29ers! Jab recanted--with all those test rides, you're more qualified to talk about 29ers than I am, no doubt. I test rode a few when I first started thinking about getting a decent MTB but they just felt too big & lacked the maneuverability I was used to. I always chalked it up to my BMX roots (getting used to 26" wheels was even a bit of a challenge at first).

Just a thought though...if the Gary Fisher was the most fun just because it was a SS & the others weren't, a SS conversion is about as easy at it gets for drivetrain mods. You could either hold onto the old crankset, chainwheel, & derailleurs/shifters for future use; or sell them to help for a new SS crankset & rear sprocket (probably with some $$ left over).

_Thomas_

Ok so I currently have an Apollo Paradox, I've only had it for about a year however, doing what I'm doing I seem to be wearing it out quite quickly (already had to replace the rear derailleur, brake pads and now the shifter). So I'm looking for something that can take a bit more punishment.
The only things that I'm sure that I want on it are:
- Trigger shifters
- Good hydraulic brakes (I've had my eye on the Avid XO's for a while)
- Front and rear suspension
Money isn't too much of an issue, but I don't want to pay a stupid amount.
Any suggestions or advice is useful.
Thanks,
Tom

MAGNOTRON

The Gary Fisher was fun, not only because it was a single speed, but because the thing was BADASS.
Totally blew my mind during the 2, or 3...ok maybe 4 times I test-rode it. And I think I remember it being a steel frame.

I was working at the LBS at the time so it was easy to test ride them. I could take whatever I wanted off display, as long as I didn't scratch it, and I cleaned the hell out of it. The epic 55 mile "Test" trail ride on the carbon Yeti ASR-5 was a birthday present to myself.

I've decided I hate the Marlin, it looks like an entry level 3500.

I'm leaning towards the SIR 9 with a basic build, the Karate Monkey, and the Monocog Flight.
The monocog being the cheapest and the best reviewed.
My LBS is an authorized seller of all these brands, but if they bring it in...I buy it, no returns.

Opinions?

MAGNOTRON

@skibum - Check out the specialized rockhopper. Go test ride it, I've never seen someone disappointed after riding one. Fun bike, and still on the 'cheap' side.

Same to you thomas.

edit: however, your best bet is to test ride a few

(im just a specialized fanboy)

Inertianinja

i'm a road cyclist/racer, and i'm considering a MTB for two reasons - i'd like to try riding off-road, and there are times when riding an aero race bike on the street just doesn't make sense. I would be at a 'beginner' level.

i'm guessing, admittedly based on nothing, that i might want to build a hardtail 29er.
I prefer to build my own, but i know precisely zero about MTB components.

So, how do i start thinking about this? Any recommendations?

Mike_30

Hi All,

Just found your forum and did some searching. I live in Southern California and looking for a decent mountain bike. It will be for trail/fire road riding as well as the occasional street ride with the kids.

Im 5'11 around 180 pounds inseam 27-28 inches. Looking for a decent bike around 500 dollars. Obviously though if there is a better bike for a little more or worth saving for im up for that as well.

Can you give me your recommendations? I used to be a big bmx fan so i know nothing about mountain bikes. The only ones i looked at so far were Canondale, giant, specialized and trek, but with all the specs given in those price ranges i don't know which one is better than the others?

Thank you

samburger

Mike,

I've heard mixed reviews about Cannondale & Giant at that price point, but you can't really go wrong with Specialized or Trek. I'm partial to Specialized so I would try to find a closeout Rockhopper if possible (a little pricier, but a much better frame than the Hardrock to build up on later) But you say you used to be into BMX, so you might be in luck for a good deal that would suit your taste better than the average XC bike: https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...0+08+Bike.aspx

The Komodo is practically sponsored by one of the forum mods It's a super strong frame more than worthy of building up on, but still comes with a solid fork & components. It leans more towards the dirt jumping style MTB (MTB dirt jumping, in essence, is really no different from dirt jumping on a BMX bike) so ergonomically it's going to be worse for fire roads & XC trails. But like you, I come from BMX but ride mostly XC, & I've found that I'm more comfortable with a shorter stem & smaller frame (less XC oriented setup) even on long rides, simply because that's what I grew up on. It also makes the bike much more fun riding around town because you can just lower the seat & you've got yourself a capable urban MTB.

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to correct any mistakes I made in that description, but I think what I said was accurate for the most part.