After trying a few different bikes from friends this summer I found that I really like 26" rigid bikes(I know I was late to the party). I picked up a Univega Range Rover so I can hit some trails with some friends. I enjoy my bike very much and will finish out the fall with it but would like to start with something lighter next spring thought I would ask here first.

Thank You
Max

Ritchey p21. 1996 khs Montana comp. Parkpre 825. 1991 mb3 (or lower). 1996 Mongoose IBOC zero g. 1993 Trek 990.

So many to choose from.

What are you planning to ride with it, and do you have any specific requirement, tire size, discs etc? the suggestions [MENTION=142025]LesterOfPuppets[/MENTION] has made are all great bikes, but none of them, less a new P21 will take discs, and with the current trend for wider tires, you may be pushed to get a modern wide tire in some of them.

Thanks for the suggestions so far Lester


jimc I was thinking that going rigid would keep me at 90s mtb so I am not really worried about disks and tire size is about 2.2.

Yeah, I'm not even sure if all those bikes I listed came with rigid options, but most of them do.

If it was a moderne, disc braked, light 26er, price-no-object bike you were after, I'd probably start with a Moots Rigormootis and MRP fork. Maybe a Ritchey WCS Carbon 650b Rigid MTB Fork. The Ritchey fork might be a tad long but not dangerously long at 459mm ATC, I think.

If a big-wheeled, ridiculously light and expensive rigid then I'd have to go with this Open. Less than 15 lbs.

I wished that money was no object! I found an Iboc would there be much difference between a 94 and 96? Also where did you get all your information from was it all experience and reading from this forum or is there a data base that you use?

Just bikes I've had and enjoyed. There was only one rigid IBOC MTB in 1994, the IBOC Comp and it was aluminum frame/steel fork as opposed to all steel frame and fork of the IBOC Zero-G. Slightly more portly at 26.4 claimed pounds according to bikepedia.com. The 96 zero g came with lighter tires, rims, some LX parts, etc. I don't know if I remember the 1994, it says it's glued aluminum.

Generally if you see completes at or below 25 lbs in bikepedia they're gonna have pretty light frames, even if claimed weight is a little off.

That's good to know I'm going to comb through bikepedia!

Chinese carbon frame from ebay + chinese carbon fork + chinese carbon everything lol?

Anyway you don't need to go back to the 90s just to get a rigid 26er. You can put a rigid fork on anything and still get modern geometry, disc brakes, and the option to use wider tires.

If you get stumped and can't find one easily, you can always look for frames on eBay or Nashbar, Cambriabike, Chainreactioncycles etc. For a frame that takes 80-100mm forks, if I'm correct, it would take a rigid 440mm fork like the Kona Project 2 sold at places like bikeman.com

(You can find Shimano groupsets at places like bike24 Bike24 - Shimano

Getting tough to find light 26ers though. Have to go back to like 2010 for a somewhat wide assortment. All my 90s rigid bikes take 2.2 in back and 2.4 up front so I don't understand the fat tire concerns. 2.2 is a good size for XC.

From a cost perspective it just seems better to me to get a nice NORBA style XC rig for $100 or less and add parts as needed. As oppose to spending $200+ on a 21st century hardtail then spending $100+ on a fork and doing the work involved on the swap.

Guess it depends on how much you like disc brakes.

I really like JBC frames, mine weighs in at 1030g. These are not like the other no name china frames. High quality carbon frames are made in Giants Taiwan factory, alloy frames at Hodaka's factory in China.

They seem low on stock right now, before the colour range was bigger.
NEW JBC Lightning Carbon MTB Frame With Seat Post AND BB30 White | eBay

NEW Jbcpro Thunder XC MTB Frame 18 Inches Titanium Color 1740G | eBay

2012 JBC Ligtning SL Carbon MTB Frame 17 3" 1180G Blue | eBay

What is NORBA style mean all I seem to find is races?

I don't care very much about disks so I can save some coin there!

Thinking NORBA is referring to 90's angles / design.

Would try and avoid a bike from this era, unless you want a ride which just doesn't compare to a modern bike, I swap between my 2011 Tomac and 1995 Marin, and 2011 bike is much easier to ride with angles which are more user friendly.

For disc and saving money, can't see any real saving go be gained by not having discs, just about all frames post 1998 will have disc mounts, and post 2000 very few will have rim brake mounts. Rim brake only wheels are getting harder & harder to find, and you can get low end Shimano discs for very similar cost to their rim brakes, and low end Shimano discs are very good brakes.

Wouldn't durability suffer with low end parts?

Being that NORBA geometry frames are from the 90s wouldn't that make my current bike be the same?

I have a '96 Klein Pulse Comp that I plan on turning into a rigid 26". If you can find a decently priced one on craigslist, I would suggest one. It is surprising lightweight for a nearly 20 year old mtn bike; actually, it's lighter than my daily commuter which is a '94 Trek 1200 road bike. Here's an older pic of it, glowing in broad daylight.

Wish I could take this out for a spin...