Question: Why go for a $700ish (used) rigid singlespeed when I could get the new 26" geared for 200 less?[/quote]
Have you ridden singlespeed, or anything other than 26" wheels offroad?
Question: Why go for a $700ish (used) rigid singlespeed when I could get the new 26" geared for 200 less?[/quote]
Have you ridden singlespeed, or anything other than 26" wheels offroad?[/quote]
Neither. For 29’', are you saying it’s worth the extra expense? When you factor in the fork, gears, etc, it’s gotta be like $400/350 more. (As for singlespeed, I could easily just put a ss kit on the fusion and sell the parts, making it that much cheaper)
It seems like this Save up to 60% off new 29er Mountain Bikes - MTB - Motobecane Fantom 29 would be a better deal if 29" is really that necessary, and it could be made ss for like $30.
Also 29ers of any kind seem like they’re in pretty short supply on CL. fuck.
I find I prefer my rigid twenty niner over every bike with suspension I’ve tried, locally. I have no doubt that trail conditions play a huge factor in this, but tubeless big wheels go a surprisingly long way towards replacing suspension. The motobecane you linked has a Dart 3, which I’m not sure if you have any experience with, but I would definitely prefer a steel fork over that Dart any day, in any terrain.
If you’re okay with repacking the hubs and headset right out of the box, the motobacon outcast is a pretty great toss around bike. No option to go to discs, but beyond that the bike rides pretty nicely and is extremely cheap. http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/outcast29_08.htm
edit: oh and re: gears, singlespeeding allows me to enjoy trails and clean ascents I hadn’t be able to do previously. My brainspace is empty and I never worry about drivetrain stuff, because I am in the gear I need to be in all the time. Plus, gearie bikes make all kind of terrible racket offroad, whereas on my SS the terrible racket is all my own doing.
Halbritt is right about the 26"er being obsolete.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t buy one. What he/we are saying is that if you’re considering a bike that will be in the future worth upgrading an important thing to consider is the frame.
If I were to buy something new with aspirations of racing on it or even looking for the least frustrating method with price and functionality in mind. My recommendation is a 29er SS.
Why?
-29er frames as stated are simply the future of MTB.
-SS allows for cheap, simple, and reliable operation. If you want frustrating, get a bike with Acera.
-Buying a bike and then SSing it with aspirations of selling off an LX group will likely result in losing money as the only profitable groupsets are typically the top 3 for road and top 2 for MTB. Those aren’t factual… just opinions, but I doubt you’ll make your money back selling off an LX group.
As for things to consider I would definitely consider the type of brakes. If you’re buying something with discs and you like discs you’re fine (also the future). If you buy something with canti’s or V’s (rim brakes) I would consider looking to see that both the frame AND THE WHEELSET are disc brake compatible.
I’m sold on the 29er, I think I’ll just start saving now for one. In the theme of keeping things upgradable/replaceable (which sounds good to me - I’d hate to have to buy a new frame later on), it seems like buying (for example) the Outcast 29er would kind of leave me in a lurch if I ever wanted to go geared. My point was not so much that I could make money off the LX, but that the Fantom seems like a substantially better value than a Monocog (for ex).
If there’s a cheap SS 29er out there that has standard dropouts/derailler hanger that seems like it would be the sweet spot. Basically the Outcast if it had regular dropouts. Though it seems like even comparing the Outcast to the Fantom, the value/price ratio gets bigger as you add more stuff (similarly, the Fantom Pro seems like it has a better ratio than the regular Fantom).
(Just for the record, I’m not attached to a new bike at all, just that new bikes are easier to compare)
EDIT: One more question, any thoughts on johnneypecans recommendation for rigid fork on a 29er? Seems like the single most expensive part to change later on.
People riding rigid are riding because they want to typically, not because of affordability. Maybe more of availability even.
I’d get front suspension. I’d also look into buying a frameset, and then buying a wheelset. You can buy a wheelset with a freehub and then use a SS conversion kit, this way you’ll have the right wheels when/if you decide to go geared.
There are a bunch of decent framesets up on eBay as well. Or look into frame and fork separately. Then buy wheels.
I see good reviews of the RST fork that comes with this steel ss frameset. There’s some talk about it being a KHS frame on mtbr.com but i think that’s all bogus. http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=1619
In regards to forks, consider that a shitty squish fork isn’t going to be fun to ride like a nice one will. Nice forks are also easily more expensive than your current pricerange for the whole bike. With a rigid you’ll shock yourself (lol punz) with how smooth you become and how much your ability to pick a line improves. You can always find used Rebas etc for cheap when your budget allows, and when you apply your gnarly rigid bikehandling skills with a nice fork you’ll be even faster.
e: i bought my bike because it was cheap, thinking I could upgrade to a suspension fork later. I no longer have interest in squish forks. Now I’d like to build up a much nicer steel frameset with a rigid fork, if anything. If I lived someplace rocky with big drops everywhere my choice might be different, but for the techy xc stuff I ride I adore my steel fork.
Good stuff. You guys are really helpful. Looking on ebay, i don’t see all that many 29ers (and even less so on CL). I did a rough estimation of cost breakdowns for a SS 29er mtb with a mix of new parts (performance frame on sale, etc) and used parts (stems, handlebars, etc):
That comes out to about $580 (knock off 60 or so for a rigid fork). That’s about the same price as the Fantom, which comes with gears (albeit not great ones). And the Fantom is all new, with warranty, etc. Maybe my ebay-fu isn’t that hot, but I’m having a hard time seeing where you can save money with a SS.
what size u need?
Using a quick and dirty estimate with the Wrench Science calculator + looking at frame sizes, I’d guess a 17". I’m 5’9/5’10". I ride a 54/56cm road bike. I like long walks on the beach.
These Wheels: http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=84
Then you just need a fork and some associated parts which you can purchase based on budget. I realize that the prices will probably be near similar, but you’ll end up with something that is likely FAR more capable in the long run.
You could also run a lefty fork if you so desire.
[quote=EivlEvo]This frame: http://cgi.ebay.com/Cannondale-Caffeine-29er-Hardtail-MTB-Frame-Raw-Med_W0QQitemZ280408808614QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMountain_Bikes?hash=item4149aadca6
These Wheels: http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=84
Then you just need a fork and some associated parts which you can purchase based on budget. I realize that the prices will probably be near similar, but you’ll end up with something that is likely FAR more capable in the long run.
You could also run a lefty fork if you so desire.[/quote]
I assume most of the betterness is assuming a good fork (Sid, Reba, Tora, etc) and the better wheels? I tend to think there probably isn’t much difference between frames, save for a little weight maybe.
In any case, I hit “watch” on the frame. I’ll be curious to see how much it goes for in 4 days.
One more question:
Why does it seem like Deore shifters are popular on many bikes, when stuff like the brakes/rear derailler/fork get upgraded as the price goes up? It seems like bike lines go Deore, Deore, Deore, Deore, and then Deore XT all of a sudden.w
some sites may have them mislisted as technically… everything is deore I think… like deore LX, deore XT, deore XTR etc.???
Plus, shifters are tricky because some are integrated brifters on MTB now and those only work with hydros and discs, or some might only be mech and the bike has hydros… shit i dont know…