Looking for a rigid MTB / 29er?

slopesoarer

Hi

I've not had a bike for about a decade and a half, I'm looking for something modern but also a bit old school. It will be mainly ridden on road but I want the option of tacking it off road (say 80/20%), nothing to technical. 29er?

Good quality steel frame - 853, Tange Ultimate, etc Lively feel - a must! No suspension - it's just not for me

Can you point me in the right direction as most of the brands I don't recognise and I'm sure due to lack of recent knowledge I'll miss the best options!

Cheers

Si

stubs

Steel frames made from 853 and the like arent cheap but you could look at the likes of Genesis, Charge, Pipedream, Cotic, On-One and Kinesis, also look at bikes known as Hybrids they are road orientated but capable of doing forest trails towpaths and the like.

What the heck is Lively feel do you mean lightweight I cant say I have ever come across a bike that felt lively, a lively ride is a horse isnt it.

Why is suspension just not for you. If you havent ridden a bike for 15 years you will be blown away at how good and light suspension is these days. Its perfect for sucking up the bumps and potholes which seem to make up Britains roads.

punkatron1

How about a Genesis Fortitude.

http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m15b156s776 ... tAodehIA3Q

29er, Reynolds frame and no suspension. I also think its got that old school look about it. Genesis have got a good reputation for decent riding UK designed bikes.

cooldad

punkatron1 wrote:

How about a Genesis Fortitude.

http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m15b156s776 ... tAodehIA3Q

29er, Reynolds frame and no suspension. I also think its got that old school look about it. Genesis have got a good reputation for decent riding UK designed bikes.

RRP £1250?
Not a lot of bits for the money.

stubs

cooldad wrote:

punkatron1 wrote:

How about a Genesis Fortitude.

http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m15b156s776 ... tAodehIA3Q

29er, Reynolds frame and no suspension. I also think its got that old school look about it. Genesis have got a good reputation for decent riding UK designed bikes.

RRP £1250?
Not a lot of bits for the money.

That Reynolds sticker costs a lot to make you know.

slopesoarer

stubs wrote:

Steel frames made from 853 and the like arent cheap but you could look at the likes of Genesis, Charge, Pipedream, Cotic, On-One and Kinesis, also look at bikes known as Hybrids they are road orientated but capable of doing forest trails towpaths and the like.

What the heck is Lively feel do you mean lightweight I cant say I have ever come across a bike that felt lively, a lively ride is a horse isnt it.

Why is suspension just not for you. If you havent ridden a bike for 15 years you will be blown away at how good and light suspension is these days. Its perfect for sucking up the bumps and potholes which seem to make up Britains roads.

Lively - a springy feel when riding. some bikes in my opinion feel dull to ride, others just want to get up and go.
Suspension - yeah I might be missing out but I've managed well without it and I suppose rightly or wrongly I think for my overall riding needs i.e. 80% roads, 20% trails I think suspension soaks up energy. Instead of energy being sapped into the front end going up and down I'd sooner have it moving me forward. Now that might be tosh but that is what I think. Convince me different!

I'll have a look at the bikes suggested.

Thanks for the contributions.

Si

slopesoarer

stubs wrote:

cooldad wrote:

punkatron1 wrote:

How about a Genesis Fortitude.

http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/m15b156s776 ... tAodehIA3Q

29er, Reynolds frame and no suspension. I also think its got that old school look about it. Genesis have got a good reputation for decent riding UK designed bikes.

RRP £1250?
Not a lot of bits for the money.

That Reynolds sticker costs a lot to make you know.

Do other agree with that comment?

punkatron1

Er quite, but its £810 in a number of shops. Totally get the lively ride comment. Its something I look for in a bike too.

I've got a good idea, why don't you get a Boardman. Seems to be the default answer on here.

slopesoarer

Sorry Punkatron, I meant that the Reynolds stickers cost a lot, the inference being that Reynolds is over priced.

Levi_501

Lots of people rave about the Salsa El Mariachi; I must confess I have been tempted.

rqy99g

Would a Sanderson Life or Breath be suitable for rigid forks? Anybody ride a Sanderson? If yes, what are your thoughts?

Simon

peter413

Have you thought about trying to build one yourself? I built the Kinesis in my sig myself and if I had bought all the parts it would have come to about £600, would have been about £650 if I got the carbon forks I wanted. Of course I didn't pay for half the parts really since they were spares but that's how much it would have cost if I had paid for them.

Don't rule out alloy or carbon frames either. The Maxlight is one of the livelier bikes I've ridden, far nicer than the 456 I've had before which is steel. It's also light as the name suggests and cheap. I got that frame with a Cane Creek headset and a seatclamp for about £80 in good condition used. Fairly old school geometry as well from what I'm lead to believe. Feels really nice to me.

rqy99g

What you say about not ruling out alloy and carbon frames is very true and I am in danger of doing this due to looking through rose tinted glasses.

Bugger!

Giraffoto

Definitely don't rule out alloy or carbon! I've built a fully rigid bike with a carbon fork and alloy frame
link here
and it feels very similar to my old (steel framed) road bike

rqy99g

Giraffoto, very nice. You've got me thinking....

Giraffoto

It's worth thinking about. Carbon can be made just as springy as steel if you want a lively ride, and both it and aluminium can be made lighter - which counts for a lot if you plan to climb hills. The only things that are unique to steel are the "old school look" (thinner tubes, generally) and being able to say it's made of steel.