29er v regular 26" fully rigid

SJSCycles do offer an off the peg Rohlhoff specific mtb frame albeit in 26er spec and Bob Jackson cycles offer handbuilt frames with Rohlhoff dropouts.

69er or 96er if you prefer for less smutty reasons could be a good compromise.

Niner bikes are another good option for 29ers or GT's Peace 29er SS could be built up as a hub geared machine.

Currently ride a 28.5er fixie on and off road. The large balloon tyres help rolling over obstacles as wheelies on a fixie require coordination beyond the ken of mere mortals. Steering is slow and sedate but has no nasty surprises

velomaniac":reciyb5c said:

SJSCycles do offer an off the peg Rohlhoff specific mtb frame albeit in 26er spec

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I would never buy a Thorn from SJS, their definition of a frame warranty differs wildly from that of mine. Do a search in retro MTB chat for Woodsman's story of the grief he had to go to to get them to sort his cracked Thorn 853 frame out, it's not a good advert for them. I ride with Woodsman as he's local to me and can tell you it's not the story of someone trying to get one over on a bike shop.

I'd second the GT Peace 9er. One of my main ride pals has one, and he absolutely loves it. It's nicknamed 'Bigfoot' and just rolls so well.

Hey Tad,

+1 for the Singular!

Sam (the guy behind Singular) is a really nice fella, and I'm sure he's be happy to give you a demo of one of his Swifts, or anything else he has in your size.

The Swift is one of the best bikes I have ever ridden. I think it would really suit your riding style, and may even give you confidence to ride stuff you wouldn't normally.

If you have a little more cash, you could consider a Singular Pegasus. Sam has them made by Nevi in Italy, and you get your choice of cable routing etc. so you can get it tweaked to suit your Rolhoff hub.

I've ridden my mate Steve's Pegasus, and I have to say, it blew me away. His weighs under 19lbs as he had it built up (ss).

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/t ... s-titanium

That would be nice^ with the rohloff

Less agile than a 26" but also less "nervous" as a result.

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Not necessarily. A lot of them are built so steep (and with long offset forks) to overcome the inertia of the bigger wheels in turns that they corner quicker than pretty much any 26in bike. Get off a modern long-forked 26in hardtail and on to, say, a rigid Niner and you'll probably go off on the inside of the first turn

MikeD":1u3n8k80 said:

Less agile than a 26" but also less "nervous" as a result.

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Not necessarily. A lot of them are built so steep (and with long offset forks) to overcome the inertia of the bigger wheels in turns that they corner quicker than pretty much any 26in bike. Get off a modern long-forked 26in hardtail and on to, say, a rigid Niner and you'll probably go off on the inside of the first turn

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My experience of 29ers are that they're no less agile than a 26er. I've only ridden singulars and a kona unit, but they both handled rather nicely.

When I asked my friend Steve about the agility issue he said "I tell anyone that says that to try following me through some twisty singletrack and see if they can keep up". :shock:

Give Steve Shand a call.

i believe in fixies":1yuevx1o said:

Cheers GG, I took a look at the Edelbikes site in your 69er thread (I have so many shcoolboy jokes inside me bursting to get out now...) I love some of the Pacenti frame building components and the fork he's built up with a Pacenti Crown is stunning. He's on my list of possible frame builders, just need to improve my French now

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Not sure how far down the line you went, but my complete Edelbikes bike now here:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... highlight=

PS No need to speak French, he speaks perfect English