First ride on the new rigid last week
I can handle the front wheel changing direction by about a foot if it hits a bump and put my teeth back in, but any tips for numbing the pain in my wrists!? (Dont say "come off the brakes"; its scary enough 
For the record, a lot of fun. And with MK 2.0, really rolls well
my FS feels so, so, so heavy
Nb Mary bars -
Stay loose.
I did a weekend at Afan last year on a rigid. Rode most of it and my wrists were in bits. It was like the "good old days". A lot of fun though.
I've run rigid all year, found the best option was some nice large tyres and stay relaxed. I did find that carbon forks do absorb some of the harshness other than that just make sure you choose a good line!
1. Make sure its a rigid 29er!
2. Stay loose.
3. Big fat tyre, low pressure.
4. Stay loose.
5. Carbon or ti bars, preferably swept.
6. Stay loose. 
Stay loose.
soon tensed up when I was no longer pointing where I was 100ms earlier and now I was going straight for a tree. Total hoot! lots of swearing
girvin flexstem* it's the only way 'tis what I used many moons ago when rigid was all we had.
*works best if teamed up with beartraps, toeclips and hiking boots 
See clink's post....+ line choice is king,and by god you'll take some 'odd' ones.
in case you've not realised, the key is staying loose. and pick smoothlines.
Reference the being thrown off line, perhaps a Hopey steering damper (something I have absolutely no experience of!)?
A bit of chatter on mtbr about them.
ignore the hopey its bollox. the only person I know uses one needs it because he rides downhill with 1 arm... that being said he did well without it also.
stay loooooooooooooooooooooooooooose
heres a lil thing I did of him years ago fti
click here for pinkbike video...
Grow a beard, prerably a goatee, it's essential
Isn't the rather glaringly obvious answer here to put some suspension forks on the front, or have I missed something?
any tips for numbing the pain in my wrists!?
Why the geoff do you think they were invented?!
You might want to consider bigger tyres... Never had a MK 2.0 but considering how comically undersized my 2.4s were, I'm guessing it's not a big tyre. I use a lightweight 2.5 up front to give it a little more bounce.
Isn't the rather glaringly obvious answer here to put some suspension forks on the front, or have I missed something?
Yes, i think you have.
I have a bike with suspension forks which, of course, is ace
This one is lighter, simpler ,goes to work and gets kicked around the bike sheds every day. It also goes out with the dogs.
Trouble is it is so easy effortless to ride I have decided to ride it on the bumpy stuff and want more! Its a different thing.
Please, feel free to enlighten me sofatester.
No seriously, we used to ride rigids and we experienced all the symptoms listed above, so we got forks, rode longer, harder, faster and had more fun. Then some people decided to put rigid forks back on and complain that its not as comfy. Enlighten me.
Thats funny,since going fully rigid I ride longer,harder,faster and have more fun.
Please, feel free to enlighten me sofatester
The OP wants to be double hard masochistic luddite. Riding anything else apart from the most uncomfortable, least efficient bike would be a form of self defeat.
Much like SingleSpeeders, only without the stylish goatee.
No seriously, we used to ride rigids and we experienced all the symptoms listed above, so we got forks, Then some people decided to put rigid forks back on and complain that its not as comfy.
Well there's retardation of one kind going on.
After toying with lashing out on servicing my ailing RC40's I decided to go rigid. On-One Carbon forks, standard diameter carbon bars & Thomson Elite stem, Lizard Skins North-Shore slip-on grips (I worry about too many clamps on carbon bars), & run the front tyre a few psi down. Drier trails will see me sourcing a bigger tyre, & keen on the 2.5 WTB Weirwolf if I can get one. Its a 29er though, but this is a fairly recent acquisition. I ran my 26er Inbred the same. Rigid is a lot more viable on a 29er. I love mine. Really love it every time I ride it. Its not a viable alternative if your into your rock gardens, but for stuff like Cannock Chase its spot-on.
Ridden Afan Brechfa on a full rigid GT Peace 29er, wrists and braking finger dead by the end but to be honest, much more fun than a bouncer !
Loved it and would do it again
£600-900 for 4lb+ a bouncy fork that you have to drop the lowers off every 20 hours (thats 4 rides!) and get a £100 service every 12 months.
Or £350 for a 1lb forks (niner) that I'll never even bother cleaning.
Mmmmmmmmm
Innerleithen's black and dh trails are good fun on an XC rigid... Just needs a bit of a different approach to the full bouncer. Don't think I'd take it to Coed Y Brenin though.
I just view the thing as changing the difficulty level- I've got a big expensive 5 inch travel bike to make difficult trails easier and more fun, likewise I've got a cheap rigid to make easy trails harder and more fun.
I did three rides with suspension forks before my bike got nicked. They're cheating.
MTFU
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