I’m looking at building up a nice SS 29er hard tail/rigid bike, I’ve got all the bits to transfer from my current SS 29er but can’t decide on a frame.

The choice is either a Niner Air 9 Carbon or something along the lines of the new titanium Singular Pegasus. The bike has to be able to run SS without tensioners but be able to run geared as well if I want to swap it about.
It’s going to be used for endurance rides/races and I plan on running it rigid and SS through the winter as well.

Any suggestions of others I’ve missed or not thought about?

Anyone know much about the Niners?

2013 Ti El Mariachi (Alternator dropouts).
On One Lurcher (swappable dropouts)

2013 Ti El Mariachi (Alternator dropouts).
On One Lurcher (swappable dropouts)

The Salsa is a bit pricey for me at £1700, the On-One I’m not keen on as I”m not a fan of the swappable dropouts which is a shame ‘cos they’re a great price at the moment.

I’ve only ridden an A9C a few metres but am told they’re a bit stiff, maybe an issue for endurance.

Don’t forget Singular Swift, less glam but very versatile, and people do win races on them SS.

Titanium can be mended easier (as I understand it) than carbon. If this is a big spend/long term frame, that would sway me to Ti.

(Says the guy with bikes in every frame material except……)

Having ridden the a9c a bit, it is stiff and begs to be ridden fast. Great fun as super light rigid ss. I do very much like the look of the new singular. I think my ££ would go that way.

I’d have a look at Lynskey if you decide on Titanium. Not cheap though but comes with the life time warrenties. I had a Lynskey and a mate decided to jump off a mountain with it and he broke a seam around the headtube. Lynskey mended it and it came back as new. Top guys!
Also, am I right in thinking that the Salsa Ti’s are made by Lynskey?

Personally if you have the money I would go for the Niner. It is simply a work of art that also rides fantastically well and that is from someone who owns a Seven ti bike. A friend of mine has a Niner Carbon air in orange (in fact his first one which got nicked from the LBS whilst it was there to show another potential customer had the serial code 0001) and he loves how it rides. He also uses it for some marathons in SS guise.

I wouldn’t touch a Lynskey made frame with a bargepole.

The 2013 Salsa Ti’s are no longer made by Lynskey.

I wouldn’t touch a Lynskey made frame with a bargepole.

Why not? Is there something wrong with them?

Just a personal thing. I’ve seen more broken/badly made Lynskey frames than all other types put together. Maybe my experience is unusual, but there are enough tales of other Lynskey failures that I’d not even risk it.

Just a personal thing. I’ve seen more broken/badly made Lynskey frames than all other types put together. Maybe my experience is unusual, but there are enough tales of other Lynskey failures that I’d not even risk it.

I was under the impression that their warranty was excellent? Are you not the poster formerly known as Onion who used to/does own a Ragley Ti btw? Or am I confusing you with someone else?

Titanium can be mended easier (as I understand it) than carbon. If this is a big spend/long term frame, that would sway me to Ti.

That’s been one of my lines of thinking and the Ti frame wins in that respect.

Having ridden the a9c a bit, it is stiff and begs to be ridden fast. Great fun as super light rigid ss. I do very much like the look of the new singular. I think my ££ would go that way.

I’ve not managed to find an a9c demo anywhere so would be buying untested which may be a bit too big a risk. The Singular on the other hand I’ll be able to demo somewhere before I opt for it.

I’m leaning towards the Singular but the Niner has a fairly hefty discount which is what makes it seem like a great buy!

I’d have a look at Lynskey if you decide on Titanium. Not cheap though but comes with the life time warrenties. I had a Lynskey and a mate decided to jump off a mountain with it and he broke a seam around the headtube. Lynskey mended it and it came back as new. Top guys!

Same thing for Enigma – top quality service from Mark, great chap to speak to, beautiful frames with a great ride (well, speaking of my Ego anyway).

I saw an enigma prototype Ti 29er at there open day, stunning frame, they’ll make to your spec, takes 90 days though, the kenesis maxlight sync Ti is worth a look, maybe not ideal if you want to go rigid though. What about a carbon pivot les?

BadlyWiredDog – Member

I was under the impression that their warranty was excellent?

IIRC there was talk about Lynskey’s “lifetime” warranty being the lifetime of the bike, not the owner – their view being that 5 years is a reasonable lifetime for a bike.

A Niner Air9 must be an incredible ride if my SIR.9 is anything to go by. It’s simply brilliant. Gears, SS rigid. Right now it has 80mm Rebas. It was expensive but I’d gladly spend the money again.

The Pegasus looks lovely. So does the Niner but it’s plastic, which is just not quite as special IMO

Ti is the material I’d recommend if you plan on keeping the bike for some time. Have bikes in most materials, all have there pluses but I just find Ti very rewarding to ride, look at, even clean. They always look as good as the day I bought them. My carbon frame looks a bi tatty with various scratches and chips. Very shallow I know but that’s the way I am.

Yeah, ti. Next?

Shame about the lack of links to the suggested bike pictures as I fancy a drool.