gonna buy a bike that i can do a bit of local trails on, what is also good for offroad touring.

anyone got either or any of the above.
they all look suitable.

Stooge? (Krampus owner)

far too small.

ECR?

Good article here.
http://www.pedalingnowhere.com/gear/surly-krampus-vs-ecr/

But of course, you should have kept the karate monkey and stuck some 50mm rims on it

😉

El Mariachi here. Great bike.

Salsa Fargo…..or flat bar karate monkey

Swift

I have a longitude, bloody brilliant. Good luck getting one though, they’ve sold out I think and word is next years will be 650b+. If I had the money right now I’d probably get a krampus.
Although the pugsley can take 29 wheels… 8)

Bit spendy, but the Jones Plus looks nice.

far too small.

“checks spreadsheet of forum members heights”

Ogre here, chuffed with it. Toured 600+ miles round Scotland on it last year, on and off road. Comfy.

I’ve got a Krampus, which I’ve been using the same way as you describe…love it. I’d love that Enduro you’re selling but decided to give no frills no suspension thing a go, and the Krampus as my only MTB is giving me smiles for miles. Highly recommended.

Just got a Krampus and loving it. Picked up a good quality second hand one for £800. Very forgiving ride with loads of grip but can get a little squirrely in mud. The bike makes me smile.

On one Lurcher. I’ve done a Welsh coast to coast on it without problems. Plenty comfortable enough.

Krampus.

Love mine.

Jones Plus, or a Ti Jones Spaceframe.

Rooster (it looks like its going to finally appear)

I have a Troll (the Ogre’s 26″ baby brother) and it’s pretty hard to beat. It’s comfortable, well put together and insanely versatile. There doesn’t seem to be much that you can’t do with it- mountain biking, touring, commuting, shopping, even ‘just going out for a ride because it’s sunny’-ing. That said the main reason I didn’t get an Ogre was that they weren’t available at the time.

Karate monkey?
Can be found more easily second hand. Better as a trail bike than an Ogre and fine for all but the heaviest touring.

Krampus – love mine, best bike I have ever had.

Tony – drop me a line (new email in profile, since I left on-one), if you want something a bit specialer and custom.

Seconded (or thirded?) on the Krampus. Great bikes, very versatile, and really fun to ride.

First build – flat barred and geared.

Single-speed hooligan:

Alfine geared, frame-bagged all day rider:

Ogres are awesome! I liked mine so much that I got a spare 🙂

Niner ROS, pricey tho

Krampus or Karate Monkey!

I have both! I love them both dearly but I love the Krampus just a little bit more.

Both are super versatile and would do what you describe ably.
You should also consider the ECR and Ogre but the geo and tube profiles are a bit different with a bit more touring bias, and you get loads and loads of braze ons.

Krampus with a fork with anything cage mounts would be my choice.

Just to stop this turning into a Surly-fest, a picture of my longitude, which I love.

Which is not to say that a Surly-fest is a bad thing…

I love my Krampus and can thoroughly recommend it. If I had the funds I might also consider a Jones though, and the Travers 29+ also looks nice.

Get a Krampus in Moonlit Swamp green whilst stocks last, they’re beautiful in the flesh…

In the usual recommend what you have way I would go for a fat front Jones Spaceframe, in Orange FTW.

I’d recommend a Jones for what Ton’s after too but at his height I reckon the std size could be too small. Great big-guy bikes otherwise, really solid feeling. The Jones Plus would be worth a try. For a mix of loaded touring and general off-road use the way Jones bikes handle is very hard to match imo.

The Jones Plus was reviewed in last month’s magazine:

http://singletrackworld.com/magarchive/issue-97/

And STW’s review of the Krampus can be read at:

http://singletrackworld.com/reviews/issue-83-surly-krampus/

You can’t go wrong with either in my opinion for what you’re looking for.

how about the trek stache?