… I rode a fully rigid, Vee braked (Singlespeed) bike off road…!

I've said it on here, and I've said it to lots of people over the years, that I like my suspension and I like my discs too much to go back.

But, a few weeks ago at the Brizzle Bike Jumble I was seduced by a 1992 Kona Cindercone frameset, identical to my 1991 'Cone I bought in, errrrr, 1991! 🙂

And so, for £158 I've cobbled this together

The only new bit I bought especially for it is the seatpost. I was given the brakes, saddle and tensionner, the wheels were £45 posted, the bars (Too narrow) off my Carerra commuter, the chainset is an old LX from my last SS, the frame came with stem, forks and XTR headset…

And you know what? It was FFFFING BRILLIANT!
I was fully expecting it to be a let down: Dead feeling, flexy, hard work…. Especially as I was all misty eyed about getting 'my old bike back' WRONG!!!

Once I got used to the lightning fast and accurate steering and complete lack of flex (Which took a while) I was merrily hooning about the place like a mad thing. And it goes uphill like a spanked rat. Superb.
I did have a couple of momnets where I went involuntarily airbourne or sideways due to having no suspension to take the sting out of the bumps, and the vees are't up to single finger braking so I kept arriving at corners a bit out of shape, as you do.

But by god that was fun!

It'll be saved for Sunny Summer Evenings only though. Why? Well, because it was always sunny in 1992 wasn't it?

haha, I've some v's wheels, a sanderson life frame and o-o forks doing nothing, I think I may be inspired……….

Oh dear, you've been spending too much time on this site haven't you – rigid singlespeed? 🙄

😛

🙂

The funny thing, to me, is just how much like my 2000 Lava Dome that looks. Such a long period of those bikes looking pretty much sorted.

Get off Ridig single speed are great although I have just got off mine for the summer now !

PS you can ride them almost anywhere !

I'm riding rigid as well at the minute…

Looks very similar to my similar vintage Caldera, nice.

Such a long period of those bikes looking pretty much sorted.

Oh yes, they are sorted bikes alright. Back in 1991 I was lucky enough to test ride mine against an Orange Clockwork, a GT Avalance and a Saracen Traverse. The Knoa was easily the nicest of the 4.

You need some red grip or at least some anodised purple!

Rich, I'm allergic to purple, sorry….. 😉

Looking for some red painted bars though. Those have gotta go!

I made one of those but ended up selling the bits to pay for something else.

Now in the process of singlespeeding my old Cannondale BadBoy for a laugh.

That's a helluva stem there, Surfr!

I was lucky, mine came with a 100mm stem. 🙂

Interesting… that kind of thing would be ideal for a dog 'walking' bike… I keep getting siezed brakes and gears on the current hack!

Heh, yeh it was. It was a proper Kona Velocity though.

Nothing like a rigid classic kona for swooping through the trees on some buff singletrack Pete – thats why so many of us are still riding them over here in Bristol 🙂

I've done a Google search for the Spanked Rat you mention & came up with some most strange images.
No hills were hurt in the making of any of their videos I'm reliably informed. 😉

Hmm, it shows how much we've become spoiled by suspension and stuff over the years. I remember my first mtbs were proper 'hardcore', and could go up and down and over anything. I cycled happily all around forests in Norway, on a fully rigid bike with cantis, then Vs. Then, I got a set of Rock Shox Indy SL forks, and I've seen a gradual decline in my overall enjoyment ever since…

Funny, how such bikes were perfect for the sort of riding we did back then, yet now we 'need' all the bells and whistles bike technology has brought us. Yes, we can ride gnarlier stuff, survive bigger drops, descend faster, stop quicker etc, but are we any happier?

Love my rigid SS. Don't ride it much as I'm not man enough but when I do it's fun but exhausting!

When I built up a rigid singlespeed I found that I could (occasionally) cope without suspension or gears but it didn't last very long until I found some cheap hydraulic disc brakes for it.

PP it's time to stop shaving… 😉

He'll buy a Jones next … *runs away*

Yes, we can ride gnarlier stuff, survive bigger drops, descend faster, stop quicker etc, but are we any happier?

is that a trick question? 🙂

No, not a trick question. I can now ride bigger stuff faster than I used to, but I've not noticed a corresponding increase in pleasure from riding. I'm not saying the tech is unwelcome, but we expect to be able to tackle more difficult stuff now, whereas previously, things seemed more of a challenge, and it was somehow more satisfying to overcome the challenges. Does that make sense?

Some of my happiest memories of mountain biking are more than ten years old. Some of my earliest, over 20 years ago, were of my sheer joy of being able to simply ride off-road, let alone tackle anything 'gnarly'. The fact that this bike, with it's huge fat tyres and straight handlebars, could go where no other bike could, that was such a buzz.

The fact that there were far less people doing it then, made me feel more 'exclusive', more of an 'adventurer'.

Now, we have trail centres. Uplift days. Tailor-made MTB holidays. Can't buy that same buzz though…

I just like riding. I don't really care what kind of bike it is on, or where I'm riding, I just like bikes. You're wallowing in nostaglia Talk.

I accidentlaly left my lockout on at Swinley the other week, felt fine over the bumps, but was amazed how much less grip there was.

Yes I know. I do enjoy my riding now, don't get me wrong, but there'll never quite be that same buzz I used to get.

And no, I wouldn't want to go back to fully rigid with v-brakes! 😀 Not for most off-road, certainly.

Nothing like a rigid classic kona for swooping through the trees on some buff singletrack Pete – thats why so many of us are still riding them over here in Bristol

And here's me thinking you were all just poor… 😉

He'll buy a Jones next … *runs away*

Hell will freeze over first. For that much money I could have something that looked nice, see?

No, not a trick question. I can now ride bigger stuff faster than I used to, but I've not noticed a corresponding increase in pleasure from riding.

That's about spot on actually. I can go faster in more comfort on the Inbred with 140mm Vanillas on it, but it's no more fun.
Maybe, on a rigid bike, it's easier to reach the limits of what it can do, and you can FEEL it so much more that it seems more fun?? I dinno. Just guessing. 🙂

Never quite got as far as sticking my old rigid forks back on BUT for winter riding my old '94 frame is just fab. Although this year i want to put an internal hub on it.

I like the variety – when the trails get hard it's great to get the full susser out.

Have you seen this?

[list=1]29er[/list]
[list=2]Rigid[/list]
[list=3]SS[/list]
[list=4]Steel.[/list]

I think the word I'm looking for is 'House!'

Andy

My dad has my old fully rigid 1997 Stumpjumper – still a fine machine.

I know where you're coming from, I'm three rides in on this – all for the cost of a top end headset.

Poddy: that's black beauty that is. Looks gorgeous.

I have a set of kona project2 rigid forks for sale. disc specific. email in profile

That's a nice bike you've got there Woodsman
🙂

No, not a trick question. I can now ride bigger stuff faster than I used to, but I've not noticed a corresponding increase in pleasure from riding. I'm not saying the tech is unwelcome, but we expect to be able to tackle more difficult stuff now, whereas previously, things seemed more of a challenge, and it was somehow more satisfying to overcome the challenges. Does that make sense?

I have to agree with this, it's surprising how much more you can tackle on a big full sus, but then that makes most riding fairly dull.

my mate had one of those cinder cones. lovely bike!

Cheers PP 🙂

Nice retro metal you have there too!

I still use this for much of what PP was describing. It's in 1992 Purple (natch).

And so, for £158 I've cobbled this together

The best bikes come together like that, bits & pieces & inspiration. It looks really nice. Don't overdo the red though. 8)

When I first started mtbing, the real thrill was being able to ride where bikes previously couldn't. To get off the beaten track. Away from traffic, people, etc. That was new, it was exciting. It was about pushing boundaries, and finding new ones. A whole world to be explored in a brand new way.

I don't have that same thrill now. It's still fun, but it's like being with the same partner for ages; nothing can ever recapture those first exciting encounters. You know them inside out now. No more 'secrets'.

Make sense?