Finally got my green Solaris built up (and ridden).

Very nice (even if I say so myself).

And definitely faster than in orange

Solaris by Metalheart-UK, on Flickr

ETA: Oh Chainline, that Nic is looking pretty mental and slaaaaack. I like…

Stop this please gents I have no need for one of these at all….but Man flu has struck and if you can’t ride you look at shiny stuff!!!

@metalheart isn’t your the black Soul pic that crops up a lot? How’s the Solaris in comparison? I have a Soul, which I’m perfectly content with, and am looking at 29s, but wondered if it would come out a bit same-but-bigger… (eggs and eggs).

(yeah it’s you, that’s the same garage door with a Rocket in front of it on Flickr!)

> 100 posts on this thread, the competing “show me your 26ers” is still in the twenties.

That party’s over.
you’re all late to the party though
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-your-29ers

Pegasus

i did have these

Fell out of love with MTB’s for 6 months and then got this…

and fell back in love with biking again (but only on softer less techy routes 😆 )

On one ti-29er

@mattjg: guilty as charged I’m afraid…

How do they compare? Well, at 6′ a medium Soul is pretty much at it’s extremes for me so the slightly longer Solaris is actually a better fit (pretty much perfect infact).

I did a 5 hour ride with a mate of roughly the same size so we swapped between the Soda and Solaris and all I can say is that he went away with the (orange) Solaris and I subsequently sold the Soda (for the Rocket) and I now have a green one… and I don’t have any regrets (so far at any rate).

The Solaris is more stable on the descents, climbs that bit better (I think that’s at least partly because of the wheel base and me not being so far over the back wheel) and doesn’t lose too much of the flickability of the Soul. And its green…

And I’ve just added some more (build) pictures to flickr…

ETA: yeah, it rides like you’d expect a Cotic to ride. But still different to the Soul. Just not wildly so…

you’re all late to the party though
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-your-29ers

Told.

How do they compare? Well, at 6′ a medium Soul is pretty much at it’s extremes for me so the slightly longer Solaris is actually a better fit (pretty much perfect infact).

Your Solaris is a medium? (ie current smallest available).

My Soul is a small but I’m exactly one size down from you I think, ie bang on the cusp between s & m. The Soul is very chuckable but having put 50 miles into a medium MCR9, perfectly happily, I think I have concluded the chuckability is a false friend. The story continues … (there’s just a couple of mm ETT difference between the MCR9 and the Solaris).

Yeah Matt, its a medium. They are all mediums… 😉

Chuckability is not a false friend, its just that sometimes you sacrifice other aspects for it, i.e. I suffer front wheel wander on the Soul when climbing as I’m sat over the back wheel. The Solaris is much more planted climbing, in fact it’s bang on for me. Thats with a 65mm stem and 762 bars.

ETA: just seen your post on the 26er. You want to keep your Soul, it’s great to have a small chuckable bike for those 1-2 hour rides down the woods… 😛

i’d like to see some budget-built 29ers.
anyone built theirs up from 2nd stuff off here?
Hmuch?

@Singlespeedstu – That’s made my day that comment, praise indeed from a 29ermeister.

Yeah maybe, and it’s a nice build tho it’ll probably have to sacrifice some bits for the soon-to-be 29.

Perhaps ‘false friend’ was a little harsh, what I mean is I don’t exploit it a great deal. Anyways I’ll get the 29 up and running and live with it for a while before I decide.

It’s all good at the end of the day.

i’d like to see some budget-built 29ers.
anyone built theirs up from 2nd stuff off here?
Hmuch?

my first 29er cost about £280.00 all together, on one inbred 29er singlespeed carbon forks etc…. a from the classifieds.

My Chumba has cost me under £400.00 all together as I already had some fox forks kicking about in the spares pile.

so cheapy fun machines can be built no worries at all.

Yay! Finally got this built up so now I can join in 🙂

Here you go

that monkey’s lovely! (needs more mango) 😀

Thanks clink (stupid phone)

Waiting for a mango qr clamp 🙂

Sultan 😀

rOcKeTdOg – Member
you’re all late to the party though
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-your-29ers

Ah yes but that thread is as obsolete as the bikes in it as its over 2years old!

where as this thread was started at approx the same time as this one.
’modern thread full of obsolete bikes’

^ Lovely green 🙂

If you’re not careful,
It’ll stick to your cheeks
You’ll smell like a native
For a couple of weeks
In France
Way down in France
Way on down
Way on down
In France

Never try to get yo’ peter sucked
In France

CTBM – You’ve gone very close to the edge…

Bonesetter…. Is that the Zappa quote? Sorry.

LOL. I wasn’t tring to quote, but to uninentially sound like Zappa works on many levels 😀

Mmm now there is a thing, I seem to have another 29er.

This technically belongs to biff/jones and I am supposed to let other people ride it… but based on my first ride impressions they won’t be getting it back.

That shop of yours wants tidying up Charlie.

And there’s a rat having it off with your seat. (Must be the love groove).

Tidying up is over rated.

Rat love fat however is just the best saddle proofing stuff ever… It’s what brooks make theirs out of, maybe.

Sorry for the thread hi jack, ill post pictures of my 29er when its problem free, the problem: set dirty harry up single speed as follows:

Gusset DoubleSix SS Cog – Wide foot*
On one doofer chain tensioner
KMC X9-73 9 Speed Chain
XTR M985 chainset with 10 speed 30T cassette (is this the problem)

cycling along normally is fine, but under load on the climbs is jumps like crazy, the thing is i changed the chain from an old rusty 9speed shimano chain which worked absolutly fine ( i only used this for one ride until the KMC chain arrived) and everything else is pretty new bar the chainset.

*Did not get my stickers with this charlie 🙁

Is the doofer pushing down or pushing upwards (ie chain runs above the tensioner roller). Pushing upwards betterer. What teeth front and rear?

Its probably due to lack of stickers but worth investigating other things as well

Bad tensioner set up, not enough teeth, or thrashed parts… Watch this

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-n0m6jMOCE&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

I agree with all those that say 29ers look right now and 26ers don’t. I have been thinking this since I saw a pic of myself on the medium Pitch I used to have. It’s 26″ wheels looked like a kids bike. And i’m only 5’11 not a typical 29er riding giant!

Have been intensely finishing an MA for the past 6 months so haven’t done my normal amount of riding. But when it’s finished (November) I am planning on swapping to a 29er hardtail to get me back into riding. Looking at this thread i’m like a kid in a sweet shop and don’t know which way to turn!

Geordiemick00 I really like the look of those Genesiserz. I am wondering if that is the bike for xc racing and singletrack….but am worried that the geo is for rigid only (if I want to upgrade to a fork i the future). How you finding it?

Hi,
What size XTC 29 r u ridin Will? Lookin at an XTC 29 myself and am 6ft 2,34 inside leg and am toying between a large and a XL.
Thanx,
Max

Maiden voyage tonight:

Yeah I know about the steerer (already cut it twice!), the ivy thing, the wonky doormat, lack of sweeping up etc etc. Look, I can do DIY or bikes not both OK? 😉

Enjoy your new bike!

My first proper ride out on mine this morning. Amazing what you find on your doorstep really! I managed to do about 20 miles from my door and only crossed 3 roads!

Crappy phone pics

Untitled by redmancunian69, on Flickr

Untitled by redmancunian69, on Flickr