I’ve got the itch for a rigid singlespeed bike for general larking around and a bit of simplicity.
Haven’t got the luxury of a garage full of spare parts to build one, so have begun the google trawl for ideas.

Ignoring 2nd hand options for now (as sometimes you just have to get lucky) – anyone able to suggest some not too spendy alternatives to the obvious choice of an On One Inbred 29er?

£200 for an On One Frame is appealing, so would be interested what other options there are for, say, £200-400?

Would be building from scratch, so no limitations on seatpost size, headset size or axle spacing to consider (apart from the weird QR141 boost – what’s all that about!?)

Google so far has turned up:

On One Inbred 29er – £200. I guess the go-to option here!
Alpkit Frontier – similar price but odd QR141 hub spacing puts me off…
Cotic SolarisMax – looks great! £599 for the frame is a bit spendy.
Stanton Slackline – perfect, but just too expensive at £699 sadly.
Surly – there’s a few options kicking around if you’re lucky enough to get a deal on a frameset. I’m 6’3 though so not many XLs around.
Plus plenty of others that ascend into lots of £££.

Are there any other obvious options that I’ve missed?

Feel free to turn this into the standard recommend what you’ve got thread 😀 Pics a bonus!

Brother cycles Big Bro?

Stooge Mk3.
Yes, a little spendy but it also includes a fork.
They also hold their value.

The Mk3 looks more refined than the other version and the colours are superb.

I would say new stooge, or have a look for second hand singular swift as they are bloody lovely and some of the nicest riding steel SS out there. have a look on one cog facebook group and stick a wanted on there as there are bloody hundreds of singlespeeders all in one place that can help you out.

Singular Swift 600 Euro for frame and fork.

Used Ritchey Mk1 P29er – I sold mine for stupidly low price and regretted it since.

Surly or Stooge.

The rest of that bunch (inbred aside) will need some sort of tensioner.

Do Cannondale still make the trail SL 29 SS?

Nothing wrong with an inbred at all. I reckon ss is the best guise for a 29er inbred anyway. A mk2 scandal is slightly better, but you would have to get lucky in the classifieds for one of those.

Hmm… If you want a new one, i would say Kona Unit with B+ wheels is nice low-budget option.

+1 for Singular Swift (with B+ wheels as well) or even better – Rooster.

Stooge is nice, but not for 6’3, although I haven’t ridden the mk3 20″, so worth checking.

KONA UNIT!

Absolutely smitten with mine.

Swift uses an EBB BillOddie.

Another classic recommendaton should be Salsa El Mariachi.

Feel free to turn this into the standard recommend what you’ve got thread Pics a bonus!

Right you are skipper 😉

I’m a bit taller than you and I’ve just built up* a Genesis Longitude…

* which explains the spacer stack abomination… still playing about with bar setups

I went through a similar search recently, for a 29er rigid bike for commuting and child seat duties.

Ended up with an S/H Inbred 29er. See plenty of full builds going for £400-£500

If you got the money a Niner Sir 9 with a rigid fork. It’s what I’ve got and it’s a lovely bike [*]

Tail end of last year for me, got a SH santa cruz highball off here. Singlespeed dropouts are very neat. Think the current one is 27.2mm seatpost though, if that bothers you. New it may also be a little expensive.

If you’ve got to buy the parts anyway, why not look at a full build? Yes, it’ll probably have gears but then you can keep them for when you change your mind/put them on another bike/sell them.

Other things I looked at:
– Pinnacle Ramin 3+ (this would probably have been my choice if buying new)
– Niner something
– Trek hardtail that I forget the name of
– Trek Stache (seriously, it may be 29+ but try one- if I hadn’t been buying a house I’d have one now. I don’t think you’re that far from Redhill, C&N cycles had a demo one in there until fairly recently).

Santa Cruz Chameleon is worth a look.

Probably not the cheapest option, but a Stanton Sherpa with their single-speed drop outs would be pretty lush.

Would need to find a 100mm rigid fork, but would be lovely to ride. And you could switch back to geared by changing the drop outs.

that Niner looks the danglies. Almost as nice as my Unit

I’ve got an On-One Scandal v2 which is chuffing brilliant.

EDIT – would have to be second hand

I’ve had a Singular Swift and a Salsa El-Mariachi. Both very similar, the Salsa is a fair bit stiffer, particularly the fork, the Swift feels more like a classic steel hardtail of yesteryear.

Neither’s <£400 though, most SS frames seems to be priced high, I guess because of the low numbers.

I’d not rule out 2nd hand, just buy the first correctly sized SS 29er that comes along. Then keep an eye out for another one and chop/change as you feel like it.

To go with my recommendation way up there ^

http://singletrackworld.com/reviews/review-brother-cycles-big-bro/

A mk2 scandal is slightly better, but you would have to get lucky in the classifieds for one of those.

Agreed…I love my mk2 scandal..proper good bike..
However…I’ve now replaced it with a travers Angus SS….

Now..I have 2 medium scandal frames hanging in my garage (plus o-o carbon forks)…
Why am I saying this…well… I’m undecided if I’ll sell the frame/forks on yet… For how great they are, and for the ££ i’d get for them, I’m not sure I can bring myself to sell it….

However, as I said I’ve two frames…the other frame had a crack in the seat stay/seat tube interface..this was welded up, and ridden for about 6 months after…

I’ve no need for two scandal frames, so if you fancy the welded one, let me know..
On the south coast and gong to big dog at the weekend if you want to look..

DrP

Pinnacle Ramin 3+

That’s what I bought before the Longitude. You do not want to buy one of these.

I did at least get to find out that the guys in my local Evans are very helpful.

That’s what I bought before the Longitude. You do not want to buy one of these.

Interesting, why not?

I think there’s an XL Santa cruz frame in the classifieds, might work for you? SS dropouts

My rigid SS 29er is a Salsa El Mariachi with Fargo forks, love it

DrP

I’ve no need for two scandal frames, so if you fancy the welded one, let me know..

Might have to weld both together to create something big enough! Thanks for the interest thought 🙂

Cheers all – some great suggestions here and plenty that I had missed off the shortlist!

Really enjoying my Unit. It’s the older 29″ variety, the new 650b+ one looks good though.

I’ve squeezed a 29+ in the front which makes it easy more enjoyable.

Looks like Charge are bringing out the cooker in rigid 29er ss in the 2018 range. Skinny tange steel, should be nice.

I’ve also had a unit before which I liked, cotic simple also a good ride though they aren’t making them anymore. SC chameleon also worth a look, very fun bikes and their singlespeed dropout is the best solution I’ve tried.

Feel free to turn this into the standard recommend what you’ve got thread Pics a bonus!

If you insist….

Full bike for under £250.00 http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-bikes-dee-city-bike-2017/rp-prod147644

I’ve got one and it’s a hoot. Upgrade bits (brakes, drivetrain) as you go.

Singlular Swift or Rooster should definitely be on the list. You can run 29+ at the front too on the Swift or front and rear on the Rooster I think.

I absolutely love my Genesis Longtitude, I’m running it geared at the moment but may switch to SS or hub gear in the winter. It’s fantastic.

I’ve been riding a Brother cycles big bro and found it a great bike, sliding dropouts do singlespeed or gears and is has all the mounts for all of the things.

I’ve been riding mine with drops a lot recently so planning to size down so I don’t have to run a tiny stem so will be selling a large green one shortly if you’re interested.

Pinnacle Ramin 3. I run mine with 29er wheels. EBB so flexible if you decide to get gears. Or 650bb wheels.

Personally I’d be torn between a Surly Ogre and a Brother Cycles Big Bro

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/on-one-29th-singlespeed-500

check this out

I’m trying to get exactly the same at the moment! (admittedly for 650B+) – the best thing I’ve found is the Ragley piglet – perfect! Otherwise the singular. 🙂

We are here for a good time,not a long time. Sod the money, do it properley and get a Jones. Any one of them will have you grinning from ear to ear.

In the STW tradition of recommending what I’ve got – another vote for Kona Unit 29er