Just about to push the button on a Surly Karate Monkey Ops frameset at Tredz £312! Currently got an On One Inbred 29er with rigid forks, like it alot. Is this a worthy upgrade? Any other similar frames out there? Did look at Salsa El Mar and Stooge but the Surly seems a good price at the moment!
Cheers.
That's a great price for a KM frameset but.....
I had one of the first incarnations of the Inbred 29er and then thought I'd 'upgrade'. Went through Kona Unit, Genesis Day One, Singular Swift, Genesis Fortitude, Karate Monkey as rigid and sus forked Scandal. All with their own character, but looking back I preferred the Inbred, once I'd swapped the forks from OO steel to Salsa Cromotos. Each to their own of course as any number of people would rate Swift, Fortitude or KM over the Inbred.
I'd try and get a ride on KM before pulling the trigger if you can.
I'd also be tempted to try the Inbred with a 27.5+ front wheel and tyre.
I went from a swift to an inbred and the inbred was just as good. I've also been eyeing up the Km as an option for the missus....
Thanks for the comments, I've ordered a medium - frame looks v similar dimensions to my inbred. I hear what you are saying re the inbred so I'm going to hold onto the frame just in case. Looking forward to experimenting with my carbon forks, possibly a set of 100mm rebas, a multitude of different wheel and tyre sizes, different bars, running it proper single speed etc. I'll report back!