Do it all 29er hardtail…. if you had to…

The ‘trailsy’ HTs such as Solaris, FF29, (Fireline) come out as a bit of a compromise in my mind

Why?

my take:

Yeah, I reckon a do it all is most likely something that you’d pick for some uppy downy have a go trail riding, but not something suitable for racing at any discipline (except maybe at a push gravity enduro) as all so massively compromised.

Not sure I’d pick a single speed as my do it all either.

A do it all bike is going to be compromised, that’s inevitable as its got to be competent at everything. A jack of all trades.

I am steadily picking up parts for a 29er SS build for the winter, to mince around my local 1.5 – 2hr loop and not have to clean it very often.

Not got a frame lined up yet, hoping to get a go on a Stanton Sherpa when the samples come in later this year.

Otherwise it might just be a Scandal, or….oh I dunno.

Those Yelli’s look wrong with the bendy top tube, like it’s been run into a tree. However, it interests me from mattg’s pic above how far back they get the seat with the sloping seat tube. Looks almost right over the rear axle, compared to some other bikes. I wonder how that compares to other bikes.

Birchy.

Did you not try the Yelli last time?

If your up this way visiting family you can borrow it or the QH for a couple of days.

I have to have a 29er?

Then I’m right behind BWD in the queue for Yoga classes

My Taro’s numbers: 419 CS, 68°, 120 fork, 310 BB, 12kg.

I liked the look of those Taro’s but wasn’t impressed by the spec’s & they didn’t do a frame only option (looks like you’ve replaced nearly everything MNTB). 1st one I’ve seen & it looks good.

As per the rules of this thread… my bike, a Whyte 929 (fresh out of the box back in Jan):
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P1010895[/url] by z1ppy2[/url], on Flickr

Out in the wilds of late:
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P1010958[/url] by z1ppy2[/url], on Flickr

Got to be a Trek Rumblefish or Stache, depending on your preference for full sus or hardtail.

Without any doubt it’s got to be a Maxlight Sync Ti.

Treat yourself to a handbuilt Curtis:
[/url] Untitled[/url] by Stiggy2011[/url], on Flickr]null

Love the Curtis 8)

Shand?

This looks a bit XC but its custom so have it your own way

@stiggy liking the look of that, wonder if they’d do a Yelli-a-like. Hmmmm. What are the figures on yours?

Static with 120mm forks: 68.3 head angle, 73 seat angle, 435mm stays, it’s great fun to ride and now my only bike! It’s going to be a model called the AM9.

I went with a Scandal V2 and spent the money i saved on some nicer bits.

Only been on a few rides but am really pleased.

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Untitled[/url] by sandwicheater[/url], on Flickr

Stiggy ta, I wonder if they could get a few mm out of those chainstays and slacken it a tad more .. does it feel steel? The geo of the Yelli is great but I wouldn’t mind a little bit of steel zing.

If I’m not careful I’m going to find myself with a new project here …

Definitely feels steel, 853 front end with a Columbus 29er specific rear, cherry picked tubes or what? Head angle would not be not be a problem, shorter stays might be. They are however coming out with a 27.5 frame with 425 stays and a 68mm head angle. Talk to Gary, he’s a top bloke.

Thx, I mailed but you pretty much said it all there.

I knew I should have waited for that Kinesis…

Matt ..Gary will do whatever you like …but it’ll cost ….and make the Yelli look cheap

^^ will it make a 2nd hand Nimble 9 look good value too?

The Yelli isn’t handmade by a master craftsman though 🙂

Stiggy- mind me asking how much it set you back?

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Kinesis FF29[/url] by South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr

The FF29 is a pretty awesome all rounder 🙂

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Kinesis Ti 29er prototype[/url] by South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr

I rode the prototype of the Sync at the Bonty last year, that was pretty damn good too

The AM9 will be £900

Kinesis FF29 and that Curtis…. oh my. I think I did a sex wee.

Those Ardents look humongous! They’ve gotta be 2.4s, which I guess us a 2.8 with any caliper.

Damn saving for a wedding, I want a 29er hardtail for poncing about the woods on. Maybe I’ll stick a cardboard cutout of the Curtis to my 5Spot and pretend.

Haha! Good work!

That curtis is stunning! Everything looks perfect.
Some day I’ll get one (in 650b).

Edit- bars look rather narrow in your pics? I know, personal preference.

My do-it-all would have to be biased towards dicking about so Buzzard (have), Canfield, Honzo/Taro, Cromag Surface, etc would be on the list.

I like that Taro up there as a sensibly priced option, although, as said above, it looks like you’ve re-specced it pretty thoroughly. Why don’t they do it frame-only or with a decent spec?

One day someone will make a bike with this geo in cheap carbon and that will go to the top of my list. Calling Brant (again)…

I think you get what you pay for ….Curtis frames are lovely

Ardent front is only a 2.25

Bars are 711mm, 730mm Thomsons on order 🙂

The Curtis is lovely but I’ve become obsessed with chainstay length and it falls outside my arbitrary threshold. 8)

Lucky really, as there’s no way on earth I’ll ever pay £900 for a steel hardtail frame that’s going to get beaten, abused and covered in mud.

It’ll still ride the same….

The Curtis, only a tad more than CTBM’s price for a Yelli, and less I’m sure than a Nimble 9 or steel Niner.

OK it’s > double a Buzzard but on my brief try on a Buzzard I didn’t feel any steel zing.

I share Cheez’s obsession with chainstays, I think I’d sacrifice a front mech if that swings it.

The Curtis would be a lot more if you had it speck’ed to what you want …I.e Yelli geometry….prob more like £1200…that’s what I was told after a conversation with Gary….when I wanted a steel Yelli

Singletrack – interesting. How far did you go with the conversation and was it a direct replica of the yelli? Fancy making a few adjustments personally, slightly steeper seat angle and maybe a lower bb with a 140mm fork and would rather stump up a bit more, ok 30%, to get exactly what I want. Plus Stiggy’s looks tight for clearance on the rear stay and I’m guessing the rear tyre is an ikon? I’d like to get 2.4 rubber like a dampf in there for alps trips.

chromag surface is a beauty, dekerf only makes a few a year, not cheap. Also on my dream list is this cielo.

Yep, surface comes out at the same as the Curtis custom by the time you’ve paid taxes etc ie 1200. Beautiful frame though which is a thought that never comes to mind when I get my yelli out the shed despite how much I like the way it rides.

Gotama…just give Gary a ring send have a that he’ll tell you all you need to know