Niche x Niche x Niche = ……………? A Bit Mainstream (for STW) probably!

29er wheels? Check

Wide Heavily Swept Flat Bars? Check

Internally Geared Hub? Check

Just finished setting it up etc. Only ridden it up and down the street, but everything works ok, or at least it seems to… Got a few finishing touches to make such as replacing the 18T cog with a 20T, and some new grips coming, and I probably will need to get another seatpost at some point cos currently the Thomson is being borrowed from my other hardtail, but I'm fairly happy with it… Complete SS bike bought off someone from this forum a few weeks ago, decided I liked the 29er thing, so added some gears! And though I was expecting to hate the 28" wide, heavily swept, flat bars it had fitted when I bought it, they're definitely staying! I really like them, they feel very natural in use!

Now can't wait to get it offroad…

needs niner forks…

😉

doesn't really…

whats the bar?

LOL, I've seen the price of those Niner forks… Not far off probably what the Rig cost me in total, even after I'd bought the Alfine! I keep thinking about buying a rigid, but reckon I'd regret it, not ridden a rigid forked MTB offroad since 1995! In fact I've not owned a suspension fork with less than 125mm of travel in almost 7 years!!! Haha

Dunno what the bar is Jimmy, I'd like to know myself! It's totally unbranded, not a mark on it to give it away… It's reasonably light though, and not exactly a thick walled OEM Special if you get me…

Second hand niche? Check.

It's all a bit old hat. 😉

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PMSL Stu

Old hat maybe, totally unintentional though… Check!

Been wanting an Alfine on a bike for ages… Getting a Singlespeed full bike was the cheapest way to go about it. The fact it's a 29er and had flat bars already on it… Purely coincidental! 😉

With that seat tube and seat post it looks like that bike is being reflected in a funfair mirror.

I'll pass on your thoughts to the owner of the bike. I'm sure she'll sell it and buy somthing that a total stranger finds more to their taste.

I'm with Stu not really niche is it !

The fact it hasn't taken a complete slating because you havent thought outside the 'BOX' would confirm that this bike is not niche and is in no way 3X niche

i think the pavement it rides upon is more niche 😉

However if you like it you like it so good on you

KoS

PS If that bike can change from a GF to a Surly at will then it is truly niche (Bows down to bike )

I'm with Stu not really niche is it !

I was being ironic with the thread title, I was trying to bait a particular Niche King (who shall remain nameless! 😉 )… Christ, it's not niche at all these days, I know that! I don't care for niche personally, I just ride bikes I like…

The fact it hasn't taken a complete slating because you havent thought outside the 'BOX' would confirm that this bike is not niche and is in no way 3X niche

Again, read above comment! Just being ironic… All this bike was for me is a cheap way to get on an Alfine hub geared bike… 29er wheels and wide flat bars were purely coincidental (I bought a very cheap whole GF Rig bike!)… Sorry, didn't mean to offend any of the Knights 😉

I gather that 🙂

Cheered up a rainy monday tho

Oi KoS leave him alone you great brute of a bully. 😀

LOL fair enough

Can I just say "Nice lookin' bike" or is that passé. 😕

Enjoy

Looks good 😀

15 posts and no comments on the moss – you lot are getting slack!

nice bike btw

LOL @ the moss comment… Technically that's not our land, our land ends at the brick wall… That makes the moss the councils issue!

That and I rent, I don't own… 😉

Ah it looks like a sub prime kind of build 😯

you forgot the niche frame material as well 😉 any excuse…

am i right in thinking that 29 wheels are no longer niche,,, ,, they seem to be getting almost mainstream,,
just when mine is on it's way

Ade, if you were to go by stw forum members' bikes, it would seem that all niches are the new mainstream, and mainstream is the new niche! 😉

very very nice

Minging? Check.

Maverick,

Advise you to be very careful with the seatpost that long on the GF Rig. I had 2 x Rig frames snap across the weld between the top of the seat tube at the juntion with the top tube – on the front side. If you're riding along and hear creaking which you think might be the EBB, jump off and inspect the weld as described. Probably a combination of the long seatpost leverage and my weight (85kg, so not ridiculous)

To GF's credit they warranty replaced on both occasions with no hastle, but I just didn't trust it by the time I got to the 3rd new frame.

I'm now riding a Singular Swift with no similar issues whatsever (steel is real after all).

Enjoy with care.

I'd recommend one of these, for us taller gentlemen…

OK cheers skyhigh_71, it's a 410mm Thomson post though so it should be fine, there's a fair bit of seatpost left in the frame… Running the saddle lower isn't an option anyhow, I've got long legs for my height so I need the saddle up quite a way compared to most, and I get very bad knees if the saddle height isn't optimal! It's also why I religiously run 410mm Thomson posts as they're the only post I really trust… Nice one on the Swift though, if I get on with this 29er thing, and get a new job any time soon, might look into a Swift possibly in the future as I too much prefer steel hardtails to ally.

Metasequoia, that MCR certainly is nice. Though not tall myself (5ft 11) I am starting to understand the whole 29" wheel thing (well, they're not really 29", 28.5" really even with a 2.2" tyre on, but who's counting!)… They're inherently more stable and seem to hold lines better, even though they're less wieldy in the tighter stuff… Was looking on MTBR forum the other day and spotted a couple of the SIR 9's by Niner, same as your MCR so I understand but with an EBB… VERY nice!

I find the stability, holding lines, wide bars shorter stem easily outweigh any perception that it's less agile in slow technical section. My abililty is still the limiting factor!!!!

love the colour..

'Root beer' looks good on a sunny day!