Just seen north winds post for his new fully rigid cotic soda, it weighs sub 20lb and have to say its piqued my interest.
So who rides a rigid ht what are your thoughts, what does it weigh? And how far does the lack of a suspension fork limit the way you ride, if at all.
Post your pics as well Let’s see them

This was to be my “race” and “ride a very, very long way” bike. It actually excels at much, much more than that. The rigid forks take some getting used to, and line choice becomes pretty important if you want to maintain speed and not crash. On slow, technical stuff I possibly prefer it to suspension. On fast, rough descents it gets a bit wearing after a while. Braking bumps aren’t much fun.

I’m not sure if I would want a fully rigid bike as my only MTB, but it is definitely the bike I ride the most.

Edit – 19lbs in current build (with dropper!)

lovely bike, great picture.

what is it ?

I ride a fully rigid winter bike. It’s slow and uncomfortable but I don’t have to worry about worn stanchions etc.

Thanks paulo6624. It is a Kinesis FF29. Kinesis

I love my fully rigid all year round do it all bike. Just adjust the tyre pressure to suit. 😯

ah thought kinesis but didnt want to embarass myself lol

I’ve recently bought this:

Not at the top end of the market admittedly, but a reminder that full rigid is brutal. On smooth trails its fun, introduce any kind of lumps and its violent.

Would a carbon bar or fork soften things noticeably?

chainslap thats a monster truck of a bike, id imagine the tyres negate the need for a fork, but without sounding like a donut how hard is it to get it and keep it moving ?

mean looking bike tomo

chainslap thats a monster truck of a bike, id imagine the tyres negate the need for a fork, but without sounding like a donut how hard is it to get it and keep it moving ?

You would be surprised how easy it is really and how much fun it is to ride. Ive had all sorts of bikes over the years and this is the one that makes me smile the most. 🙂

Me.
I like it.
18.4lbs.
Not at all.

I’ve been using mine lots more recently..


Need some bigger tyres though..

My Karate Monkey. I’ve had it since October and have ridden it far more than my 140mm f.s since I got it. Big (ish) tyres help to soak up a lot of the trail buzz. I’m noticeably quicker on it on my local (non gnar) trails than my other bike.

Untitled by redmancunian69, on Flickr

mtbmoto, that’s a murderer’s bike there.

I love rigid bikes, maybe it’s because it’s where I started, not sure. I try to always have one on the go or at least a rigid fork that I can shove into a hardtail. The ride’s so different that it gives lots of trails a totally different side- turns the pentlands techier, turns innerleithen downhill trails into an exercise in terror But also there’s just something really nice and connected about it all- everything that happens on the bike is something you do, rather than something the bike does for you. Great in snow and ice too.

(also, guilty pleasure- passing people on big bouncers or riding things they won’t. I know this is poor, but I take my fun where I can find it!)

I’ve posted my Soda in 2 different threads today, not going to make that a third! Here’s its predecessor…

IMG_0366 by Northwindlowlander, on Flickr

I have this

P1050024 by eastham_david, on Flickr

use it for local stuff

P1050038 by eastham_david, on Flickr

I really like riding it, but I’m not sure I could make it my only bike

Fully rigid, SS, fixie, 69er, Custom Ti frame – I wanted a niche of my own.

It was built as a vanity bike which I thought I would use occasionally but it has become my bike of choice for a lot of stuff. The carbon fork and 29″ front wheel mean that for most stuff I ride (new Forest, Lordswood, Swinley, Purbecks) it is fine.

Don’t know the wieght but it floats away if I am not sat on it.

Limitations?

Cant jump for chit (me or the bike)
Wouldn’t fancy a very (70%+) descent over boulders.

The other limitations relate more to SS and gear ratios over big variations in terrain and steepness so don’t apply to the rigid fork question.

Slight side point but having rigid forks and riding fixie on flat pedals means that if you lose the pedals you can rest your feet on the stantions without twiddling all the adjustable gubbins they have on bouncy forks.

Full rigid Ti Global here with eXotic carbon fork. It rides much smoother than the steel mountain bikes I had back in the nineties so I’m happy.

My rigid bike that I built in 2005/6
This is when I had just finished it but have no photos since.
Ride it in the winter but also have a sort of singlespeed as well. Ride it in the summer for two hour thrashes and used it in a couple of XC races. Feels like cheating when you are climbing and love having it. Stay of the front brake when descending and hop over as much as you can.
Would hate to be without it and it is my longest owned bike but would not have it as an only bike.

P1240035 by eddie.jenkinson, on Flickr

I had a suspension fork for a few rides a couple of years ago, but then the bike got nicked. Otherwise, all my riding has always been on a rigid fork.

I had to stop mid-descent a few times in the Kielder 100 to allow my hands to stop cramping into claws, but otherwise haven’t had any issues.

Agree with edoverheels – My favourite bike but not the one I would choose as my only bike.

I also run a soda with carbon fork – this is the only picture I have of it in it’s current guise. It’s under there somewhere :-/

39101297-DHP_1885 – Version 3

I did until it was nicked. Had pace carbon forks, smoothed things out just enough. Quite nice descending too, the lack of fork dive can be helpful. I miss that bike.

I’m very tempted to sell of my ‘fun’ long travel hardtail and build myself something much much lighter, but I’m not sure I can bring myself to go fully rigid.

Having said that I managed it back in the day when the best suspension out there was a flex stem, so I’m sure its not that bad.

Enjoying this so far – fast and comfy 😉

I really like riding it, line choice is key. On my local trails I wouldn’t have said I ride that much different, but it did make the front end hella lighter which feels nice.

Oldish school Kona goodness cheap great for winter

You’ll notice the 2″ rise 710mm bars and 50mm stem. I reckon a more comfortable upright position suits rigid forks if you plan to do more miles, rather than a flat back racing snake position simply for general comfort. .. IMO of course…

My most used bike ATM and the cheapest…

Salsa Selma

Under 20lbs, even with a dropper on, I’m pretty sure. No gears though.

And how far does the lack of a suspension fork limit the way you ride, if at all.

Not at all for where I ride (Surrey Hills mincecore). I guess I wouldn’t take it to somewhere steep and rocky though.

Rigid is great for out of the seat climding btw.

Its a fun alternative.
I have done most of my mtbin on it this last year or so. But took my HT out last week … suspension is good too.

This is mine at Wentwood enduro

I have two – a Selma like the one above and an El Mariachi with gears. Great for the winter when it’s really muddy and you don’t need suspension anyway as the mud provides the cushioning.

Oh and it’s great for building skills – lots of little bunny hops etc to ride smoothly. Makes me quicker when I ride the normal bikes.

I have an El Mariachi Fully rigid as my only bike.

Ride it anywhere I’d ride any other bike.

The only limitation is I’m slightly slower on the rocky descents. But I don’t race so not really too fussed.

Weight is around 24lbs at a guess,

i have one pic up there ^, i commute on it sometimes, i race 24hr races on it. I night ride on it.

To be honest, witn a young family i only ride local (nw leics) so don’t need a full sus. I do have a fox fork, but, its not been on the bike for 3 years. It’s a cliche but it really does make me ride and smile.

Just built this to replace a cheapo alloy 29er. Not quite sure how it rides yet but the one it replaced rode great.

Not sure of the weight, not something that bothers me about this particular bike…

Rigid bikes rock.

The only thing that stops them doing anything is the rider.

Corner Floatage. by singlespeedstu, on Flickr

Even girls like to ride a rigid one.

Steps by singlespeedstu, on Flickr

I have a Wippet with X-lite forks and a smattering of light bits, singlespeed so must be around 20lbs. Great bike and it’s fun to ride something completely different. Struggles on rock, but flies on anything else and will make a man of you. Might as well if there’s room in the garage.

Built up an Io with 100mm forks a few yrs back, used it here and there. Took the sus off, put a Jones bar on. Loved it, rode it 75%+ of the time. Then stopped riding my other bikes apart from Alps trips. Then got a Jones bike to go with the bars … haven’t looked back. It’s my only MTB now – I do ride hardtails for work-related stuff but generally I’m on the Jones if I have a choice. It just suits me and the trails I ride. Been to the Alps and NY Moors / trail centres on it, no probs. Usual rigid vs sus caveats but it feels good going back to the kind of bike I started out on.
Weight, depends on kit, 25-28lbs. Light rigid bikes are fine but I’d rather have a heavier, stiff and technically capable bike than a light and flexy bike. Anything around 27-28lbs is fine with me whatever the type.

SS mode –

Rigid SS for 80% of my riding, and I’ve had a few 😕
Jabberwocky

Sovereign half fat

Sovereign custom 29er

Sovereign 69er

Kona Unit

Jabberwocky half fat

And the Wanga that started it all

Whenever people say “What can you do on a rigid bike”, I like to post this pic…

Jesse Wigman, on his way to take 40th in the 2012 endurance downhill at fort william- 13 runs in 6 hours. (I took 16 inches of skill compensation and beat him by an entire place)