@legometeorology It’s not a deal breaker but options are always a good thing, right?!

I had one of those longitudes in a larger size. Its a 27.5+ frame but I think 29 would be easy. Fork had loads of clearance. I ran a 2.8″ 27.5+ in the back on mine at the shortest setting. I think the fork is 100mm travel adjusted so sus can be run. I liked the one I had.

@donslow

It’s not a deal breaker but options are always a good thing, right?!

For someone so easily paralyzed by choices as myself, not always 🙂

To add, I found the Genesis IO again, and it’s dirt cheap:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/674133330481570/

Chaindevices can be very hit or miss. Mine required a lot of hacksawing to take out about 3/4 of the metal to allow it far enough up to clear the chainstay, and that’s in push DOWN mode, up there was no chance of it working without a half link to get the tension closer to perfect without it rubbing on the chainstay.

On the upside mine had a slot where the wheel mounted. Swapped the guide for a jockey wheel and can now adjust the tension without having to move the whole guide.

It’s also a lot noisier than a spung tensioner.

On balance, sprung tensioners just work flawlessly, it’s not worth the faff trying to be different for the sake of no benefit. There’s a reason why they’re the prefered option for 99% of conversions. If you’ve got a blackspire style chaindevice then by all means try it but I wouldn’t go out and buy one just to try.

That’s a steel at £40(pun intended) that will go quick they are great handling/comfy frames. Not using mine but I’ll never sell just incase 🙂

@legometeorology thankyou for finding that frame again, agreed, out and out bargain but I’m hesitant as there’s a niggle that inside that wonders if I’ll only end up swapping it later due to the, as I understand, max 2.2 tyre clearance on 27.5 wheels, again, probably me being unnecessarily picky

@thisisnotaspoon thanks for sharing your thoughts on chain devices / tensioners, makes a lot of sense and quite helpful

I don’t have one yet, was more of a “I found so could use this” idea

Still watching that longitude on the ‘bay hoping someone buys my ss road bike before it goes

@donslow

Totally understand, that’s why I’ve moved away from trying to repurpose a 26er frame, as I’m sure I’ll just end up wanting to run a larger 650b tyre or a decent size 700c gravel tyre

What I really want is a nice 650b frame with sliding dropouts, like the old Pipedream Sirius or Kona Explosive

@legometeorology snap! Since starting this thread I’ve done a fair bit of searching / reading with a bit more knowledge of what I’m after

Think you’ve nailed it really
Nice frame
Disc brakes
Sliding dropouts
Enough room for a decent pair of 27.5 tyres

Job jobbed

Someone I know(Moi) has a med genisis IO frame with a very nice dt swiss fork taking up space😉😉🤦🏼‍♂️

Someone been reading my mind. I have regreted selling my IO a couple of years and want to replace it. Maybe somethng a bit more modern for 6650b wheels though but importantly not something to slow handling. I am a bit of adinosuar regarding MTBs but find that modern full suss things handle like Peter Fondas Harley. I want something nippy and sharp not a barge. Thoughts anyone.

@sparkyrhino nicely stealthed ha ha I’d have been tempted but alas…
A) medium will be too big for me
B) I think I’d want bigger than 2.2 27.5 tyres, I’m also assuming the fork is for 26er also?!

@mattsccm unfortunately I’m not the one to be able to offer any valuable advice but hopefully someone with better knowledge than I will be along shortly…

Stealth add, me, never. Fork is 26 but takes 27.5👍🏼😉

How about trying half link chain?

My 2p

I had a Pipedream I bought to build a SS around and it was great. A geared Ti456 was my “big” bike.

Years later I have a FS as my “big” bike and the Ti456 is SS with a tensioner. I’ve also run other frames as SS with a tensioner and would say they’re overall, maybe easier than a “better” frame, with sliding dropouts, EBB or anything else. Sure it might be a little tricky getting the wheel out, but how often does one get a puncture these days? A sprung tensioner will keep tension even when the chain wears, where my commuter gets loose and wobbly until it drops and I think “oh yeah I should adjust that”

TLDR; get the frame you want and put a tensioner on.

I found my blackspire style device much quieter than a sprung version. A bit more fiddly to set up but once it’s on its easy to adjust. I can’t hear it at all while riding. My old sprung hanger tensioner drove me mad with the noise.

Farr ATB CROMO 29er Frame Kit – IN STOCK!!

Great VFM at £250. Looks a tad steep but can’t be sure w/o the fork length on the diagram. 69.5 deg if sagged on a 29er’s ok, a quick-handling XC SS is no bad thing.

damn that’s stupidly cheap

Have since been doing a fair bit of searching about and am currently keeping an eye on

2016 (?!) Genesis longitude with forks

Or

Kona unit 29er without forks

Genesis would work out around £40-£50 more after shipping

This build is going to be a slow one with bits to build it up bought on a monthly basis

Opinions please all?! What would the STW hive go for out of the two?!

Whilst I await a reply from the kona seller

Does anyone know if a 2006 unit frame will take suspension forks up front?

https://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/3288628/

Google images suggest the 2006 Unit was designed around a short travel sus fork. Tbh though, that’s not a great deal for such an old frame, in my opinion anyway

I doubt they’ll be much difference between the 2016 Longitude or a Unit of roughly the same era (or older), although the latest Unit’s are a much more low-long-slack modern geometry (although I’m not convinced that’s all a good idea for a rigid build)

This is an obvious suggestion, but is the horizontal-dropout On One Inbred on your list? Those come up reasonably often and quite cheap

The old Genesis Latitude Alfine frame was damn nice too, but rare now

In need of inspiration: show me your Genesis High Latitude

Does anyone know if a 2006 unit frame will take suspension forks up front?

They sure do, I had one many years ago, my first 29er I think, that I ran with a 100mm Rockshox Tora. One of the few frames that I regret selling, really nice bikes.

Thanks for the replies all

I have been looking out for an inbred (and many others) too but not coming up for sale in a small very often

Both the genesis and kona seem to be reasonably highly regarded frames, still undecided which to plump for, on a flip side, the genesis comes with forks already which would make the build a little quicker for now but the kona is 29er specific which would allow for wider tyres than if I put 29ers on the genesis (I’m guessing here)

I guess a lot of my current deliberation comes down to the fact the genesis auction ends tonight and am a little reluctant to let a potentially good deal slip by

As much as I regret selling my Kona Unit, I’m not sure £220 for a frame that’s getting close to 20 years old constitutes a good deal, seems a bit steep to me.

Tis a fair point @bazz

I’ll be honest, I’m not often sure what is a good or not so good deal for bike frames, I always kind of figure, if I’d be happy paying that amount, it’s not a terrible deal, I think the genesis is still a forerunner for now u less I find something betterer before tonight’s auction ends

If anyone has any suggestions or has their google-fu skills honed in today, any finds or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

@donslow

It was bad timing, but a day before I saw this thread, there was a small 2011 Unit frame + fork on ebay for £125 buy-it-now. So I think that 2006 one is way overpriced, but the Genesis is currently a bargin. Also, I would have thought 29er clearance would still be good on the Genesis with the wheel set back in the dropouts

This is almost certainly gone, but that would have been well worth it
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3337833/

@legometeorology that sir is a good find! Thankyou

Have sent the seller a message because…well, you never know

Apologies for continually bringing this up…

Still watching the longitude on eBay which I really like but have just found this which has piqued my interest a fair bit

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195371793093?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=n_zsTxBcQva&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=Is4lULm9TOW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

-Designed for 26er but enough room (apparently) for 27.5 x 2.8
-100mm suspension fork compatible,
-Disc brakes

Price SEEMS reasonable

I like the look of it a lot, This could well be my new single speed project / build

I’m struggling to find a bad point, have I missed something?!

Anyone have any experience / comments / suggestions?!

Surly frames, I think, are renowned for being a bit heavy. But they’re well made, last a long time and for the price that looks like a great little frame and fork, you could do a lot worse than that.

@tuboflard largely what I suspected so that was all the confirmation I needed, many thanks

It’s got to be the one I think, pretty much the first frame I’ve seen since looking that had got me genuinely excited

What’s the current tensioner of choice?

Currently considering the surly tugnut or something similar

This is going to be a (largely) slow build with getting a couple of bits a month until it’s rideable so if it takes a while to work out the tensioner situation it’s no real delay to overall progress

If you go for the Surly, post some pictures up of the build when you’re done!

Bought the surly!

Will be a couple of months or so (probably not this side of Christmas) but definitely expect pictures, a barrage of “wanted” ads and even more “help! How’s does this work / fit together / is this part right?” Posts ha ha

Thanks all for the replies and help…so far…