Thinking of getting a 29er – any recommendations?

I had a go on my mate’s Gary Fisher Rig and really enjoyed it, so was thinking of getting 29er to try it out properly – something along the lines of a hardtail, 100mm travel up front, possibly singlespeed but with the option of running it with gears as well (probably 1×9).
What would folks recommend? I’m not looking to spend too much as it wouldn’t be my main bike, more like something to take out for 1-2 hour rides in the evening. As well as the Rig, I’ve also been looking at Kona unit, Genesis IO and a Scandal.
Any thoughts? Oh, and pictures of your 29ers for inspiration would be great too!
Cheers

Thought Genesis was a 26er? Of the others i can recommend the On-one geometry – either the steel frame or the scandal. The O-O seems to get more postive feedback than the Kona's too.

Ah yep, getting my research for new bikes mixed up! Singulars look nice as well, but a bit pricey.

This Haro Looks to be damn good value. If I hadn't just crashed my car into a roundabout it's high up on my wishlist.

Easily 1x9able, could be SS'd with a tensioner, good forks blah blah…

Here's a pic (with another ti friend!) – not best quality. I owned the steel one first which convinced me to get the ti version.

I am about to undergo the same journey as Clink. I have a new (<60 miles waxoiled helicopter taped) 18" On-One 29er.
I am so impressed that I am going to be getting the Ti version and swapping the bits over. So if you want an as new steel frame then let me know!

trustyrusty – that haro definitely looks good value.
Clink – thanks for the pic and rec of the on-one. More to ponder on. Any more recommendations from anyone?

Had a 29er On-One Scandal for about a year. Use it as my ride out the drive and see where I get bike and so it does a mixture of tarmac, bridleway, forestry singletrack and Dalby red route. Started with a rigid fork – salsa cro moto not the carbon On-one – but too much for my tired old bones to cope with when going down rutted bridleway at 35kph. Bought an RST M29 from On-one and it has been fit and forget, although probably just as well as RST seem to have distributors everywhere but here and I am damned if I know who I would go to for service etc. I guess when it breaks I raid the piggy bank and get a Reba.

I went for the geared Scandal 29er for a combination of reasons – the steel ones were out of stock and my impatience outweighed the cost differential, I am too old/unfit for Singlespeeding so was happy to go geared (although now they seem to concentrate on selling frames with Brant's do it all dropouts more suited to your wish list), and I am 6'4" and wanted a bike that would fit in between the hardcore hardtail and the winter roadbike.

As such it has been great, and if I had to stick with only one bike this would be it.

Try a 96er first.

All the +++ without riding a gate

I have a 29 Voodoo wich i bought off STW board member Clink and i love it .

I also own a Stumpjumper and every time i go riding i take the 29 Voodoo wich is fully rigid and steel frame sounds daft but its far more comftable and leaves me fresher than riding a 26" bike !!

I've got a singular and it's lovely! A bit more pricey than some others though. Check the geometry of the different models – Singulars have longer headtubes which I need as I have ultra long legs (6'4" with 37.5" inseam) and so need the bars pretty high without a massive spacer stack

I really like the look of the KHS 29er series. No idea how they ride though!
Link

i liked my Haro Mary SS, till it got shunted by a 4×4, think you can get a mech hanger for them, and they got a EBB, so singlespeed, gears or Alfine 😀

I have a Specialized Rockhopper 29er which i've found to be excellent so far. It was the best value for money 'entry level' 29er i could find at the time as i wanted a relatively inexpensive way to try out the whole 29er thing.

I've upgraded a few bits now (will do the forks at some stage) and it runs beautifully. Also sold my 26" full suss and replaced it with a lovely shiny Salsa 29er full susser.

Will be running the Spesh mostly through the winter though and still really enjoy riding it.

Edit:- The Spesh also has fancy dual purpose rear sliding dropouts so you can run it singlespeed without the need for an EBB.

Have a geared haro mary and love it. Quite heavy though, so I'm thinking about trading up to a posher frame.

Slight hijack but on-one Ti29er owners -any of you using the slidey dropouts with gears? if so is taking the wheel out a complete pain in the ar$e, like my roadrat?

Singulars do look good don't they? Was it not for a rather expensive few months I might have been tempted myself.

I looked at the Haro before buying the rig but it does seems quite heavy considering it's rigid.

The best one I've ridden so far is little bro's (Scandal 29er) which was great round Swinley. Very light and fast.

The KHS looks nice but I reckon second hand is the way to go maybe a 29er unit, inbred or rig? I paid £320 for the rig if it helps.

Thanks for all the replies and advice so far – looks like a bit my lunchtime research might be in order. Second hand is probably going to be my prefered option at this point – probably can't justify buying a new one.
Dave – Phil's scandal looks great, did he get that new? Oh, and anytime you want to swap bikes again, let me know!

I got a Gary Fisher Mamba earlier this year. XL (21") frame fits me great (6'3"). paid £575 with £50 accesories thrown in (Nevis Cycles, Fort William – they were the only 'local' shop to get a bike in to test ride with no strings). Looked around at loads of options (Singular, On-one Inbred, Niner) and, after CTW was cancelled here, this fit the budget. The frame (alu) is the same as used on the more expensive bikes, so plenty of chance to upgrade. The only thing changed so far, are the bars for wider / higher (hate the narrow 600mm ones)and cleats. Used it all over for a mix of technical and XC stuff. Absolutely love it. Hope it helps.

So if you want an as new steel frame then let me know!

Where did the ad diappear to then CHB??

clink, dunno!
Can only assume that I broke some ad rule detail. (I think I might have missed off FS at the start?!)
Just back home and having me tea, so will draft a fresh advert up after devouring mrs HB's wonderful lasagne!