Sod that. I’ll be going with something 2.4ish and a sensible price till Knard conditions return.

26in wheels? Come on! 🙄

would a bike designed with 650+ rear and 29+ front be really weird given the front end will be so much higher than the rear?

Surely that depends on the frame geometry?

I love the sound of the bars. Please can they be shiny silver? 😀

My Stooge continues to amaze me. Riding rigid always meant a certain amount of compromise for me before in terms of downhill speed and caution on technical stuff. The Stooge, especially with a 29+ front, is as capable and confidence-inspiring as many bikes with front (and rear) suspension. I’m hitting jumps and gnarly stuff that I’d have thought twice about on previous rigid bikes.

Good work sir! Keen to do this but definitely won’t be troubling the leaderboard

Don’t like bananas though.

Where am I?

I love lime pickle. My mouth actually floods with saliva at the thought of it. Mmmm

I invented the hummus, beetroot and lime pickle sandwich. Fact.

Ah, interesting! Thanks all. I will do a bit of measuring. Lots of rim options to think about too.

Do it. I had an Inbred and now have a Stooge with a Knard up front. No reason it won’t be a blast on the Inbred.

I’d rather have a dropper than suspension.

I’ve been riding mostly without one since I got my Stooge and it’s been “interesting”.

I too, used to be a never-drop-the-post kinda guy but riding with a dropper for a year or two has changed all that and completely modified my technique.

My plums have taken a battering in the last few weeks without a dropper because I now habitually drop my weight but keep my body further forward instead of hanging off the back like I used to in the bad old days.

Whereas pre-dropper I never used to stop and drop my saddle, now I’m doing it several times a ride.

Riding with a dropper is so much more fun. Even on non-steep stuff. I drop my saddle a tad for flat, twisty singletrack or anything slightly techy.

I *need* one of those shiny Thomsons.

As has been said, climbing books work because climbers have stories to tell. A three-hour session at a trail centre is never going to make great literature, even if you end up at A&E.

I watched it on YouTube. Is it not still on there?

Tell me more about bars. Are you, by any chance, thinking wide-ish (720+) and sweepy, with a bit of twang (but not too much)?

Rode mine with a Knard up front for the first time last night. Wow! Super comfy and tons of grip and 29+ seems to be a perfect partner for the Stooge.

I was riding quite gingerly, having read everyone’s warnings about Knards in mud but it outperformed other people’s ‘normal’ tyres on off-camber damp chalk and roots. I did get to see the Knard’s limitations though. They really don’t like wet mud.

I’m running it on a Crest until I get it together to build up something wider. No problems as yet at approx 15 psi.

I love this bike. 😆

4mm is quite a lot. You might just get away with it by using shorter nipples but I wouldn’t count on it.

You’ll likely get a subtly different chainline using a double or triple (and depending which mounting position you use on the triple). However, I doubt you’ll notice the difference in practice so use the one you like the most.

Oh, I dunno. That looks like it has much bigger knobbles than a Knard.

They look OK but not quite as nice as the Deores I just bought (with BB) for under £50. I wonder how much lighter/stiffer/more durable/more expensive they’ll be.

OP, reading between the lines of your comments, I’m guessing you’re running a deeply unfashionable narrow bar, long stem combo. If so, that’ll put more weight on your hands and add significantly to your pain.

Let it go. Join the revolution.

On the other hand, feel free to tell me to do one. 😀

Technique makes the biggest difference (loose grip on the bars, stay loos and use your arms and legs as suspension, choose good lines).
Big wheels make a difference. I’ve had 26in and 29in rigid bikes and would always choose the latter.
A large volume front tyre at a lower pressure makes a difference.
Flexy bars make a difference. Don’t get hung up on what they’re made from – ali, carbon and, I’m sure, titanium bars can be either stiff or flexy.
Forks make a difference but IME more to ‘feel’ than how much you actually get battered.
Geometry makes a difference. I’ve just moved from an Inbred 29er to a Stooge and it’s much easier on my old bones. Mainly, I think, due to the high, slack front end, although the short rear also helps by making it easier to unweight or loft the front.

Never tried ESI grips. I really must.

Interesting. I have a 120-ish-mile loop planned from Amberley to Eastbourne and back that I may still get around to this summer. Fair bit of it is SDW, of course.

I remember when a thread like his would have spiralled into a wheel size bitch fight within three or four posts. Is STW finally getting over itself?

Anyway, FWIW I’d go for a Parkwood if you’re on a budget or a Buzzard, ROS9, QH, Canfield or similar if you’re not. I’m not really sold on the Sherpa. Of course, you *actually* need a Stooge.

Muggo, it’s on the previous page

@gotama Ta for the offer. Thing is, I happen to have some spokes that will work with a Blunt but not a Dually. That means it’ll be a whole lot cheaper to build a Blunt as a toe in the water. Longer term no doubt I’ll trade up to a Dually, Hugo or whatever’s about to appear on the market.

Good effort.

I’ve used sdeals.com and cyclebasket.com in the past with good prices and service

I’m also looking for 29+ rims.

Those Kris Holm rims are 36-hole only, aren’t they?

Anyone know when the Hugo is due to land and how much it’ll cost?

I’m thinking I’ll get a Blunt 35 for now and see what’s available in a few months.

It was till you posted this. 🙄

The bike’s no lightweight but it certainly doesn’t feel like a lump, even on the ups. That said, weight weenies should look elsewhere.

I’ve just gone from an Inbred to a Stooge. It’s a very different ride – much more playful. I loved the Inbred but it was hard to lift the front. The Stooge is more nimble and less battering on the downs and I think it’s also a more comfortable ride.

It’s definitely more “trailsy” in feel and it’s built to take some punishment. Quite a different beast to the Richey, I reckon.

I’ve got a Sentinel, which is similar but narrower, and it went up very easily with a single layer of Superstar yellow tape and a Specialized Ground Control

Here’s mine at last…

Just put a bigger tyre on the front?

Buzzards are going cheap ATM, I believe, especially if you’re a medium. They are ACE!

My build’s been delayed by all sorts of frustrating stuff. Hoping to build and ride it this weekend, although a wide front rim and Knard will have to wait a bit longer.

It’s not that much heavier than a Swift. I’ve not ridden mine yet but I’m sure it’ll be just fine for general XC. My suspicion is that the Stooge is going to get ridden a lot more than my other bikes. We’ll see.

I have a mk1 Swift and a Stooge. I’ve yet to build up the Stooge but it’s a lovely frame. It has an EBB so can easily be SS’d and that’s what I’ll be doing. I’m also planning to run it with a 29+ tyre up front. It’s definitely more solid (and heavier) than the Swift. It will take a 100mm fork but only if you can find one with a straight steerer, which is getting tricky.

My Swift is built up geared for bikepacking and lightish XC. The Stooge will be a year-round rigid SS to replace an Inbred 29er which was great but not as fun as I expect the Stooge to be.

And how can you not like the Stooge colours?