sanny: what braces/reinforcing is needed should be sorted by the builder…as it varies between what tubes are used.

as for top tube lengths…i suspect some of that might have been from the dim and distant past when 29″ers used the same head angles/offsets so that toe overlap was reduced. top tube lengthened out pushes the front centre out too…reducing chance of overlap.

the major differences you will generally find with 29″ers is the chainstays are longer, and you have more bb drop than on a 26″er all else being equal. this increased bb drop gives more stability in general and is why, often, they feel so ace to corner. but it also generally makes them a touch harder to wheelie/hop.

in terms of what geometry you want, it probably has a lot to do with what you want to use the bike for. ive owned various geom’s and they have their strong and weak points. if you want a bike for general riding, but not too steep and gnarly, i would seriously consider giving sam a call at singular. he knows his beans and his bikes are top notch. i dont know where things stand for how much alteration can be done on the ti frames he does. be aware ti *might* end up too flexy with a kid on board as well.

if you want full bhoona custom you either need to start riding lots of them to work out what you like and take that to a builder or trust the builder to work out what you like from the things you like about current and past bikes. then if you want ti, its worth knowing a little about who is using what grade of ti and getting a feel of their skills in working the metal…again, in general, 29ers require more forming to get past tyres and chainrings if you want a decent length stay if done badly in ti, this could be a weak point or offer up minimal clearance.

as a general comment, most 29″ers these days are moving away from steep front ends and using increased fork offset to bring the trail back to a more normal number instead, making the steering less tuck prone on steep trail. downside is that if you dont get reasonably short stays you get a truck like wheelbase for a given reach….

at the risk of getting into a ‘forum-as-breeding-ground-for-stupidity’ discussion: $750 for full custom? err…id be pretty suprised if you could get worthwhile custom for that.

jeff has *always* wanted his ideas to be more widely available. he truly is egalitarian. he knows full well that the custom ti frames cost an incredible amount of money. the cost of the tubing and manipulation involved is staggering. yes: in a perfect world this would not be the case, but it is. therefore several potential solutions exist.

getting frames made in batches remains a sensible way to bring costs down, and increase availability. using steel vs ti increases that again.

as long as the steel frames stay true to the intent of the design its viable. infact working in steel given the current world financial climate and rarity of high quality ti tubing is probably a more important step: it is *probably* easier to work with steel to make the space frame/truss fork (anyone here ever cold set ti?) and the raw materials are relatively cheap. what you are paying for is the builder to make it – their time and effort. with ti, the only non-hideously-expensive ti is chinese or russian in origin and the quality control and alloying of this is often very questionable. there are VERY few builders who can manipulate high quality ti tubing effectively.

jeff isnt selling out, far from it. he is working hard to make his design work more available. the reason he is doing that is because he believes his designs are great fun to ride. I will second that. they are tremendous fun to ride…from the diamond frames in steel to the full custom ti. some have more than others but they are all good fun.

i can count on the fingers of one hand the *custom* builders who would be willing to make something akin to a jones steel diamond frame *at all*, let alone for the same cost. Getting 16.5″ stays on a 29er that can have a full spread of gears isnt easy. most builders dont build outside of the norm for good reason: its a risk to them. if it doesnt work, or the buyer doesnt pay, who loses?

what cost fun? well – now, for this particular brand of fun, its a little less…that is ALL GOOD.

hopefully, this doesnt come across as a tirade, or mindless support of one of the industries current clear thinkers.

mine is here

http://vc-moulin.blogspot.com/2010/09/kielder-100_11.html

some pics…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/drj0n/%5D

the first day was wet and pretty slippery….although marty had the only significant damage, we all had some pretty sketchy moments….we took the ridge off the kilbo path and it would be fair to say it was pretty wet by then, defo needed to pay attention///

the next day we got the weather and got a pretty decent loop done.

a good area…but bring your hike a bike legs….

ha! that was it…

rad times!

whatever happened to the lad with the white yeti from williamson's? name escapes me now? took the plastic cover off his xt thumbies to cut em down more…?

blimey. nostalgic seeing these pics! bell v1pros….witht he wee window that opened on the front!…awesome…

the lower section is there. it is good riding, prolly slower… but it is so short its prolly academic…

i met steven macinnis and rob lee's support crew that day, though i was doing a different route, went over east ways after heading up the first section.

steven was ripping, despite patching a tyre with an old insole….11 and a half hours for that ride is really very quick indeed.

the climbs up either side of conic hill and the top section of loch lomond are the major obstacle to doing the whw..especially twice…

my version
http://drj0nswanderings.blogspot.com/2010/07/forsaken.html

proper mountain bike ride today….bb width, no issues. didnt even notice. sweet…

as good at tech and trail centre as this bike is, its true home is out in the hills…rugged back country and isolated (at least as isolated as you get in scotland….)

loved the steep and loose….

bikes are good. riding bikes is best…

a strangely USA beer haul for afters … ;-)~

rocket dog: id be curious for you to define frame that small? im 5'11" saddle height runs at 745mm.

do you mean the slope on the top tube?

the set back is important … imagine in your mins eye 30mm or so of sag. whole bike rotates around the back axle…. —> not so much set back….magic eh?

;-)~

'zactly. seat tube straight/no bosses to allow lots of seat drop.welded forward to allow 16.5" stays on the 29er and the saddle ends up exactly where needed….

it rips. rode yesterday at the ae enduro…worked well. the 83bb i didnt/dont notie so much…theres a very brief initial feelign that its wider, but then its gone. You could also relieve the cranks a few mm as your feet width allows if really needed….and using xc ish pedals that dont need the full, whatever, 12mm of thread….

anyway. longest ride so far is just 3 hours, so havent really got a feel for distance/bb width, but id say i doubt ill feel its any issue….

saint shifter. different limit screws and a mod back plate…racing in Ae this weekend….steep learning curve fo'sho….

sam: :-)~

ya: 150mm rear end, with 6 speeds….

preference: they are similar but different….this is a sort of heavier duty/similar idea bike…knowwhatimean?

getting its racing christening at Ae enduro this weekend….

damn! £10 for a low res image?

carousel design works and epic designs alaska both make super high quality bags, with osme standard designs or custom. i have 4 epic designs bags, 2 for racks, they sit on top and sinch down dry bags, and a handlebar system and a sea bag that may end up in the next issue…keep your eyes peeled

the handlebar system was $75, the seat bag $110. quality is excellent.