Stu, another up vote for Stirling from me. I was offered a job up here a couple of years ago and never looked back! I’m surprised to see such negativity towards Stirling because to me it’s the best place I’ve ever lived! This is saying something considering I grew up in North Wales and spent a few years living in the Lake District. The city itself has some rougher areas but what Scottish city doesn’t? It has all the shops and services you need but also has a very rural feel which is something that’s important to me. I do a lot of work in South West Scotland and have an office in Glasgow, all of which is easily commutable from Stirling. And every time I drive home on the M9 just when you get to Stirling you can look out towards the Gargunnock Hills in the west, to the big mountains in the Trossachs to the north and then east across the city with the castle, the Wallace Monument and the Ochil’s stretching off into the distance. It’s absolutely class, I have totally fallen in love with the place. And the riding is superb as well. Plenty of trails, open hill tracks and a great Sustrans cycle path network in all directions. I ride exclusively singlespeed and find the riding round here perfect for that.

If you want any more info just let me know dude, good luck!

First ‘Puffer this year for me and the rest of the quad. It was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish not helped by the fact that I was on a rigid SS running 32:18. But I was happy not to get off and push once and managed all my laps in under an hour which I didn’t expect. The team managed 24 laps which we were over the moon about. We’re already preparing for next year!

So after a bit of internet trawling and plenty of deliberation I have ordered a set of rigid steel Niner forks from r2-bike in Germany. The Niner fork ticks all my boxes by:

– Having a relatively long a-c of 490mm

– It’s steel

– It has a tapered alloy steerer

– It’s boost spaced

– 29+ compatible

https://r2-bike.com/NINER-Rigid-Fork-29-Steel-Fork-Boost-black

It is going to cost me almost £200 to get it here but who needs money anyway. Pay more for what you want, not less for a compromise. I will let you guys know when it arrives and give my initial impressions of how the rigid Honzo rides!

I do not deny that a long rigid fork does look a bit inelegant, but it rides like a dream.

the00 I think that looks great! That longshot geometry sure does look slack! A friend of mine is waiting on his new Solaris, they really are stunning bikes. Thanks for sharing.

How about building it with a longish fork, like a Krampus or Salsa Firestarter, and going 650plus rear 29plus front?

That was also a thought of mine. To keep costs low initially I’m going to try my current setup with Identiti’s XCT 29er fork which has an a-c of 483mm. It may be a terrible ride but it’s worth a shot and the forks are only £129.99 which is cheaper than the Krampus fork which was my other option. Regarding wheel size I’m going to stay with my current 29er wheels which are set up with A 2.5 Maxxis Minion up front and a 2.3 High Roller II on the rear. I wouldn’t want to go for any less tyre volume in the rear as the short chainstays on the Honzo are mega stiff! So b+ will be the next thing to try when funds allow! Two other forks that have caught my eye are the Carver Trail 490 and the Niner Steel Boost 29er fork, both of which have a 490mm a-c length. I’ve seen a couple of Honzo’s online with the Carver forks on and they look smart! Unfortunately both the Carver and Niner forks seem to be exclusive to the American marketplace so I doubt I’ll be able to get my hands on them over here.

And Clink, I’ve seen that fat front Honzo before! A bit too Frankenbike for me haha!

When you take into account sag then I guess a shorter a-c rigid fork should do the job. And in theory a 29er hardtail with a sus fork is still rideable even when the forks are fully bottomed. Any pictures of your Cotic with the Krampus fork? I’d be interested to see how it looks. I’m definitely going to try the Honzo rigid and will report back my findings. Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Yeah the Krampus fork is a possibility however the 483mm axle to crown is still not quite long enough I don’t think. Potentially with a plus tyre at the front it would just about work. I have also seen that Identiti now do a rigid steel xc fork with the same a-c as the Krampus fork: https://www.identitibikes.com/product/FKITXTB83K/xct-boost-tapered-rigid-steel-fork

I’m tempted just to buy one and see what happens. If it doesn’t work then it’s not a big loss.

Ideally I’m looking for something steel but that’s definitely a possibility. Thanks for the suggestion!

crogthomas there don’t appear to be any direct competitors as my bike would have the spirit of a Surly yet priced and sold in a similar way to those of Ribble. I see Ribble being the main competitor and it’s going to be difficult to compete with them on spec and price. I do however think that the use of a steel frame that’s more versatile might just win some people over. The Ribble Audax is £699 with a decent spec so ideally I want to undercut that.

philjunior I’m glad you agree that good value is worth waiting for! Bikes would come with mudguards as standard however racks and dynamo lighting would be optional extras. And yes, I haven’t given the warranty support much thought so thanks for reminding me!

Cheers,

Tom

Haha JoB! I’m not that much of an idiot!

Both excellent points! The fact that they’d fully rebuild the bike out of the box and I’d get full support from them if I had any problems is pretty invaluable really. I think I just need to grow a backbone and ask haha!

Just about to buy a new stainless Surly chainring

I bought a Surly stainless chainring for the singlespeed. It didn’t sit on the crank spider very well and I managed to oval it after a few rides. The new profile might help my power output I guess…..

Murf I’d give Ben at Kinetics in Glasgow a try. He no longer does repairs so couldn’t help me but he does do frame modifications so sticking a disc mount on a frame would be straightforward for him.

Mark Leadbetter in Alva will sort you out.

I’ve heard great things about his work! I wasn’t aware he could repair frames though!

I’ve given them both a try, Shand are up to their eyeballs in orders at the moment and Ben no longer does repairs! Any more suggestions would be appreciated!

All cracking ideas, cheers guys! I work in forestry so know some of the tracks in the area although I’ve never been far along the canal so I’ll check it out. But yeah, I’ll get an OS map and go get lost!

Bloody hell, I’m not looking for the ultimate dogging wagon. Just something remotely respectable.

Ahahaha “fanny magnet” she looks moist.

My insurance isn’t actually too bad. I’ve got 5 years no claims. I’m just having to pay a £200 excess for being under 24!

Sunset Cycles are offering 15% off 2017 Kona Bikes. I just ordered my 2017 Unit, I’m rather excited.

Why dont we start a SSS page on the old Facebook?

I’ve set up a closed group on FB, just search for Scottish Singlespeed Society. Anyone with one gear is welcome!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/819516211485447/

Glentress is ideal for a singlespeed as there aren’t many steep climbs. Dare I say it the climb to Buzzards nest is good fun on the singlespeed, lot of sprinting. We need a Glentress get together of the Scottish singlespeeders.

I think formation of such a group needs to happen, instead of us all just lurking at our local haunts!

There are shit loads of SSers out there, right on! We should definitely get some rides organised!

You’re the right end of the island for SSEC next May!

Thanks for the heads up nedrapier, will definitely be in attendance! Apparently SSUK is in the Lakes next year as well, would be well worth doing too!

Its just riding a bike

I’ve never heard a sadder phrase in all my life! I pity you TJ!

A Unit and a Honzo, I like your style. I was questioned over running a ss Honzo down here in the Peak District so props to you up there.

I’ve literally just built the SS Honzo up, she was gathering dust as the Unit was getting all the attention so I thought if I ditched the gears she’d make it out the garage more often! Gearing is outrageously easy at the mo, just getting by with the sprockets I had lying about in the garage!

I don’t think that southern flat land does suit single speeds. That’s where there at their worst, imo.

Gear to suit where you want to climb and let gravity deal with going down – put up with being slow on occasional flat stuff. That’s what I do anyway, although I’m not in Scotland.

Good point Andy! Perhaps I meant more that it’s less punishing on the legs and lungs down south! Although I guess you could argue that you’d push a bigger gear down there, too many variables haha!

I was amazed I’d managed it on the SS. I’m in Midlothian if you want to go for a ride.

That’s what I love about SS, it pushes you beyond your supposed limit! I’ll have to take you up on that offer sometime Steven, I’m based in Stirling.

we have a SS for the paper round / supermarket shop bike, does that count?

Of course laddy, join the club!

Good man beej! Much appreciated!

Thanks for all the advice! Outskirts of Stirling it is! I start on the 1st of June so I’d better get house hunting!

Cheers!

I wouldn’t rule out a Process 111, new school 29ers are the way forward imo. And Wiggle have the Process 111DL in small at an outrageous sale price! >>>> http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kona-process-111-deluxe-29er-2014/?lang=en&curr=GBP&dest=1&sku=5360616788&ci_src=18615224&ci_sku=5360616788uk&utm_source=google&utm_term&utm_campaign=UK_PLA_Sale&utm_medium=base&utm_content=sB2w40akd_dc%7Cpcrid%7C75590493662%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpmt%7C%7Cprd%7C5360616788uk

Honzo is looking pretty decent with a nicely polished rear rim.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/137161098@N02/albums/72157661777854322

Many hours of wet and dry later I now have a lovely raw rim. 😯 Gave it a bit of a buff with Autosol and it’s looking damn shiny. I’ll get it built up tomorrow and my pimping trail wheel will be underway.

Image links aren’t playing ball so pics are here if anyone is interested. https://www.flickr.com/photos/137161098@N02/albums/72157660827751409/with/22828663837/

I’m not too bothered about the finish, I just like the industrial bare metal look. Regarding corrosion I’m not too worried, I’m extremely anal when it comes to washing my bike and it’s kept in a warm dry hallway so it’ll be reet. If it does corrode and explode then I’ll buy another rim and not mess with it!

Thanks for all the feedback, even if there are a number of conflicting views! I’m not keen on the idea of using caustic soda so I’ve decided to use elbow grease and some super fine wet and dry. The rawing has officially begun so there’s no going back. Spent a couple of hours last night in front of the tv and I’ve done about a quarter of the rim so far, what a bloody tedious job! The section I’ve rawed does look good though, I’ll crack on today and hopefully the finished product looks neat and shiny! I’ll get some pictures up when I’m finished.

I’m on a 2015 Kona Honzo which has like the stiffest rear end of any 29er I reckon! I think the fact that the rear end is so stiff amplifies any flex coming from the rear wheel! I’m definitely not a carbon man as I live in the Lakes but Flows look good, would the wider internal rim diameter make a big difference do you think? I’ve had no experience of the DTs but they look good!

You’re probably right there, I wanted to upgrade the chainring as it’s cheap and nasty so wanted to kill two birds with one stone as it were. Out of interest what ratios are you running?

Get an old set of Rockshox U-turn 26 inch forks and bung a set of 29er lowers on. Pretty sure you could go for a Pike/Reba/Revelation combo!