Damn, I miss my Monocog Flight 29'er... Should never have sold that bike. Nice looking bikes in here, folks! Enjoy em with a great bike grin!

 

I've got about 5 rides on my new monocog, I switched out the stock tires for Vittoria Barzo/Mezcal converted tubeless without any issues- I did need to use some soap bubbles to get the bead to seat properly. I also added a RockShox Recon RL fork with ZERO regrets. I am still dialing in the stem height and may add some riser bars. Our trails here in Florida have lots of short, steep ups and downs and 32:18 gets pretty challenging after about an hour of riding, so I will probably gear down to 32:20. I'm looking forward to experimenting with different gearing and getting out on this bike as much as possible!

 

I joined the Monocog gang too about a month ago. I had my eye on a Kona Unit, but it was tough to find one in XL. Redline had these in stock so I went for it. The bike is a ton of fun but definitely a throwback with the QR front wheel, nutted rear axle and 26.8 seatpost. At least the geometry is nice and modern. So far I've modded mine with a Velo Orange Klunker bar to raise the bars up and a 34T Surly chainring since I live in flat North Texas and I use the bike for mixed terrain rides as well as singletrack. I mainly got the bike as a backup to my Jones while it gets new wheels built, but so far I've been having a blast with it. About 500 miles in and no issues. It's hard to beat for $730 with a warranty.

 

Any cassette spacers will work. Some of the "kits" that are around are nice as they will have an assortment of sizes. Will help get the chainline dialed.

 

Ok, crank arm has fallen off twice. I put some thread locker on it and cranked it down to where I thought I might break the bolts as they are fine thread and not too thick.... Hopefully it will work better now.

The tires came in and I went ghetto tubeless without too much fuss. I really like these!

I have a question about putting on these slightly offset Surly type cogs; I need to get some new spacers that aren't as thick, can I just use any old hub spacer rings or do I need to use some that are shaped specifically like these pictured below? (I think the cog pictured is actually a cheap stamped flat 20t but I also have the offset ones now that I'd like to use).

Thank you all very much for your help.

 

Not sure if you worked through this already, but the surly cogs are thicker- that is the main reason you have to re-do the cassette spacers. I recommend just getting the surly spacer kit, in part because you can just use their chart to achieve chainline (50 mm, I believe). Those cogs can be used with the offset inside or out.

I ended up with a 20t cog, which has been a good gearing for me so far.

Cheers.

 

Yep, I've been riding this around the past week and we do have some trails that work well with 18t, but still I hate having to walk at all. I just got a 20t in the mail and put that on; my friend with the crave who got me into SS runs a 32:20 for the trails around here. I'm waiting on my tires to come in and I'm going to run them ghetto tubeless. I originally wasn't going to fool with it as I just bought this for a local rides bike that's low maintenance and always ready to go. But, now I am interested to see what the limits really are going to be with it. And good heavens my wrists are taking a beating without suspension, so hopefully getting down to 20s psi will help with that.

 

My first SS (and first 29er) was the original 29er RL Monocog. It was a boat anchor, but man it rode fantastic.

Nice to see it's still kicking!

 

the "best" singlespeed gearing is highly subjective based on rider ability and terrain. where I live, there are riders who use something like 34/17 while I am on a 30/20. I don't mind cruising on the road when I have to and just keeping a steady pace on the flat trails. my main goal is to not walk the climbs, so I chose an extra-low gear.

my only concern with the Monocog is the seatpost size choice. why 26.8mm Redline, WHY? otherwise, it's a rad bike. I had a 26er version around 2010 and I rode the snot out of it.

 

Thanks! I took it out today on some tighter single track and it actually performed way better than I thought it would. I was afraid it might handle like a beach cruiser in the twisties. It handles turns basically the same as my release. Descending with it feels great and I wish I had known rigid single speed was this fun before! What a workout. It makes the trail completely different. This thing even climbs great; all of it just put a smile on my face while riding the same ol' trails. I'll post an update pic when my Ergon grips and Pisgah 2 tires come in.

 

Do you think you'll stick with the stock gearing or is the jury still out?

 

Welcome, Monocog brother!

 

Welcome to the SS life. That's a really cool color!