[ridgid rider]

Anybody ride a 29er on Colorado frontrange trails? I know Walt builds in Boulder but I haven't seem many 29s around Denver. How about with a rigid fork?

 

[DWF]

Anybody ride a 29er on Colorado frontrange trails? I know Walt builds in Boulder but I haven't seem many 29s around Denver. How about with a rigid fork?

No, they don't work on Front Range trails. Wheelbase is too long and you can't get them around switchbacks, plus they're super heavy so they really sucks on all the steep climbs. Keep it on the flats or on gravel roads and you'll be fine, but for the Front Range, you really need a nice, light, 26" wheeled bike.

OK, I just said that to rile up the locals. Seriously, they're fine. Walt is a terrific rider and hits all the local trails. Lots of people on MTBR can testify to FrontRangeMig's riding ability on his full rigid 29. CarlMega on this board rides a full rigid 29 on the Front Range and so does Debaser...well, I think Debaser has a full squishy 29. I see more and more 29s around Denver and a lot more full rigid bikes of all wheel size. If a full rigid 29 is what you want to ride on the FR, it won't be the bike holding you back.

 

[!bike]

No, they don't work on Front Range trails. Wheelbase is too long and you can't get them around switchbacks ...

Real problem is at this altitude, the big spinning wheels suck
all the air away from the rider, and the rider suffers hypoxia,
and then of course anything they say or do is utterly unreliable.

Really very sad. I myself once imagined running into a person
on SS rigid KM, but due to hypoxia, it was really just me
and my geared rigid KM

Of course everyone in Boulder is a bit goofy, www.excelsports.com

-r

 

[DaveA]

they're over here too.

I'm "re-learning" how to ride rigid on a new single speed here in W CO. Its been since the early 90's since I've done that on a regular basis. Of course, the bigger wheel does help (I guess). At least rigid makes my 80mm travel Racer X 29"er feel bottomless when I get back on though.

 

[Feldybikes]

tangential problem

Though great on the trails, 29ers are pretty hard to fit on the racks in the front of RTD busses. My old geared bike *barely* fit and my new singlespeed (with a longer TT) requires that I unhook the rear brake, twist the brake levers up and twist the front wheel around 180*.

Yeah, I guess that's probably not a deal-breaker.

 

[Debaser]

No, they don't work on Front Range trails. Wheelbase is too long and you can't get them around switchbacks, plus they're super heavy so they really sucks on all the steep climbs. Keep it on the flats or on gravel roads and you'll be fine, but for the Front Range, you really need a nice, light, 26" wheeled bike.

OK, I just said that to rile up the locals. Seriously, they're fine. Walt is a terrific rider and hits all the local trails. Lots of people on MTBR can testify to FrontRangeMig's riding ability on his full rigid 29. CarlMega on this board rides a full rigid 29 on the Front Range and so does Debaser...well, I think Debaser has a full squishy 29. I see more and more 29s around Denver and a lot more full rigid bikes of all wheel size. If a full rigid 29 is what you want to ride on the FR, it won't be the bike holding you back.

I've been riding a full rigid 29'er for the last 2ish months. And a full squish 26'er on the side. It's all about the contrast!

 

[MTBNate]

I am taking my full squish Asylum out to CO this coming summer.... and I am going to ride it on the South Boundry Trail at Taos, NM too!

 

[Lucky 7]

Considering how popular mountain biking is around here, I've been surprised at how few SSers and 29ers I see on the trails. I think it may have something to do with the mainstream nature of outdoor sports around here. With so many people wanting to get into a sport they're new too, they end up getting what the shop tells them to. If they have money, they get the best bike the shop has. That's why you'll see tons of Turners, Ellsworths, and Moots but not too many unique builds, like a 29er.

I could be way wrong, but it's a theory. Regardless, come may, I'll be crushing it on a SS 29er.

 

[ridgid rider]

Though great on the trails, 29ers are pretty hard to fit on the racks in the front of RTD busses. My old geared bike *barely* fit and my new singlespeed (with a longer TT) requires that I unhook the rear brake, twist the brake levers up and twist the front wheel around 180*.

Yeah, I guess that's probably not a deal-breaker.

Actually, this is pretty important to me. Either I ride from downtown to the trails or take the bus. It's a nice option to have.

 

[PattD]

29ers are alive and well on the Front Range

I'm on a Niner One 9 w/Sibex rigid front fork. It's all a matter of opinion, however everytime I ride mine I feel more and more like they are made for CO. I'm suffering on a SS anyway, so I don't notice any wheel drag from the larger wheels.

I just posted my built up El Capitan last week, 1 ride in on full sus 29er and it was a great decision to build that up.

YOu'll see more as they become more popular, Our shop has been stocking Mrazek, GF, Retrotec, Van Dessel, and Ventana 29" bikes and we've had a lot of interest in them. You'll see more and more on the trails here over time.

 

[ridgid rider]

Thanks, here's where I'm coming from

Well I had been riding a 26" SS with a rigid fork. I recently sold it and have no MTB now. I found only having one gear to be impractical for most of the trails around Denver. By the time I made it to the downhill sections i'd be so worn out from the climbing that I couldn't enjoy it. Most people think that I'm nuts because I really didn't want to go to a full suspension bike. Sorry, I like to spend my time riding not maintaining my bikes. So I figure that i'll just get a hardtail with a decent suspension fork. But the 29er thing is appealing. If I could run rigid on a 29er instead of using a 26er and suspension fork that might do it for me.

I figure that I'd want some fat and gnarly tires. I really like the way the WTB 2.3 Weirwolves I was running on my 26er performed. Unfortunately they don't make the Weirwolf in 29". Any suggestions?

 

[Debaser]

I run Exi's on my On One 29er. They're like velcro on most stuff out here. Redstone Cyclery may still have another 29'er frame for sale, which is cool becasue less than 100 made it to the states (I think).