[Dirty Tiger]

It seems like the fully rigid 26" geared mountain bike is dying out....I can't seem to find one on the websites of the major MTB players.

Why is that? IMHO, a rigid 26er with semi-slicks is the ultimate "do-everything" bicycle. It would be sad to see them vanish.

Will the rigid 26" MTB die out?.... at least in the form of mainstream mass production.

 

[RideFaster]

29'ers are the likely reason.

Salsa still makes the Ala Carte as a 26" rigid.

 

[chuckjoga]

Dead. But I'll never get rid of my classic 1991 Specialized Rock Hopper Comp. Sentimental value, I guess.

-Chuck

 

[Dirty Tiger]

Dead. But I'll never get rid of my classic 1991 Specialized Rock Hopper Comp. Sentimental value, I guess.

-Chuck

I miss my 1991 Rock hopper & my 1995 Cannondale M600.

At least the rigid 29er is still going strong.....maybe we will see a boom of rigid 650b's.

 

[billygoatsteel]

I built a rigid 26 a few months ago. I have to say it's a great ride. Fun and practical, it reminds me of my bmx days. I went steel with xt. I found a great carbon fork that makes the bike (eXotic carbon).

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

Not enough people buying them from the big boys for a while now. Easy enough to get one, buy a hardtail, sell the suspension fork and put a rigid one on....

 

[f3rg]

I have a very-much-alive 26" geared rigid, so the answer is no.

 

[bidaci]

I have a rigid 26er. 1997 Trek ZX8000, Pbone fork and Maxxis Hookworm 2.5 slicks. I was out on it this weekend. I love it for tight technical riding. It climbs like a goat and the 2.5 Hookworms do suprisingly well. Low pressure gives a lot of cushion, they hook up well on rocks and roots, and when they let go they are very predictable. Unfortunately they are on the heavy side, but for me a worth while trade off.

Seems like the only rigid bikes out there are 29ers or singlespeeds.

Here it is prior to the Hookworms and minor tweaks.

 

[LyNx]

.............and burried, 29ers are where it's at when you are rigid

 

[f3rg]

I like how the OP seems to think this type of bike is dead or dying because he can't find one that's already been bolted together for him by a manufacturer.

Build your own, and give life to whatever you choose.

 

[TLL]

I wouldn't say dead, it's just that most people riding a hardtail want a suspension fork over a rigid when given a choice, and entry-level sus forks are dirt cheap. For that reason, the majority of 26" HT's come with sus forks.

29ers didn't kill the market for 26" rigids, rigid forks have been growing less and less popular for quite some time, at least on 26" bikes.

 

[markf]

i have a rigid 26 SS. i'm thinking about selling it. rode it maybe 2x this year after building a 1x9 el mariachi. i'd probably dump the money into either another 29er or more likely a dirt jumper to play around on.

 

[Dirty Tiger]

I like how the OP seems to think this type of bike is dead or dying because he can't find one that's already been bolted together for him by a manufacturer.

Build your own, and give life to whatever you choose.

I like how you seem to think you know how I seem to think.

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

I wouldn't say dead, it's just that most people riding a hardtail want a suspension fork over a rigid when given a choice, and entry-level sus forks are dirt cheap. For that reason, the majority of 26" HT's come with sus forks.

29ers didn't kill the market for 26" rigids, rigid forks have been growing less and less popular for quite some time, at least on 26" bikes.

Hmmm....aren't they hardtails because they have a suspension fork? Funny how the language morphs a bit, my first few mountain bikes were just mountain bikes and not hardtails as there were no suspension forks...I'm old.

 

[Dirty Tiger]

I have a rigid 26er. 1997 Trek ZX8000, Pbone fork and Maxxis Hookworm 2.5 slicks. I was out on it this weekend. I love it for tight technical riding. It climbs like a goat and the 2.5 Hookworms do suprisingly well. Low pressure gives a lot of cushion, they hook up well on rocks and roots, and when they let go they are very predictable. Unfortunately they are on the heavy side, but for me a worth while trade off.

Seems like the only rigid bikes out there are 29ers or singlespeeds.

Here it is prior to the Hookworms and minor tweaks.

Nice bike. I've always admired Trek from afar. I should look for a used one.

 

[-Anomie-]

Hardly dead, but you aren't going to find many in the 2009 dealer catalogs. Like someone above said, you'll have to build one up yourself using a fork made by Steve Potts or Rody of Groovy Cycleworks or Jeff Jones or Black Sheep or Brent Steelman... I could go on, but I think you get the point. Better yet, pick up a "vintage" mountain bike and clean it up:

I've had that Bontrager since 1994 and ridden it everywhere from Moab to Michigan to Noble Canyon. Believe it or not, it CAN be done, assuming you don't mind a challenge once in awhile. :thumbsup:

 

[chuckjoga]

Air cooled VWs aren't dead either. :thumbsup: You just have to go to South America or find an old one to fix up.

Still, pretty much out of production here in the USA.

-Chuck

 

[EHCRain]

Im getting ready to build a rigid 26er so nope

 

[scottzg]

I bought a new one last year. It was outfitted as a commuter, but with a 7" rotor, a decent square taper crank and a spare set of wheels with some knobbies it's proven to be a very serviceable mtb.

It's a marin novato.

 

[TNC]

I don't understand this post

Unless a suspension fork is welded to the headtube, how is the rigid 26'er dead?...or any other sized rigid bike for that matter? Yes, I understand that there is a lack of a manufactured, high quality, mass produced hardtail MTBs, but I don't understand why it's not clearly perceived by the OP that the terms "mass produced" and "manufactured" are really the answer to the original question. If few people are buying these bikes, why would a manufacturer make them? The fact that one can buy a frame or buy a suspension forked MTB and remove the fork sort of makes the point moot IMO. Sell the fork or at least keep it on standby for trips or rides when one might actually want to use a suspension fork. Have we become so helpless because some bike maker didn't serve up the exact combination of "stuff" that we wanted personalized to our consumer craze? You know...I don't think I've even seen a complete top drawer fully suspended bike or a hardtail with every component that I would have liked attached to it. And now we're complaining that we don't have the "less" we'd like to see on a bicycle? Oh the humanity!:lol: