Fully Rigid

[rajflyboy]

Does anyone here brave it and ride a fully rigid MTB on single track?

please tell us a little bit about your bike and your skillset for riding it

I think the bear article sparked my interest.  The orange trek brought back some good memories ????

[rmap01 ✓ supporter]

Assume you are excluding fat bikes??

[BBelfield]

I have a redline monocog, so fully rigid singlespeed 29″ wheels.  I bought it in 2007 and is the only bike I have ever kept for more then a few years. Have made zero modifications to it except wear items.  I rode bmx all day every day until maybe 2002 when I switched to a dirtjump mtb but I never was comfortable on that bike. My style of riding led me to find this bike which was maybe the second year it was released. I liked being able to just jump on the bike to do beer runs and easy local singletrack with nearly no maintenance or adjustments. To me it felt like a big bmx bike and the big wheels took the sting out of my broken wrists. I still ride it today and still feel like I’m faster on it then even my newest high dollar full suspension if the trail is tight and flowy enough.

[vapidoscar]

I mainly ride a rigid single speed. Reminds me of my 20+ year old rock hopper that was stolen. Except the brakes work.

Regarding rigid the two main advantages are 1) know exactly where my front wheel is going to be and 2) much lighter than a suspension fork. This is especially helpful in the slow rough stuff and tight trails.

Main disadvantage is the high speed rough stuff. Fillings shaken out and whatnot.

I was most surprised that it wasn’t better at the indoor bike park than my 29’r. I guess I must have developed a pump track technique that took advantage of the suspension fork.

[christopher94]

Rigid fatbike all day everyday. Would love to get a 29er wheelset on it as well for the fast days. It’s an alloy Salsa Beargrease which is definitely not as hardcore as the SS 29er crowd but it’s definitely a unique experience. I fall into the recreational/intermediate category. Obviously the tires help.

It excels at climbing just about anything. Goes really well down the fast/flowy smooth trails.

[rajflyboy]

Any rigid will do

i do have a craving for an old school 1990’s rigid 26er

 

 

[Xmtnbke]

I miss my old 26″ Huffy. That thing could thrash trails all day.

[Bacon Fat]

I rode a rigid 29’er SS for a bit.  I really liked the simplicity of it and how direct it was on the trail.  You really had to think about what line you were going to take if you wanted to keep the speed up.  I ride a rigid fat bike now, but I’m think of getting a 29’er rigid again.  The trails I ride are perfect for them

[John Fisch]

While I don’t currently own a fully rigid, I have loved riding rigid on a regular basis and my next purchase will likely be a rigid.  The two reviews below will give you a hit of my love for rigid riding. And stay tuned for an upcoming review on a rigid fatty, the Fatback Corvus.

Final Review: Chumba Ursa 29+

 

Test Ride Review: Marin Pine Mountain 27.5+

 

 

[Xmtnbke]

I was in the junk shop today and some nice full curve bar ends were mounted on an old Cascadia by Royce Union. After checking the bike over and discovering that it’s in fair condition, I offered the store manager $20. bucks for it. He jumped all over it. So now I have another 26″ rigid w/alum frame 18spd bike to play with. Life is good! Just wish the rain would stop.

[sissypants]

Rigid fat bike all winter, no need for suspension when you’re riding snow.

I don’t ride a rigid 29er, but I run full lockout on a lot of smooth flow trails just because I find suspension slows me down (I ride Fox Float factory series). I have a carbon fork that I will switch out sometimes before a long gravel rides, but the rigid fork on my fully looks kind of awkward.

[roketboy]

I ride an old Gary Fisher Excalibur with a rigid fork, as the suspension finally “died” after ~3 years of my riding it.

[vapidoscar]

As noted above my single speed is rigid, but I have been thinking about whether my geared “cheapo” bike would be better with a rigid fork instead of six pounds of bargain basement suspension that came with it.

I had been eyeing up a Nashbar suspension corrected carbon fork but it looks like they just sold out.

[kwogfive]

All last year Felt DD30 rigid fat with 3.8 Jumbo Jims.  That bike made me feel a little outgunned in chunky steep stuff going downhill.  I would still bounce down it at a good speed but I could feel the limitations of the geometry, my skills and the underpowered brakes as opposed to lack of suspension.  As far as riding experience I just never grew up, BMX bikes as a 80’s kid.  Cahoney size is inversely proportional to wheel size as decades roll by.

[Pseudomugil]

I ride a rigid single speed Kona big unit as my bike when I’m in campus (I’m a college student) largely because it’s hard to break and easy to fix. It also compliments my riding style, as I’m a pretty decent bike handler and I like how all of my inputs are immediately effective rather than being filtered through suspension. That being said, the trails around my campus are smooth and pedally, if they were rougher an just as fast I’d want a suspension fork.

[Downhill Mike]

I ride my Salsa Warbird on trails sometimes. It’s a gravel bike with dropped bars and to me it’s something in between mountain bike and a road bike. It feels pretty good on  trails with a carbon fork  and frame but to be honest I live in southern  Ontario Canada so most trails are  smooth around here with not much rock or rooots.

 

 

 

 

[arkinet]

Rigid fatbike all year long.

[OhioFatBiker]

I started riding a fully rigid fat (26×4) last year and now it’s all I ride. I bought some lightweight tires and that was it. I like the simplicity.

[Matt McVicker]

Got back into the sport last year on a fully rigid Trek Stache 5.  To be honest I loved the Miami Green color so much I wasnt’ to concerned about it being fully rigid.

Udgraded it to a 1×11, went tubeless, added a Fatbar Lite, and a dropper.  This thing keeps up with some of my buddies full suspension whips with out any problems.

[Mrlytnin]

… My rigid Gary and my lady’s[ex Specialized Cross Roads-we just sold it]. Love my rigid for the road and dirt/gravel. I enjoy the full control as we are not downhill types. demoed some Scott full suspension higher end cycles on grass and mounds and loved not having to get off the seat…but I like a little more activity. Depending on what she gets next, then I will decide if I need a match…

[m.krupp]

I have two hard tails but love the idea of a full rigid. I went with hard tails because of the price but the simplicity and made sure to get 1x’s. After feeling the difference between a 2.4″ and 2.8″ tire I think a fat bike may have enough suspension. Granted rough trails would take a bit more work but for me sometimes the work is what makes it more worthy. (fully support full suspension bikes and ebikes but don’t need/want either right now) I don’t know if I have the guts to go all the way and get a fully rigid fat bike as a single speed. I love the simplicity of it all. Lower maintenance and little to check before just jumping on and riding. With a busy schedule of work and being a dad I want to be able to just grab my bike and roll on a moments notice or without a bunch or prep work. Personal preference. Good topic for discussion.

[Nematon785]

Up untill this year i rode a gt avalanche with a marz airfork pumped up so high its basically rigid. Used to smoke my pals on technical and demanding terrain, even rode a junker trek full rigidcrap brakes and slicks on local flow trail system and would straight embarass guys on FS bikes. Land the transition ya know. But then i splurged and bought an enduro with 170 front and back, downhill grade brakes, dropper etc. Sadly I cant go back. If I pull out the old GT i can barely ride it to the store. New geometry and burly running gear has me going so fast and cleaning up and downhill chunky stuff. I cant go back. Plus Im old now. 3 hours into a serious ride its nice to sit down and let the bike take all the abuse. Only problem ive had is bent rims, torn tires, destroyed rear derailleur, because i dont even care about a clean line through rough stuff, cant feel anything in the rear till major damage is done and tubless sealant is literally everywhere. Its like switching to a motocross bike. Whole new world and I really loved the old hair shirt and self fladulation from my hardtail and basically rigid fork!

[rhut]

My rigid gets riden more than my full suspension for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that it always works, not much to break with no gears, no suspension, and mechanical brakes. I also like that it looks very unassuming so I can ride for a few hours and head back into town and lock it up while I get food and beer without worrying about it. I also genuinely have more fun on the low speed tech.

Big days on the bike in remote areas usually means I take the karate monkey because it fits a big frame bag full of supplies and if anything brakes it takes 5 minutes and some hex keys to fix.

[austinbrooks]

I’ve been riding only rigid for three years

[Downhill Mike]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Also I have a Salsa Beargreese and Salsa Mukluk which I ride fully rigid but mostly in the winter. Cant wait for the snow to come</p>

[downhiller85]

I often ride my Felt DD30 instead of my full squish. It is an aluminum frame with  rigid carbon fork. It has 45Nrth 26 x 4.0 Van Helgas that grip to everything. Normally if I know I want to go full send on a trail I don’t know well I’ll take the fatbike to it first.

[m.krupp]

Downhiller, that is a beautiful fat bike. I like it. Hope to add a full rigid fat bike to my stock sometime in the future.

[stormpeakco]

Heck yes.  Ride a rigid fatty (winter 26″ X 4.6″ and non-winter 27.5″ X 2.8″) year round…for 4+ years now.   After my first Mukluk, I sold my soft tail Moots (YBB) and have only ridden rigid ever since.  Rode the Beargrease (in between first and third generation Mukluks) two summers ago on the GDMBR from Canmore (supported tour, hey I’m 65 now) and currently ridng a Fatback Corvus (since my frame was crunched in a hit ‘n run sitting on the vehicle rack in a National Park visitors center a few weeks ago) year round.   I’m not anti-high tech and don’t ride super technical stuff (old and post cervical spine fusion) but I do ride regularly @ Moab, Cortez, home in the Rockies and the like…Adjusting tire pressure for the terrain isn’t too tough to figure out and it is just simpler without concerns RE: spent seals and bearing maintenance.

[Pedaldude]

Just dragging out an old Raleigh Technium rigid from 1987 because the forks on all my other bikes are toast and I can’t find the parts.

It has cantilever brakes that aren’t all that good and a chainstay mounted u-brake that’s worse. The bars are too wide for my liking but it’s refreshing to have the old school experience of no front fork.

The Deore thumb shifters took more time to get used to than no front fork.

 

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