Right so I'm contemplating going for a 29r now as it just seems the right thing to do. I don't want to spend a fortune so what can you suggest. I'm also thinking of going back to alloy over steel due to weight. Obviously this means I'll have to sell the R8 but do I need a 26 for bikepacking now. The fatty may have to go to but for other reasons.

Its amazing what can keep you awake at night! Its also no surprise that there is no one online at this time in the morning

Is it for bikepacking or trail riding or cx racing or...?

Quite smitten with my Genesis Longitude after the WRT.

Runs normal 29 tyres just spot on and can go 29+ if needed.

I built it up pretty cheap

£270 for frame forks handle bars
Bought 2nd hand wheels for £100
Tyres were £50
£100 on bits
Swapped the rest from the old 26 Scandal.

You're welcome to try it if you fancy

Lurcher is hard to beat if you're looking for something cheap and light.

Matt, Ione was saying how impressed you were with your new bike. And how long Taylor has been telling you to get one I'm slowly being swayed. Its nice looking is it heavy being steel? I wanna get it as light as poss without the cost if possible

There's not a huge difference in weight between a quality steel frame and say a carbon one and you could mask that difference by using heavy components especially wheels & tyres which have a bigger impact on how heavy the bike "feels". My hardtail and commuter are both steel framed and weigh roughly the same, probably half a kilo between them but the HT has lighter wheel/tyres and feels so much nimbler.

If I wanted to make the HT lighter then I could swap out the suspension forks and the dropper seatpost and that would give me somewhere between 1.5Kg and 2Kg weight saving.

It's not just about the frame which will be 20% or so of the total bike weight.

Pinnacle Ramin if you want a cheap 29er.
Karl Booth was in the top 5 for BB200 last year on one.
Young Ben has one iirc too.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec071312

Mike wrote:Matt, Ione was saying how impressed you were with your new bike. And how long Taylor has been telling you to get one I'm slowly being swayed. Its nice looking is it heavy being steel? I wanna get it as light as poss without the cost if possible

Yep, out of the box the frame felt 'sturdy'

Built up with nice wheels and SLX gear it feels normal. No suspension seems to counter the frame weight issue, frame is heavier, forks are lighter.

It flew up the hills, was dead comfy on the trails and fire tracks, it's also quick round Swinley Forest trails the only time it was hard work was keeping up with Mark on his Full Suss down the 'Golf Links' track rocky bits. It was quite tiring without any bounce.

Those Pinnacles do look good though

Mike, I had a bounce about on Matt's bike. Felt very nice ... reckon you'd need a small, they've quite a long TT.

There was a Stache 7 on the classifieds that I had to drop out of the running for...I'm a touch biased though on the Trek 29ers.

Greetz

S.

As Taylor says the Pinnacle Ramin 1 is hard to beat as a cheap bike. The ride is nice and supple for a rigid bike. It's worthy of upgrades as well. The bike I rode on the BB200 last year is the one being used for the HTR550 this year so can't be bad. My cannondale trail sl singlespeed is a lovely bike to ride as well if you wanted to go down the singlespeed route. All depends what kind of riding you want to do but I know the pinnacle can tackle all my kind of riding.

Karl

I'm also thinking of going back to alloy over steel due to weight

Weight is only relative.
My alloy 29er hardtail running 3 x 9 with RS forks and 29 x 2.2 Geax weighs as near as makes no difference the same as my Krampus.
This was done on uncalibrated wobbly bathroom scales so dont take as gospel.

Another vote for a Longitude though.

There will be some Stooge steel frame sets coming up secondhand I reckon. The new Ti versions looks really good, uses a carbon fork. Check Stooge Facebook page, lots of pics.

I second (third?) the Longitude. Just done 50 miles of the South Downs. Bike and gear was 50lb and I was flying up and over stuff that my mates with their well specced 26 FS bikes were walking. Both fit guys.

The long wheelbase is so stable and comfortable. Still fast downhill.

Mines a stock setup with xt drive stuff, zee brakes and on-one Mary bars. Love it.

Definately the best upgrade is wheels.....it's all about the rotational mass!

Lighter rims and tubeless improves even a heavy bike massively

Taylor wrote:Pinnacle Ramin if you want a cheap 29er.
Karl Booth was in the top 5 for BB200 last year on one.
Young Ben has one iirc too.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec071312

getting your young uns mixed up but I love my ramin, ive swapped a few things now like a on one carbon fork but its a steal, especially when evans have a sale on

I love my Salsa El Mariachi
The alternator dropouts are brilliant. Very easy chain tensioning and you get a standard bottom bracket too,
my large steel frame weighed 2.6 kg.