Full rigid SS 29er is not only a blast when you learn how to use it, but almost maintenance free and quiet to boot. It teaches you how to ride better than any bike. Not only do you have to attack hills and conserve momentum but you also learn to avoid as much as possible rocks, roots, ruts, etc. It is also the lightest MTB you will ever ride.

Simple, quiet, light, maneuverable, low maintenance; what is not to like. I have geared Full Suspension, geared hardtail, ss hardtail and ss full rigid and I still end up riding the ss full rigid 25% of the time even though it is a little harder, there is just something about it. I do end up riding the ss hardtail the most and the full suspension the least.

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For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

yourdaguy has pretty much hit the nail on the head.
For me it's just something different, when I originally got it, it was just going to be used for commuting and easy rides with my wife. But it's too good just to be limited to that.
This is my only 'XC' bike (my main bike is a 6" hardtail), it gets used for short hour or two rides when I can't be bothered with the faffing associated with the main bike, the cannondale is just grab and go. It's great for muddy trails, you don't have to clean it after every ride if you don't want to. But it's main pro is, it has reinvented the local trails that have become stale over the years of riding.

Light, fast, simple, reliable, fun and just something different

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"no hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle"
Sir Winston Churchill

How does the rigid fork behave on small jumps, roots ans ruts? Do you ride over or always trying to avoid obstacles? How about steep inclines, say >18%? Do you conserve more energy that your gear assisted mates? And what happens on the downhill section after riding up the hill?

Sounds interesting and I am tempted to try, but I still wonder if it really makes sense to withdraw all the tech evolved over the past 20 yrs for something thats just light?

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Orbea Orca Gold 6430gr, Orbea Aqua, Tommasini Tecno, FM-066SL 6480gr, Kinesis RaceLight T2, Trek Superfly 100, Trek Session 88, KTM EXC-250

You can jump over up to about a 9" log if you know how. You are way more apt to avoid obstacles but the steering is somewhat lighter and sharper so it is easier to do so. Downhill would be the main drawback. Just as you can do downhill faster on full suspension bikes than hardtails, you would generally be slower still on a full rigid because most weight is on the front and there is no shock absorber there. But unless you are racing, that is not really much of a drawback and unless you have a lockout, the full rigid actually climbs better because it is lighter and doesn't bounce.

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For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.

Yeah, anyone would be fine with the rigid 29er. You might want suspension if you're looking to go faster on really technical stuff, but I've found in my area (southwest Washington state and central oregon) I am just as fast as guys on trail and all-mountain bikes in nearly every circumstance - it's really more an issue of bike handling skills and comfort, and learing how to pick good lines and problems solve extended technical sections without the suspension to save you from errors goes along way to improve both handling and confidence.

the only times i have trouble are 1) break dips worn into a trail when descending, and 2) extended sections of smaller stuff where you are getting repeated hits.

Need to weigh it, and still need to swap the heavy ass cassette, bars and stem.
Here's to hoping I can pedal it as fast as necessary this weekend!

I spy a Berk combo! SWEET! I had a Smud saddle on my bike at one point but w/ the semi sharp edges I was getting some really nasty bruising on my inner thighs from catching it when going over things. In the end I pulled it and added almost 100g going back to a standard saddle. Sucked, but no bruising and I'll take that any day!

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09 Pinella w/ Record 10spd
http://1spd.blogspot.com/

Figured this deserves to be posted here also: my Funk La Ruta 19.8 lb full suspension 29er

More photos and details in my sig link

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Enjoying my Funk

Here's my Team Bike for the season,Nice to be back on shimano!

frame-Kinesis Uk FF29
Bars -Cobalt ones' trimmed to 730mm
stem-110mm hope
Groupset-XTR 980
Chainring -35t homebrewd (working with absolute black on new rings however!
Cassette -sram XO
Wheels-Race 29er Gold
Forks-sid XX tapered.
seatpost-KCNC
Saddle-Fizik Tundra
Pedals-Candy (however changing to green team ones)
Tyres -Will be maxis but as you can see Im not currently on them...

comes in at 21.4lbs

My Open!

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[url]http://www.weightweenies.com.br[/url]

Lovely Open!

That open is fantastic! How does it ride?

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WTB: MTB hubs, 29'er carbon rims

My 7.3kg/6.4 kg 29'er project buildthread!
My Bianchi Oltre XR

+1 for the Open, can we have spec. please

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Lars K. P.

This bike is very fast,on singletracks, corners, and keep a very good pacing. The biggest feature is how it's climb, like a goat.

Specs:

Frame : Open 1,0 M
Fork : Sid XX WC Keronite solo air
Headset : Tune Bubi
Handlebar : MCFK 31,8x660
Stem : Extralite OC 31,8x90
Seatpost : MCFK 27,2x400
Saddle : Tune Speedneedle
Grips : Extralite
Seat clamp : Bk Composites
Brakes: Formula R1 alu levers
Rotors : Hope lightweight 160/160
Shifters : Trigger Sram XX
Cables: Powercordz
Cable's Housing: Shimano Yumeya
FD: Sram XX
RD : Sram XX
Cassette : Sram XX 11-36
Pedals : Egg Beater 11
Crankset : Rotor 3D+/ SRM with Specialites chainrings
Wheelset : Ax Lightness SRT 29er tubular with Tune Prince/Princess hubs laced with Sapim CX ray spokes
Tires: Dugast Fastbird 50
Skewers: Dt Swiss RWS alloy

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[url]http://www.weightweenies.com.br[/url]

Vallinotti

the open is very nice. Good to see another SRM mtb user out there. The set up is super stealthy, that thing must be so light and accelerate so fast. Awesome really

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2013 rocky mountain vertex 29er
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