New bike - decisions

[sillybigfella]

Having dabbled with all that singlespeeding nonsense, I'm ready to return to the fold of geared riding. :D

My head tells me On One Inbred - trusty, reliable, value for money, but somehow, I always want something a little different...

My shortlist is :

Salsa El Mariachi
Genesis Latitude
Cotic Solaris (probably too expensive)
Singular Swift

Probably guessed that it's a 29er I'm after. I will in time hopefully get round to trying them out in turn, but any initial thoughts??

[Ben98]

Swift, cause its pwetty

[Zippy]

I thought your trek superfly was nice ;-)

[voodoo_simon]

(In typical internet fashion, I bought product X, so it must be the best)

I've got the Salsa and I really like it. Got it setup as a singlespeed with Fargo rigid forks and it rides lovely. The frame was finished really well, nice and easy to build up. You can also run it with gears, so great if you're not sure what you want.

I do have a genesis 853 road frame and it rides well too, but can't comment on their other frames

[johnnystorm]

I sold a Canyon littered with acronyms for a swift and didn't regret it. I eventually sold it as It was too nice to use just for grotty winter rides. I replaced it with a £99 Inbred SS and again, I'm not regretting the decision. The ebb was better but otherwise, it still rides brilliantly. Have you considered a Fargo and are you thinking building or buying complete? (Having a swift on the list probably answers that for me!)

[sillybigfella]

I did consider a Fargo or Croix de Fer, but just wanted something a little 'stronger' for all-round use; trail centres etc.

[sillybigfella]

And probably buying complete, as I don't have the patience or skill to self-build!!

[Bearbonesnorm]

Buy an Inbred frame (or any other) and some bits and I'll give you a day throwing it together.

[sillybigfella]

I thought your trek superfly was nice ;-)

I may have to sell the Trek to keep the missus happy...

[sillybigfella]

Buy an Inbred frame (or any other) and some bits and I'll give you a day throwing it together.

Thanks Stu, that would give me lot more options to be able to pick and choose.

[Ray Young]

Buy an Inbred frame (or any other) and some bits and I'll give you a day throwing it together.

Thanks Stu, that would give me lot more options to be able to pick and choose.

I love putting my own bikes together and this is a good option as the result will be totally personal to you. With a bit of help from Stu I think you will realise that with a few bike specific tools there is not much the average person can't do on a bike.

[jameso]

Of those listed, the new Salsa El Mar would be top of my list, having ridden none of them. Based on geometry and the dropouts - so you can go back to SSing after your period of geary-weakness!
:D

Nice to have the option, it's something I really appreciate on my Jones. SS 'packing can be hard, but also so simple and as enjoyable as unloaded SSing.

[gairym]

I've got a Solaris and love it!!!

I've had numerous Inbred's over the years and they ride really nice (and are dirt cheap) but the Solaris is just that little more refined a ride and has the edge in my opinion.

Can't comment on the others but I did notice that there's a Solaris going on the classified page!

[Keiracon]

Recently got a Karate Monkey - best bike I have ever owned. Including.a 1997 P7 I have owned since new . I also have a Croix de Fers - pretty bombproof but keep getting pinch flats

[gairym]

Oooh, wait - I've got a (large) Karate Monkey frame (with Chris King headset) for sale if you're interested?????

[mtbmarkymark]

loving my El Mariachi 2. Handles nicely and is good for endless miles in the saddle type riding. Mud clearance good and not too heavy. The alternator plates give both easy chain tensioning when in S.S or Hub gear without a weight and complication of an EBB. Being able to swap the plates if you go geared is a bonus too.
For some reason my Rohloff seems much smoother now it's running on a 29nr than when it was in a very similar 26r frame.
When i win the lottery i'm getting the Ti version.... drool