Show me your 69er!

[faustus]

My town bike is the epitome of parts bin build, and that's exactly how it should be. As such, mine is now a 69er just because that's the parts I had, and i'm not spending money on a new fork or wheel for a town bike. I still enjoy riding it immensely, and it takes the kids to and from nursery in the trailer a few times a week.

Does anybody else have or use a 69er, or is it a retro niche too far? If you do, post a pic please! Here's mine (though it now has gears):

[Bearbonesnorm]

Ooh, I do love a good 69er ... I rode a Carver for a few years and loved it but like a dick, sold it some time ago. Eventually found another frame which is now awaiting me pulling my finger out and building it up ... once I've sprayed it

[Gari]

I had a Singular Hummingbird years ago, one of the few bikes I regret selling:(

[yourguitarhero]

I had a trek 69er single speed with Maverick DUC upside down forks that were cool but totally inappropriate for it. Was in a gorgeous root beer colour.

Can't find any pics though :(

[Dyffers]

Ibis. Still with me but not built like this any more.

2020-09-12 Ibis 69er 800.jpg (113.88 KiB) Viewed 4181 times

[faustus]

Nice Ibis!
I always had a soft spot for the hummingbird and trek in root beer. Especially as that's what the late Jenn Hill rode the tour divide on singlespeed.

Mines a sub-optimal 69er as it had a high bb anyway (inbred) and the current krampus fork is too long. Its no trail slayer though, and works fine...

[restlessshawn]

Had my old 853 Inbred 69 for a while

69 by Shawn McFarlane, on Flickr

Eventually decided 67.5 was better and swapped to a 27.5 front wheel

675 by Shawn McFarlane, on Flickr

Seat tube cracked in the end so all I am left with is a pair of mullet wheels (Velocity blunt on superstar), some Middleburn cranks, a few spares and a few upgrades went on the Mrs' bike

[faustus]

Looking good in both guises shawn, and a shame the frame has cracked...i've pondered 27.5 for the front of mine, it would certainly make handling a bit better, but it'd also mean buying a new wheel and tyre, so it's not happening. One issue on mine is that it's not an economical use of mudguards, as there are a pair of non-matching 96er 'guards doing nothing

[restlessshawn]

Looking good in both guises shawn, and a shame the frame has cracked...i've pondered 27.5 for the front of mine, it would certainly make handling a bit better, but it'd also mean buying a new wheel and tyre, so it's not happening. One issue on mine is that it's not an economical use of mudguards, as there are a pair of non-matching 96er 'guards doing nothing

I can sell you a nice pair of wheels if you like I now have 3 27.5 tyres and only own a 29er and a cx bike !

[thenorthwind]

No recent photos, but now you mention it, my parts bin pub bike is also a 69er... or rather a 96er. It's a steel Rudge bi-frame folding mountain bike frame, which I've welded disc brake mounts to and cut the stay braces out of (don't worry, there's enough steel in there to hold up the Forth road bridge) to accommodate a 700c wheel. Haven't got round to rebuilding my dynamo hub onto a 700c rim, so the front is still 26". I see your parts bin bike...

[Charliecres]

I also used to have a 69er SS Inbred with a 26in Exotic fork. It wasn’t perfect but it was a fun experiment and convinced me to get a ‘proper’ 29er Inbred, which led to a Swift then a Stooge.

[boxelder]

Ooh, this takes me back. My Sanderson Life 853 ended up 69er with carbon rigid forks, until I saved up for a Scandal frame and went full on 'clown wheels'.
Still have the Scandal, now a SS.

[jobro]

Still riding my Trek 69er singlespeed, and still loving it! (with the DUC fork which I love) In fact we went over to the Purbeck only last week.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CUXUrDeMYhf/

Not sure if you can see that?

[faustus]

thenorthwind - parts bin 96er extraordinaire! Good work

Seems like DIY 69ers might have been the gateway drug for full 29ers, which makes sense.

Jobro - Yes, can see that, and it's looking superb! Good to see another bike still running old SLX cranks - Dyffers has some on his highball too...

[jobro]

Jobro - Yes, can see that, and it's looking superb! Good to see another bike still running old SLX cranks - Dyffers has some on his highball too...

When I bought it the bike had carbon cranks - didn't last long. The SLX where sitting in the parts bin and have been on and fine ever since.

[yourguitarhero]

That's the same Trek I had, it was pretty cool but singlespeed wasn't for me

[TheBrownDog]

My OOF is currently a 27.5+/9er ... I don't like it at all. It's not the tyres/wheels it's the 150mm travel fork I should never have put on it. Great downhill but any sort of technical climb has it flopping wildly all over the place. I tried a shorter stem and wider bars, but it was no better. Pffft. It's going back to being a proper rigid fat bike tomorrow.

[Tonto]

I have two, a carver with a rohloff and a hummer set up rigid with gears.
Love them both but just not riding enough recently.