Ray Young wrote:Rotating mass can be a benefit off road at times as it can help to stop the bike stalling.

I know so little that this winter event is heading rapidly towards total embarrassment ;-)

I'm surprised how popular rigid's are compared to anything else. I thought front suspension forks were reliable enough now to be more popular, or is it that the first 29er's were not available with suspension?

Rigid rider here. Partly simple stubbornness, prefer the feel of a rigid bike much of the time and I got fed up with the cost and faff of forks. They're reliable enough generally though. When loaded up the forks need a different set up. 12-15lbs added to a bike means I hit stuff harder at speed, when tired that can cause problems. It's harder to slow up fast or hop things on a loaded bike so I tend to ride at a more consistent pace with more care, less need for the forks in that case.

I'm not saying it's more suitable everywhere though : ) In places it beats the crp out of me despite good volume tyres and wider rims. Get a bit beat up on maybe 5, 10% max of the miles I've done on it, so not that bad overall.