I recently acquired an XL Redline Monocog 29″ frameset. Not easy, as Redline is not yet distributed (non-BMX bikes at least) in Europe. But worth the effort.
It features a very utalitarian tube/gusset set with nice smooth welds. Extremely nice green finish, which seems like an anodizing, expect it’s steel, not alu.

The frame is around 2850g, the fork 1319g uncut. I have not tried the fork yet.
I built the frame much like I used to ride my (also green) Surly Karate Monkey, transferring quite a few parts. I added a new-to-me black 1100g KM fork which speeds up handling over the stock one, nice for my flat but twisty semi-local trails.

With the effectively 2.4″ lower seat tube and thinner (26.8 vs 27.2mm) seatpost, the ride quality is definately a bit nicer than the KM. Even without a derailer hanger, the Monocog frame weighs roughtly 100-180g more on the bathroom scale, but as a bike it feels really light under pedal input. Awesome actually. Like a tank, but a really lightweight version that is still as tough.

Handling for my riding is spot-on, and for riders with more adventurous trails, I bet the stock fork offers perfect handling too.

The frame+fork is $250, and a complete singlespeed bike with more than decent parts spec has a MSRP of only $469.99. Department store crap? Not at all! You get a complete bike for the same price as an already considered affordable Surly Karate Monkey, near identical geometry and it really does handle like an excellent 29″ bike. It IS an excellent bike, period.
For some reason I really get off on such Cheap Champs. I’m probaly happier with this Redline than a custom titanium bike would make me, could I afford one. The Ti bike could only disappoint, while the RL pleasantly surprising me every second I pedal it.
A bit unromantic perhaps, but when you have a good frame building process and use appropriate geoemtry, it’s hard to get a bike wrong. Here they got it really right. The way Redline manages to spec bikes like this sub-$500 makes it an outright champ.

Redline currently does not have these bikes in stock, because of great reviews like this one and it being such a no-brainer investment to try both 29″ and singlespeed on the cheap. Maybe some ‘06 framesets are left. Now the (Mud Brown) 2007 model is about to his warehouses. I wish I had the brown, I already have a bunch of green bikes that just happened to come in that color.

I’d give the Monocog 29er an AAA-rating for value. To significantly better the frameset, you’d have to increase price to at least double. sure, lighter can be acheived easily, but the same pedaling quickness and overall bomberness…

Tip : set your’s up with the rear wheel quich a bit aft in the dropouts, for a long chainstay. I just rode mine with 18.25″ chaisntays, and much say it really handles nicely. Long report : http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=219786