I have gotten the positioning dialed on the Milwaukee Bicycle Company 29″er now and have gotten in a few decent trail rides on it. Let’s take a look at what I found out so far…
First, I did change out the high rise Answer bar for my Niner “Flat Top 9” bar, which has a sweep very similar to the Answer bar without all that rise. This lowered my hand position and made the front end feel much more planted than it did before. Other than tweaking the saddle position some, these are the only changes I have made to the bike as delivered.
The bike came set up with a 32T X 19T gear and that has suited me just fine. The drive train has worked flawlessly so far. Not a sound or hiccup at all. Just as a single speed should be.
I wish I could say the same for the fork though. As many of you saavy readers know, the Manitou Minute 29″ers have been plagued with noisey Absolute platform valves and the clicking sometimes gets pretty annoying. Nothing that affects things from a mechanical or performance aspect, but it does detract from the experience of single speeding, if you will. I realize that there is a fix, but I have not pursued that avenue as of yet.
Other than that nit, I find the bicycle to be a rather enjoyable ride. It is funny that the bike came with a “race” oriented kit, because in this day and age of super carbon/alloy/titanium single speed race rigs that weigh next to nothing, this bike seems to be a bike with a whole different take than that. It is a bike that begs to go for a longer ride. I think it has a lot to do with its compliant nature and longer, stretched out chassis. This bike is one comfortable rig!
Oh sure, it would be a great race bike, but I think this 29″er is more than just that. This is about as comfortable a single speed hard tail as I could hope for. That makes it a choice for longer, fun rides. Explorations, and just grin inducing stuff that mountain bikers do off road are what this rig would be for in my stable.
Those sorts of rides are what I’ll likely be doing on the MBC 29″er in the following weeks. I’ll report back with my findings, but for now, I will leave you with the following numbers to chew on…
Seat Tube: 18″ center of BB to top of seat tube
Effective Top Tube: 24.25″
Chain Stay Length*: 18.25″
Wheel Base*: 44.25″
Bottom Bracket Height: 12.25″
Head Tube Angle**: 70 degrees
Seat Tube Angle**: 72 degrees
Weight: 25.2lbs with cages and pedals.
Note: * Sliders are set just past mid-point rearward. These measurements reflect that rear wheel position.
** These angles are unsagged measurements.
18.25″ CSs? Thats pretty effing long!
18.25″ chainstays, WOW!
They must be the longest chainstays this side of a Spot Longboard.
Can you lift the front wheel to clear 4″ logpiles, curbs, ect.
Keep up the good work GT!
Rolltron, Willie: I must say that in my single speeding experiences, I actually prefer 18 inch or there abouts for a chain stay length. I experimented with my Karate Monkey and Inbred, moving things around until I got a balance of tractability, maneuverability, down hill stability, and ride quality that I liked. and on both rigs I ended up at just over 18 inches. (I really despised the KM at its shortest setting)
My custom Pofahl is at 18.25″ at its shortest setting! 😉
All this to say that the “cult of short chain stays” isn’t always the best or most desirable way to go. I remember how when in the 90’s Mountain Bike Action would perennially choose a Breezer as the best 26″er around and they had nearly 17 inch long chain stays that were at least a quarter inch longer than most bikes of its era. Yet they would laud it as the best handling bike you could get.
I’m not saying longer chain stay bikes are the only way to go, but they are a way to go. 😉
They work and in some areas would be preferable to the ultra short chain stays that a lot of folks think you have to have to make a 29″er, (or any wheel sized bike) handle really well.
How come all the 29ers seem to have this super angled frame, with a long long long seatpost. The XXIX of mine is starting to bug me along with all the 29er offerings. It’s not as fun as riding my 26″ SASS with an 80mm Fox F80X and the top tube is almost horizontal. It’s why the monstercross drop bar phenom is hittin, simply for the horizontal top tube.
illnacord: I have opined on this very subject, back in 2006 I wrote this piece for Twenty Nine Inches: http://twentynineinches.com/2006/09/10/sloping-top-tube-madness/#comments
Then I continued my views here: http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2006/09/sloping-top-tube-madness-version-20.html
…….and here: http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2006/09/sloping-top-tube-madness-version-30.html
And finally, this piece: http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2007/01/sloping-top-tube-madness-revisited.html (Warning: Some off color sarcastic ranting here.)
The last three links are from my own blog.
Basically, it is hard not to have a sloping top tube on a 29″er due to the physical nature of the wheel size, rider sizing concerns, and requirements for the use of suspension forks.
GT-
I know that you said this is a comfortable rig, how does it compare to the Inbred? are the prices proportionate to the comfort? does high-end steel take off much weight?
Desert9r: How does it compare to the Inbred?: A great question! The Inbred is a very nice riding steel frame, but not as plush feeling as the MBC rig. I feel that the Inbred was also laterally stiffer, so if that is a major concern, then the Inbred might prove to be a better choice. Otherwise, I would choose the MBC based purely on the ride quality/smoothness. I would choose the Inbred for racing primarily. It is a racier rig.
Prices: Everything is going up in price, so that said, I can not effectively make a judgement on value until everything settles out. I would say that for a U.S.A. welded, True Temper tubed frame, $1050 isn’t sounding all that bad.
Weight: I haven’t weighed the bike, but it feels within ounces of my Inbred and that had a carbon rigid fork, while this has a Manitou Minute. I would say it must be reasonably lightweight, but I will weigh it and post up the findings in my next post.
GT- I first read this just after riding my Inbred 26er, 🙂
by lateral stiffness, what do you mean?
Desert9r: Side to side as opposed to vertical flex.
Thanks GT for the replies. I may have even read those articles earlier before owning a 29er but like most things in life, you have to live through the mistakes/experiences to understand. Thank you again for updating. I def. agree with the 31.8 seatpost size – it also just looks better to have a fat seatpost than a thin one 😉 Aesthetics are more than half the battle when it comes to bikes for me. Otherwise, its put two wheels on a frame and ride back to basics. Anyways, I am now thinking of selling my XXIX Fox F29d large rig in parts and building up a 700cc interwolf’d 38mm with a flat top tube.