29er

A sweet fillet-brazed 29er singlespeed of Life, the highest spec Columbus MTB steel tubing, with a TrueTemper OX Platinum 29er downtube for a light, lively ride.

The solid 29er steering feel is right there through the rough sections where the big wheels keep their speed and offer greater grip through the rough stuff. The higher cornering speeds with cornering grip like there's 1.5" of suspension travel down there make this bike feel fast and fun! A steeper 72 degree head angle designed for the standard offset suspension-corrected forks does a nice job of keeping low-speed steering light, while at higher speeds, you can feel the inertia of the big wheels kick-in adding more straight-ahead stability than a mountainbike.

I chose a shortish effective top-tube to prove a 29er can be fun and agile in the tight stuff, and used the same rider compartment as my previous favourite mountainbike. The larger tyre footprint gives rear-end traction on rutted trails similar to an MTB, the slightly greater inertia of the wheels reducing the tyre slip that causes problems on loose-grip surfaces. The rear seatstays on these frames are the high strength Columbus tubing in 0.6 mm wall thickness and you can really feel that extra bit of desirable flex working over vibrations and impacts, giving that smooth lightweight-steel ride. frame weighs 1.88 kg painted.

\click on a thumbnail to view the image