Another change of plans

So having spent all my recent riding time on a 29er hardtail I've renewed my love of simple bikes and have re-learned just how much fun mountain biking is without any rear suspension.

A trip to Swinley forest on my cheap and cheerful Diamondback 29er showed me several things:

• 29er wheels grip like mad - up several different loose climbs I ended up just powering straight up when previously I would have slid out and ended up walking - the difference was dramatic despite the fact I was riding a semi-slick rear tyre
• A 29er hardtail was just as ridable over the rough stuff as a 26" wheeled full-suspension trail bike.
• The hardtail was a lot of fun over the jumps and around the twisty singletrack - at no point did I feel like the big wheels were holding me back.
• I did NOT feel fully "in" the bike; the relatively high bottom bracket and long chainstays didn't allow me to really get down into the heavily bermed corners in The Labyrinth, something about the riding position didn't feel right.

I started looking around at hardtail 29er frames and came seriously close to buying a couple of different frames; the most appealing options being the Kona Honzo and the On-One Lurcher. The Kona offered super-short chainstays and a bomb-proof build but with the weight you'd expect from a hardcore steel frame. The On-One offered the feather-weight you'd expect with carbon but long chainstays and you'd need to fit a angle-adjust headset if you wanted anything other than XC style handling. Both frames were £500 plus extras.

So I made my own 29er hardtail: a 69deg head angle, 23.5" top tube, 17" chainstays, an eccentric bottom bracket to allow a single-speed set (or a hub-gear), room for big 2.4 tyres, a 2.5" BB drop (at the centre of the BB shell) and a head-tube long enough to fit my nice Maverick DUC32 forks!

A nice tube-set from Nova with pre-bent tubes, a Bushnell eccentric bottom bracket set-up from Ceeway and Surly drop-outs with disk-mounts built in results in this:</p>

It's worth noting that my welding still leave a lot to be desired but I'm really happy so far with the frame - it looks straight and solid; I can't wait to paint, build and ride it!