Exactly, I recently got back into modern mountain biking so I’m used to riding rigid. I’ll ride half way through my route then I’ll lock my forks on the way back. Acceleration, responsiveness, and indeed nimbleness is a huge benefit. Plus I feel more connected with the ground and I can pick better line plus I can manipulate the bike a lot easier!
Growing up racing BMX a fully rigid feels so natural. I’ve got a new Remedy 9.8 and a Fuel 9.8 but riding my Farley 9.8 on 29+ is a blast in the summer. My knees and back appreciate the suspension but for sheer grins a rider is a blast. Well done lad!
Thanks! In my limited experience, it’s the fast bumpy stuff that really benefits from having a little extra suspension. If you’re riding slow like I was, the rigid bike was quite manageable!
I love this video! I got a Priority Sauce a a few months back, it’s a rigid single speed. I have had so much fun riding it on my local trails. I find that I can’t help but smile when I’m sucking wind on the climbs and flying through the corners. It’s funny how often I walk past my F/S and my hardtail to grab the rigid bike instead. I feel like the rigid has sharpened my skills a bit. Thanks for making great content.
I currently run a Fox 36, and I swear there are days when it needs service and I want to throw it out and go rigid. However, the grass is greener, and I do realize that I like some drops and jumps, where I think I would implode on a rigid fork. 😂
I've been riding a rigid Surly Krampus since October of last year and I have more fun on that compared to my other bikes. Sure, I do get fatigued more and my body pays the price if I choose poor lines when I'm on singletrack but, the I'm addicted to to that raw feedback you get from the bike to your body. This made me much smoother when switching around to my hardtail and my full suspension bike.
My first race bike was a rigid 29er with rim brakes.(2014) It was under 25 pounds. Climbed like a billy goat. It was a rocket ship on buff single track. Of course, when it got chunky, it was a handful.
I got my start in mtb 30 years ago on a Cannondale M500--i.e. full rigid. There is a beauty about them that is undeniable. Currently own a steel full rigid (w/front tire insert) that serves as an old school commuter/knock around bike & back up mtb to my ht. Off road, I won't take her on anything other than the mildest trails or fire roads but I do love to ride it because it's really lively and just straight up a lot of fun.
Been riding MTB over 15 years and to this day one of the most fun bikes I ever was a fully rigid steel single speed 29er. The bike weighed nothing and I could carry it through the woods for miles. It was a true adventure bike. Good luck doing that with a 50lb motorbike.
Thanks! I’m so lucky to ride with Andrew, who rides rigid almost all the time. It’s very confidence inspiring to have coaching/mentoring when doing new things 🥰
@HardtailLife You should give the single speed thing a try. Just be sure to gear for your climbs, not for all-out speed on the flats. There's no need to blow yourself up with a tough guy gear.
I ride a V8 Santa Cruz Chameleon. My main riding partner (my 8 year old son) rides a full rigid Cannondale Cujo 24+. He does just fine on almost every trail, and he climbs like a goat. No joke, this kid on this bike can climb just about anything. No bobbing, no extra weight, just efficient power. Some day I plan to make my Chameleon rigid, but not until I replace it with a new trail bike, and Im not ready for that!! I love it!
@@HardtailLife they are spoiled rotten! Wish I had a bike like that when I was 8! He’s a good boy though and I’m just happy he took on riding with me!!
The bike looks awesome with that rigid fork! 😊 I plan to do the same,as soon as I save some money! I'm on the budget,and money is always tight. Greetings from Croatia from Kris 😎
Back in the late 80's when I started riding MTB all bikes were fully ridged with canti brakes , Cant imagine riding one now after riding my 160mm travel enduro bike with one finger hydraulic brakes.
I believe it's all about the pace: everyone is crushing at light speed, which isn't what a rigid bike is best at. But if you're down to have some fun where outright speed isn't the ultimate goal, a good janky trail could bring a big dumb smile to your face like it did for me. 😁
Skinnies terrify me. So do off-camber trails next to dropoffs. Always been afraid of heights and with shaky balance. It has helped to quiet my steering with a longer stem and narrower bar. Not as much as an xc bike; just enough for handling to be a bit closer to my other bikes. Thanks for sharing your learning process!
I love rigid. I turned my Ragley Marley into a rigid and I like it so much I'm going to sell the suspension fork. your next stage should be to go single speed😁😎.
@@HardtailLife well, I am riding one, when I am on my gravel and just for the sake of freaking out my mates, sometimes, I take it to our club rides in our local forest, when everyone is already joking around with me, when I am on my hardtail 🤣
I currently ride a dropbar rigid and it has been a blast. Sadly my wrists can't do it anymore so time to build a hardtail but still going to use the rigid once in a while.
The colors in this video seem a bit weird to me (I don't know if that's how it looks in real life), but the content is good and more than makes up for it. Definitely subscribing
Riding rigid single speed for 10 years. It's amazing the places you will ride once you get intuitive withe rigid. You cannot walk away from a ride without a big grin on your face
Nice! I have a fully ridged that I ride from time to time on the trails. I actually prefer the ridged on slow technical stuff. I also love it for jumping on smaller table tops and such. It is nice to switch it up from time to time. Full suspension is fun too. #bikesarefun Ride on 🤘
@@HardtailLife well if you're talking like A-Line jumps then yes suspension, but if we're talking smaller jumps, rhythm sections, lippy table tops with steep landings? Then ridged is awesome! You learn better technique and can pump way more. Learn to be smooth. If you know, you know. lol... It's the BMXer in me I guess?
@@DailyNeighborhoodRide Ok, that makes sense… I don't have BMX or dirt jumping experience, so the idea of jumping with a rigid bike sounds a bit harsh to me. I'd be open to trying BMX/dirt jumping though! Maybe a future video idea?
That is sooo interesting. I have a Chromag Wideangle with a 150mm fork and a 65 degree HA. I am super curious about trying that fork on my bike. I'm afraid d it will lower the front end too much because my ATC is more than 510 and the stack is already kind of low.
From what I recall, a suspension fork, when sagged is actually shorter than what the travel suggests. A rigid work will not sag, so even though the RSD has a shorter axle-to-crown length than the 140mm fork it was supposed to have, by the time you account for sag, they're pretty darn close. Now, I'm not an expert on this stuff, so please keep that in mind! 😅
I did exactly this with my wide angle. I have bird cycles steel fork that's 505mm axle to crown. I used a niner slacker puck for another 15mm and it's actually within a few mm's of 20 percent tagged 27.5 150mm fork. I absolutely love it.
I see comments like "feels like the bike I rode as a kid". How do you see, is rigid bike suitable for young kids (6 up to 10 years) just starting their MTB (or biking whatsoever) journey, or is it better/safer to go with front suspension?
In my opinion, it depends on what your kid likes to ride. I think slow, techy trails are actually more fun on a rigid, but faster trails with drops and jumps will really benefit from front suspension. Hope that helps!
I know exactly what you mean; stopping along that log (Pipeline) and leaning against that tree. I did that and i friend was following me too closely. So I stopped and basically screwed him: he had to bail. Don't follow anyone too closely on skinnies!
Very cool video, literal goals. I've spent the last 6 or so months making my 2022 Trek Checkpoint into a 90s mountain bike. I own a 2020 Santa Cruz Chameleon HT, but it's my least favorite bike really. I am definitely going to look into getting an RSD rigid fork for it. The RSD site says it can only accommodate a 180mm rotor, which is bush league for MTB. Is there anyway to cram a 200 or 203 on there?
I don’t know my mtb tech that well, but surely there’s an adapter that will allow for that? I’ll ask my super knowledgeable friend Andrew for more info.
Thanks! Almost certainly you're right. I did some shopping and the RSD fork is actually a little pricey (although it's one of the only ones with the 510 axle-to-crown length, which is important if I'm going to be doing this to my Chameleon, which has 130mm travel), so I think I'll start with something a little cheaper to experiment on. No need to bother anyone else, but thanks again.@@HardtailLife
Look into Stooge bikes. Incredibly modern / capable rigid bikes. When you've been riding for 4 decades you start to realize how overcomplicated it doesn't need to be.
We totally get the over-complication thing! We feel our Tyaughtons are absolutely solid as is, but we’re going to try them as single speeds soon. Keep an eye out for our video!
@@HardtailLife I often end up on SS bikes - that said, when access to the trail is 5 miles of mixed roads it can be a lil' tedious spinning at 13 mph ;)
Hey, Steve enjoying your videos. I have been on full rigid single speed with V breaks for 23 years. Some good advice get rid of that pack. It's kicking your a** if you ever come out my way. I'll take you on some of my local trails that I have built. Bentonville is very overrated. There is better single track where I live. Look up headwaters trail sysred star arkansas I helped build it myself come visit sometime
Hola amigo saludos desde Colombia 🇨🇴 , que buen video una pregunta no vi que hicieran algun tipo de salto, esa suspensión rigida si es lo suficientemente fuerte como para soportar saltos ?
There's definitely a time and place (and pace) for rigid bikes. I agree with everything you said, and yet I had such a blast on this thing. I wouldn't own it as my only bike, but I'd ride this again in a heartbeat.
nope! lol but really what you can get away with, due to good modern geo is incredible and really... you can ride some pretty badass lines with a good 120-130 fork on a hardtail.
i would really only consider the two extremes of mtbs, either a full ridgid like this one for when you want to do all the work when riding in return for minimal maintenance or a dh bike for when you want the bike to take the abuse instead of you, but you have to maintain it more. all these inbetween bikes (xc trail enduro) are just a waste of time imo.
You make a good point, but I suppose everyone had their own formula for what’s “worth it”. I guess that’s also why people have multiple bikes. For me, I can only afford one bike to hit all my needs, and that’s the Knolly Tyaughton steel hardtail. (For now, anyways.) 😊
i'll chime in on this one, conversation with my maine broad this morning on how some monkeys have buckled in with herniated backs thoughts integral to riding atvs, now my maine broad and me are fifty seven and a half years old, just this winter i was still cranking my old hammerhead (tank mountain bike) over the new england winter tarmacs, the hammerhead goes back to the days no suspensions on it, christ i was recalling to my maine broad this morning that since we where kid years old i and others use to dive bomb bmx like bikes up over dirt ramps, christ ive smashed off of fucking monkeys mobiles high speed impacts, knock on monkeys still no hernias of sorts here
*I've been in the sport over thirty years, the weak elbow weak knee novices don't try any of that at home, they might buckle in with hernias (fucking lol, snare grimace)
