Rockhopper made alot excellent pionts, then he let me ride his Stumpjumper FSR.
And that kinda sealed the deal right there. I think the KM would be fun as hell, then the novelty would wear off after a few weeks.
Possibly if it was my only bike it would make sense, but right now I have a hardtail that I really love riding, my Surly LHT can take 2.1 knobbies so it’s basically a ridid off road mtn bike from 30 years ago, so really a 5 inch trail bike would round out the stable quite nicley.
My next bike is going to be either:
Imagine these 2 bikes were your own choices and were the same price , so cash doesn’t matter.
Which would you get and why? They are both capable machines, and they both tickle my netherregions but in somewhat different ways.
I know there is a 29er FSR as well, but I’m not interested in it much.
would you be going down to one bike or still have a geared bike?
I think the Surly would be my bike pick if you have other options in your bike quiver
I don’t think the full suspension 29’rs have really taken off yet allot of people prefer the hard tails and rigid 29’rs
It would definitely be the Stumpy for me. I have no interest in wrecking my aging knees on a SS and although 29ers interest me I think that I already determined that for my size and riding style they’re not really appropriate.
Would definatly not be getting rid of any bikes at all. Heavens!
Also: the Karate Monkey can be setup with gears eventually. I think i’m more interested in the rigidness/29ness than the SS factor personally. The KR appeals to me as a awesome winter bike since it can take 2.7 inch tires and it looks like it has mega fun factor
The FSR, well, I think i’d love to have it in a lot of cases I already get my self into as it is, but my back would be alot more thankful to me, and I could probably go faster.
So I guess one is “pick sweet lines and learn to be a really smart rider” the other is “damn the lines, and go like hell, or find the lines and go even faster” or something.
I want speed because I like it, not for the sake of a race , but speed can be perceived radically different on different bikes too.
Need to win Lottery.
Dude, maybe the Instigator could satisfy both needs. Get some gears onto 'er, and run FAT tires. Get the rigid fork for it. Big 26" tires are a bit cheaper and readily avalible compared to 29ers. Get some super light DH tires on it. Make some studded ones for winter. Gears to let you rock at Whopper, but rigid to keep it man’ed up a bit still. Me likes…
if you don’t use it to commute, go with the surly, single it up with 32 x22 and you’ll be able to rock all the hrm trails with style, and if you decide to ride another bike the skills gained from the s/s will make things perfect. depending on the trail, the s/s might be quicker in most cases, well with me anyways.
I’ve got to go for the Monkey too. Especially if you’re working on a comparable budget that would get you the stumpy… you could trick that Monkey out! And rigid? Think 17 lbs! It would be a treat to ride as opposed to arguably just another trail bike. It’s crazy how you can snap a bike like that around on the trail without wrecking yourself without the suspension.
KM is a pretty heavy frame, would be hard to get it down to 17lbs, low 20s woud be possible.
32 x 22 is far to easy of a gearing. 32 x 20 is the sweet spot on a 29er SS.
Between the 2 bikes listed I would choose the KM if it was being added to a stable, if it was to be an only bike I would choose the FSR.
I already have a Surly Long haul trucker that I use for anything that isn’t in the woods. The Karate monkey does kind of have more allure for me than just another trail bike to be honest. And with SS, i can run it for 6 months SS and if I find i don’t like it so much, I could make it a mega sweet 9 speed or something.
The instigator and 1x1 don’t interest me as much as 29er’s do.
Thanks for your comments folks.
KM is a pretty heavy frame, would be hard to get it down to 17lbs, low 20s woud be possible.
I’d think low 20s would probably be relatively easy. 17 would certainly require some effort, but wouldn’t it be sweet? With more or less generic parts I had a steel singlespeed at under 18 lbs which is why I figured getting a 29er with a reasonable effort might be possible as well.
Is the KM frame really that heavy?
Is the KM frame really that heavy?
18" is 5.34lbs and the fork it comes with is between 2.5 and 3lbs.
My medium Misfit frame is 4lbs 8oz and with a fairly nice build it weighs in around 22ish lbs with an aluminum rigid fork on it. And it is sub 25lbs with the suspension fork on it.
I have rode with a guy on a KM with a similar build to mine and his was a couple of pounds heavier.
5.34 is burly!
5.34 is burly!
I actually thought it was heavier than that before I posted, I like a light frame though
I’m not too concerned. I’d just be getting the bone-stock build to start out anyways.
I suppose it depends what you’re into:
You want to try something a little different, challenge yourself and hurt - KM
You want top notch tech to tame the trail, be little more forgiving, and ride it long - SJ
So, which do you think you’d enjoy more over the long term?
I ride an '07 SJ FSR and love it. I think my back likes it too. This year’s SJ has almost an inch more travel. On the other hand, you probably don’t want to ride the SJ in the winter, unless you get a coil spring shock for it, and even then…
I keep a hardtail for winter riding, as a spare bike (when the SJ is down for maintenance) and loaner, or if I have the urge to ride something different (which I almost never do). So, I’d consider buying both - pick one now, and save your pennies for the other later.
Another consideration is how tall you are. 29’er geometry might be a problem for shorter riders. Have you ridden a 29’er?