My 2nd 29er

(Text from 2003) On the opposite end of the spectrum (and just as fun) I have a rigid bike.

It's a fully rigid, geared 29er mountain bike. Some vital stats:

22 pounds even as shown. I'm not a huge weight weenie anymore, and there are some heavier parts of there (Hopey steering damper, old XT square taper bottom bracket, comfy Bontrager saddle that's seen better days, etc). Additionally, I'm really rough on equipment, so I have a 36 spoke rear wheel, brass spoke nipples, oversized tubes on the frame, etc. I like to have lots of confidence in what I'm riding.

Frame and fork, of course, are WW custom. I like a REALLY long toptube (25", in this case) and short stem (80mm). The fork is a pretty standard/boring 470mm long 43mm rake model.

Wheels are Chris King classic hubs laced (36 spokes in the rear, 32 in front) with 14/15 gauge spokes and brass nips, to IRD Cadence rims. These rims have served me quite well, despite their skinniness (they're road rims, 19mm wide) and low weight (390 grams each). I have about 12 months on this wheelset without any problems. Tires are IRC Mythos, set up tubeless with my DIY tubeless. I tend to go with a LOT of sealant, just to make sure I've got some in the case of thorns or what have you.

Brakes are Avid SD-Mag (no longer made, I think) which are falling apart. The hardware doesn't seem to stay on these things very well, so I've had to fix them a bit. They seem to work fine, though. Colorado isn't wet enough most of the time that I feel like I need discs. Brake levers are SRAM 5.0 - smoothest action and lightest weight of any SRAM lever. Lighter than XTR. Best of all, retail is like $20.

The drivetrain is a little weird. I'm running a heavily modified XT front derailleur with a 26-38 front chainring setup. That's right, a really big granny and middle chainring 2x9 setup. I find that the shifting works great and the gear range is exactly what I need with an 11-32 XT cassette in the rear. Without the front derailleur mod, though, it won't work because you'll constantly drop the chain. The cranks themselves are boring Sugino XD500 110mm bolt pattern jobbies. Cheap but effective. Chain is a basic, boring SRAM PC59. I could put one of those fancy hollowpin ones on and save a few grams, but I'll wait to wear out the drivetrain first. Shifters are SRAM 5.0 gripshift (light, cheap, durable) and rear derailleur is a SRAM X-7 (not all that light, but it shifts well and it's what I had sitting around when I built the bike).

Pedals are Speedplay Frogs. A lot of people hate these, but I love 'em. If I couldn't ride them, I'd probably switch to the Crank Brothers pedals, they're a slick design!

Stem is an old Ritchey "pro" 80mm. They don't make the 80mm anymore, so I'm kinda stuck with it now. But it works fine.

Seatpost is a Thomson 27.2x410. The best posts out there, if not the lightest. I don't have to worry about skewering myself, which is what matters most to me!

Saddle is an ancient Bontrager. I've had it for years. I won't switch to anything else. When it dies, I'll probably be inconsolable.

I'm running a cheapo IRD carbon handlebar. I don't notice the bar damping out any vibrations, but it's nice and light. The Easton Monkeylite bars are basically the same price, and they're a bit lighter, so I'm sure I'll eventually switch to those.

Grips are old cheapo foam ones. I like foam grips for some odd reason.

Headset, cheapo IRD. I'll get myself a nice King one of these days.

Finally, I have a Hopey steering damper. This slows down the deflection of the handlebars away from center when, say, riding down a gully full of babyheads. They are the bee's knees. I used to have a Scott's damper on my dirtbike (most serious dirtbike racers use them) and I like having a similar setup on my mountain bike. It actually isn't too heavy (140 grams) and I feel the extra control is more than worth the extra weight. The downside is that they're ridiculously expensive, so if you want to try one out, scan Ebay or be willing to cough up $220.