I'm in the process of purchasing my first SS 29er and super excited. It looks like I can get into a Monocog much cheaper than a Rig but unfortunately I'm not sure if the savings are worth it. I had the chance to do some light riding on a Rig and loved it. Unfortunately I dont have access to a Mono. I ride mainly XC and love technical stuff. I would def upgrade the fork to a suspension on the Mono. Love to hear any comparisons, weight differences, etc. from similar XC riders.
i bought my rig to hold me over till my frame is built since my other frame cracked, and i was looking for the best bang for the buck. I think the rig is a better buy if you're planning on getting a sus fork. The rig can be made to be very light... i have one guy i rode with a few times that has his in the 18lbs range with a carbon fork, so figure less than 20 with a decent shock. It's a decently solid build too.
The fork alone on it is worth more than half the cost of the bike, which you should be able to score for around 1200 right now. The rig out of the box is pretty heavy but for next to nothing i dropped a few lbs of of it. I dropped more than 1/3lb by changing out the spider, chainring, and bash ring for a spiderless ring.
That's a tough call in my book. I had an 09 Monocog Flight and am currently on a Paragon coverted to SS so it is "essentially" a Rig. The Fisher is better in the fast/twisty stuff "IMO" but I am in no way saying that the Redline was a slouch. Personally, if I didn't have a bike right now I would probably choose the Redline just because I feel that it was a better climber and I also prefer the rigid fork. You really can't go wrong either way IMO.
But I have a '09 Monocog Flight 29. I don't know if the little subtle differences between the Flight and regular make significant differences, but I'm loving mine. And it is no slouch.
I ride technical single track and I don't fall behind on anything except long extended climbing which is more a function of power to weight than handling or skill. Actually on very technical sections, I pretty much can pull away from the other riders or catch up to them if I'm following.
out of curiousity, how much can you get the flight for?
i dunno if this helps, but the rig's frame retails for about 600, and the fork retails for around 800 i believe. not to mention that it has better brakes than the flight, and probably better wheels to boot. i paid 1200 for mine from the trek store, so i think the extra 200-300 bucks are well worth the investment if you're planning on suspension. BTW, it's about a 15 minute job to swap the fox fork from 80 to 100mm if you wanted to.
I actually end up riding faster than on my Cannondale Rush because of the SS gearing. The rigid fork forces me to work on my timing and staying supple with my arms while still applying a load to maintain traction. I like the light and accurate feel of the rigid fork. Just gotta balance the load and bump absorption with my arms to maintain front end grip in a corner.
But I poop out sooner and once I get tired, it is not very forgiving at all. But I CAN feel that I am getting stronger and sharper reflexes.
The 29 wheels do a great job of allowing me to carry my momentum through the corners. The SS needs momentum. I'm a momentum kind of rider vs the point and shooter that the younger riders are. So it works very well.
I paid $750 for my Flight complete.
It had some nice upgrades from the regular Monocog like BB5 disc vs V, nicer rims, cranks and some Ritchey parts vs Redline parts.
Ooh, one upgrade I did was swap out the stock 18t cog with a Surly 20t.
I paid $750 for my Flight complete.
It had some nice upgrades from the regular Monocog like BB5 disc vs V, nicer rims, cranks and some Ritchey parts vs Redline parts.
Ooh, one key upgrade I did was swap out the stock 18t cog with a Surly 20t.
after some more in depth research and opinions - for the money the rig is pretty hard to pass up considering the specs I'm looking for. I'm just working on figuring out now if I should go with a 19" or 21" frame. Being 6'2" I'm always in the middle. Anyways I could be faced with harder decisions and luckily my lbs carries both sizes.
i'm a little over 6'1 and i really regret not getting a 21". The seatpost is a mile out of the frame on my 19". The top tube is fairly low on the rig if that matters to you.
isuck - I apprecaite the info. Whats your inseam? I'm a 34.
I'm def leaning towards the 21. I've ridden a GF 19" 26er before and think it was too small. For some reason I always had a lot of hand numbness attributed to my seat height. I wasnt sure if the 29er hardtail geo would make a difference. Ironically I ride 19' HIFI Deluxe and it fits me perfect - i also understand the geo is different on the full sus GF bikes.
Having owned a rig, Its a good bike, but not everything is good about it. The $800 fox will rob you on climbs, and single speed riders should not be sitting and spinning. The Ebb seems easy enough first, until you change the cog on the rear. The adjustment is easy, but be prepared to adjust your seat height, fore and aft, when the ebb is moved. Mine creaked, but not all do. The Fox fork is OEM, not the full RLC, so its really not an $800 msrp fork.
One of the reasons I love riding my Monocog is that when I do mash the pedals, I feel like none of the energy goes to waste squishing the suspension. And for all you HT die-hards, I feel like my front fork squishes way more than my rear on my FS bike.
BUT, I've read that the newer Fox RLC should be set up with the lock-out ON and set to the softest settings and just ridden like that. Sort of a platform pedal for forks. This is how I would want to ride a suspension forked SS.
The Fox F29 RL on the Rig has a lock out, so you can use it if you are worried about fork bob. I added the Fox Remote lock out to mine and love it. I also extended the fork to 100mm at the same time, so it is plush or rigid at the flip of a switch.
I haven't had to adjust my seat when swapping gears due to the EBB. I guess I'm not moving it far enough for it to matter for me.
I went from the 18 to a 20, and the position of the ebb changed considerably. I could have gotten another chain, or added a link. The lockout worked fine, but I always seemed to forget to unlock it.
isuck - I apprecaite the info. Whats your inseam? I'm a 34.
I'm def leaning towards the 21. I've ridden a GF 19" 26er before and think it was too small. For some reason I always had a lot of hand numbness attributed to my seat height. I wasnt sure if the 29er hardtail geo would make a difference. Ironically I ride 19' HIFI Deluxe and it fits me perfect - i also understand the geo is different on the full sus GF bikes.
One of the reasons I love riding my Monocog is that when I do mash the pedals, I feel like none of the energy goes to waste squishing the suspension. And for all you HT die-hards, I feel like my front fork squishes way more than my rear on my FS bike.
BUT, I've read that the newer Fox RLC should be set up with the lock-out ON and set to the softest settings and just ridden like that. Sort of a platform pedal for forks. This is how I would want to ride a suspension forked SS.
i climb alot in saddle so i dont get pedal bob there, and when i'm out of saddle, i'm pulling hard on the bars so i barely notice the bob. In fact i could have a sack of potatoes for a fork and i dont think it would bother me in the climbs. Also, i tend to pull up pretty hard on the pedals as well as push down, so it kinda smooths out th whole cycle.
lastly, i try to keep my weight over the rear so i can keep traction.
The Fox remote sounds like a great future investment, I'll be fine with bending down to switch on/off. Going to test both sizes Friday, look forward to getting on my first SS.
I have swapped a few parts around on the Rig, but the remote lock-out was by far the best upgrade I've done to the bike. I've heard mixed reports on if Fox is still offering the kit.
Two complaints about the Rig. Aluminum frame and EBB. Good bike otherwise. After riding a Paragon, I'm not too psyched about the Genesis geo. I felt better on the Flight.
From what I've seen and read you either like the Genesis geo or not. The Monocog Flight is quite tempting, I'm going to further test a Rig tmrw and see if I can come across a Mono this weekend at the trails
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