NSMB - 2022 - Hardtail Thread...

I had a '14 Unit for a number of years that saw a variety of configurations from onesie to internal geared hub to 1x10 with a dropout with a derailleur hanger.  

One of my favorite bikes until it got poached off the streets of Seattle by a bottom feeder.  Replaced with a Ti Honzo with same dropouts to allow optionality.... 

Yay from me but I have less discerning taste (ie: a Kona is fine for my needs and easy to get) and very little time to dicker around looking for esoteric brands and building up rolling exotica (all the power to you if you do!)

Posted by: PowellRiviera

That is interesting, I have a Z1 coil 170 mm on my Hawk, definitely don't need all of the travel but when I switched to 160mm I didn't like how it changed the bike. How well did the bike accept the angle set¿

I actually started with the Z1 at 160 and didn't like it either - kind of felt like I was perched up on the BB in a weird way and made the bike feel steep. Angle set went in smooth and has remained quiet/smooth.  Very happy with the Wolftooth product, is my first headset from them.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: sverdrup

I’m also running a 30 x 18 with similar slack until I figure out how to align a Paul Melvin tensioner. I have a microspline hub which has made finding parts more challenging.

Did you already pick up a Melvin? They're a really nice piece, quality made, piece of kit but with the lack of a clutch (and relatively light spring tension) I found it was pretty annoying noise-wise. Without ISCG tabs and with the PF-BB it's not possible to use a fixed tensioner at the front, and the clutch single-speed tensioners from SBO are big money. 

I had my best tensioner experience using a Shimano Zee rear derailleur with the super short cage with longer limit screws to dial in the position. It's very micro-adjustable and with the clutch tension being adjustable it's actually really easy to dial in. Makes it quick to swap cogs too so you can experiment with different setups. 

Cool rig!!!

I did pick up the Melvin, but may end up not running it.  I ordered spacers and a cog from Boone, and the Melvin doesn't have enough adjustment to match the chainline needed for the setup I ordered.  My fault for not waiting to get the Melvin before ordering the spacers.  Do you know of any spacers that fit on a microspline free hub well (aside from more custom machined ones from Boone....)?

Short cage derailleur is likely going to be the ticket, especially given the ability to swap cogs.  Thanks for the advice.

No, I understand at some point I may have to think about #1FG X MicroSpline, but for now I run HG setups all around. I have a Problem Solvers single-speed system for XD hubs that I bought to have the option of going #1FG on SRAM bikes and it works very well, but again for my own rigs, I'm married to HG for the moment.

Posted by: DanL

Kona Unit as a base ride - yay or nay? If I didn't fall in love with running it as a SS (cue shocked gasps and buckets of tar and feathers arriving) how much aggravation is putting in a 1by like a box prime ?

For what it's worth, if I was buying a new off-the-rack bike tomorrow it would be a (Pink!) Unit frame with a -2° Angleset. Rides great with a 120mm suspension fork and rides great rigid. Has the straight seat tube aesthetic I prefer, and the geo is solid.

Going complete, if you think you may choose to run gears rather than SS, or if you may want to swap back and forth (it takes a couple minutes once you're good at it) then Unit X is definitely the better bargain buy for you. It does have a MicroSpline driver which is a bit of a pain in the ass for SS (see above) but it's still a much better value with Shimano cranks and the excellent Deore 12spd drivetrain. So much better in fact, that I think that's true even buying a new rear hub on day one.

Even with no plans to run it multi-speed and as much as I love pink, I would buy a Unit X over the Unit. I think, a lot of holes in the stock Unit build. One particular example is the FSA cranks which really limit chainring options unless you're going to spring for a Wolf Tooth Camo setup and I'd also be contending with buying a new cog anyways because I can't come close to pushing 32x18t on local trails.

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The one place I really feel like Kona's let customers down with the stock builds (Unit & X) is the i30 rims. Running an i35 would have provided a much more relevant mix of tire choices from 2.4"-3.0" where the i30 really limits you to 2.6" in the future. WTB makes the basic ST rim in an i35 x 29" so it's too bad really.

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This is a really complicated way of saying I'd just buy a frameset and go from there. I know at least for myself it would work out cheaper every time with a focus on min-maxing.

Posted by: DanL

Kona Unit as a base ride - yay or nay? If I didn't fall in love with running it as a SS (cue shocked gasps and buckets of tar and feathers arriving) how much aggravation is putting in a 1by like a box prime?

If you're interested, I'm an extra-giant nerd about the Unit. I've owned a few over many years and my last Unit and the mulleted Explosif that followed it are a direct line to my Waltworks V1 build. They're great riding, ultra-versatile, machines. I write something about the platform every year and I've included a couple of links: 

2020: My Dream Unit

2021: New Year, New Unit

Everyday is Wednesday? Surly that is. My hard tail solution for mixed surfaces ranging from freshies to gravel.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: DanL

Kona Unit as a base ride - yay or nay? If I didn't fall in love with running it as a SS (cue shocked gasps and buckets of tar and feathers arriving) how much aggravation is putting in a 1by like a box prime?

If you're interested, I'm an extra-giant nerd about the Unit. I've owned a few over many years and my last Unit and the mulleted Explosif that followed it are a direct line to my Waltworks V1 build. They're great riding, ultra-versatile, machines. I write something about the platform every year and I've included a couple of links: 

2020: My Dream Unit

2021: New Year, New Unit

Andrew, thank you. This is great.

Posted by: DanL

Kona Unit as a base ride - yay or nay? If I didn't fall in love with running it as a SS (cue shocked gasps and buckets of tar and feathers arriving) how much aggravation is putting in a 1by like a box prime ?

The current units already ship with standard dropouts so you can upgrade to geared without having to order new dropouts.

All the cable stops are there as well. I assume the freehub is HG compatible?

Good call on the box drivetrain: I have a box prime9 two on my doctahawk and it's awesome. 11-50 cassette using standard old school Shimano freehub, 9 gears with perfect spacing, very crisp shifting action. Only gripe is that the lever is not dual action, thumb only, no index finger release.

I have a 2018 unit for year round commuting (ss at 40/13) and a 2011 Explosif, which I've converted from geared to ss and back multiple times for various purposes. The concept of sliding dropouts combined with standard rear hubs is truly awesome,opens up so many possibilities. If I didn't already have those bikes, I'd buy a current model without second thoughts.

I say go for it!

So, thanks to somebody's helpful tips on uploading photos, here's my hardtail.

It's most definitely not new this year. I've had from new since 2015 and it's been in many iterations.

26"/32mm stanchions, 27.5"/35mm stanchions, geared (never more than 10 cogs), SS and it's been in it's current guise since early 2021... 32:18 gearing, Surly Krampus fork, 69er with a plus front tyre. Mismatched brakes (Deore left, Guide rear). I can't let go of the dropper even though the extra cable hurts my 'simplicity' aesthetic....

I love the adhoc-ness of it. It's surprisingly capable if obviously quite rattly...

Did a pairs 6 hour 'race' a couple of months back and managed 42ish km on it (despite taking most of the following week to recover, ouch).

I'd had a Marino HT made for me a year ago with more modern geo (450 r, 425cs, 64hta, 76sta etc) but actually found I preferred the shorter geo of the Surge in a hardtail.

My other bike is a 140mm travel Marino fully that I'm loving for everything that would be more of a handful for the SSSurge.

Cheers

With all the SS talk in here, I thought I'd throw this in here; Zee RD hacked (literally) into a SS tensioner with clutch

I'm considering doing something like this for my Chromag Sakura at some point this year

https://m.pinkbike.com/photo/16209611/

Woah that is cool even if I don't understand how you've done it. 

Can't go past the clean line that horizontal drop outs allow though... 

If you can that is.

Hi all, I didn't even realise NSMB had a forum let alone a hardtail thread!

Here's my Ragley Big Al (XL) with aforementioned FU50 bar (I'm 6'5" tall) and other bits including a Zeron coil fork, Aeffect R cranks and a Burgtec oval chainring.

Posted by: stinhambo

Hi all, I didn't even realise NSMB had a forum let alone a hardtail thread!

Welcome! Nice looking ride. :-)

Posted by: GiveitsomeWelly

So, thanks to somebody's helpful tips on uploading photos, here's my hardtail.

It's most definitely not new this year. I've had from new since 2015 and it's been in many iterations.

26"/32mm stanchions, 27.5"/35mm stanchions, geared (never more than 10 cogs), SS and it's been in it's current guise since early 2021... 32:18 gearing, Surly Krampus fork, 69er with a plus front tyre. Mismatched brakes (Deore left, Guide rear). I can't let go of the dropper even though the extra cable hurts my 'simplicity' aesthetic....

I love the adhoc-ness of it. It's surprisingly capable if obviously quite rattly...

Did a pairs 6 hour 'race' a couple of months back and managed 42ish km on it (despite taking most of the following week to recover, ouch).

I'd had a Marino HT made for me a year ago with more modern geo (450 r, 425cs, 64hta, 76sta etc) but actually found I preferred the shorter geo of the Surge in a hardtail.

My other bike is a 140mm travel Marino fully that I'm loving for everything that would be more of a handful for the SSSurge.

Cheers

Love this ride. Looks rad. I can only assume it's really fun to ride?

I ordered a Marino last year and am just waiting for it to complete. How long did your's take? Are you happy with the quality? Just curious what it will look like when it finally arrives as I've never seen one in real life.....