Rigid frame MTB options

Since someone's stole my Fisher and I no longer have a bike to commute with, I was thinking of building up a rigid frame MTB, preferrably single speed (single chainring), rear der only, and with 24 or 26" wheels. Can anyone recommend a good frame to start with, either new or old school? How do you go about putting together all the drivetrain bits and stuff if you get just a frame? That being said, if anyone's got an old clunker they no longer need, please let me know… I'm at a real loss without my old Fisher.

if you hit up places like north shore sports swap you could pick up a complete beater …

This was a good suggestion. They've got an Iron Horse chromo bike that I might be interested in. The issue is that I need this for urban assault style riding… cuz I'm totally jumping stairgaps and flying over stupid stuff downtown. I might have to replace the wheelset and probably install some Avid BB7s to keep it safe. What do you think about using a used frame for this kind of stuff? You think I'll kill myself? :damn:

Try Sports Junkies too. There's a couple of them around, so they might have something that will fit your need.

What do people think about the Surly Instigator frame? It looks like it might make for a decent all around/urban assault rig that won't break the bank. Might attract more thievery, though…

What do people think about the Surly Instigator frame? It looks like it might make for a decent all around/urban assault rig that won't break the bank. Might attract more thievery, though…

They make a really good urban commuter. Super strong frame and nice geo.

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22271

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22271

I can't belive this bike comes spec'd with an XO rear der.

That thing doesn't look like it would survive a stair drop. That's what I'm really afraid of because that's what I do ALL THE TIME while riding downtown.

There's a guy on Craiglist who's selling a large Zion 29er which is setup exactly the way I would want it, but he's not returning my emails. :mad:
http://vancouver.craigslist.org/bik/362045528.html Anyone know where you can buy a Zion frame around here?

MightyRiders quoted me like $1600 for a decent build up on a Surly Instigator frame… I was like, uh, NO! I don't wanna be crying after it gets stolen again.

There's a guy on Craiglist who's selling a large Zion 29er which is setup exactly the way I would want it, but he's not returning my emails. :mad:
http://vancouver.craigslist.org/bik/362045528.html

That's exactly what I'm looking for!

Thanks for the link.

Easy now! I'm going to check it out tomorrow or Saturday… and I NEED the bike cuz I don't have an urban assault machine anymore… since mine got STOLEN. I've been walking or riding my motorcycle to work. :cry:

Alright. here's the real deal… pretty sweet machine, but had a few problems with it right off the bat. The cable mounts weren't done up properly and since the regular sleeves weren't fitting properly, I just zip-tied it in key locations. The headset bearings and steerer tube had NO grease on them whatsoever, so I corrected that. The brakes weren't setup properly either, but after taking care of all this, it rolls quite nicely. It's got a 20T cog in the rear, I'm thinking about running an 18 or 16 instead… the cog's too offroadish to be practical downtown.

Sweet!

I like the rigid fork.

Put some commuter slicks on that, and it'll scream.

Well, the nice thing about using knobbies is that they're nice and wide and protect the wheel from impacts caused by stair drops, curb hopping, and simply jumping stuff. Or is there a good commuter tire that would work for that sort of work too? I used to run DMR Moto tires in 26x2.2 and they were pretty good.