if marshall is still around (sideways), he and i discussed the possibilities of a bike like this. i'm not sure if he ever got around to it or hell is even still building bikes at all. but it's interesting to see someone's finally done it.
actually, I think Marshall was running this same set up minus the fat tires on one of his frames. A 700x?38? CX tire up front with a KM fork and a semi-slick 26x1.95 in the back. This has been well over a year ago since I saw his post but he had good things to say about it...
Yeah, he was, which is why this frame kind of interested me...it's only $400, too. I'm sure any custom maker (Indy?, cough) could build a similar bike if one had finer tastes, but I just thought it looked cool. In any case, I certainly don't have the space for another bike around; just wondering what people thought of it.
I thought about trying this with my Surly Instigator, but instead I decided to go full out and I'll soon be riding a Karate Monkey!!
You and Donnie are the only two people in the world who make me feel good about the way I change bikes. (Maybe Instigator, too, but I don't know him well enough to take much comfort in his issues...)
it'd be interesting to me in terms of the geometry setups on a bike like that. more or less the angles, how to get it dialed just right. and i'm sure those boys could make something like that if someone really wanted one. now that i think about it i'm not sure if they've made a bike like that or not. i'll ask them tomorrow.
I've been running a 29"-26" bike for a year now. It's an old Spooky with a karate monkey fork and a 2.2" wtb up front. Bike handles real well and the axle-crown is the same as a 5" singlecrown fork with a 26" wheel. The benefit is the better rolling properties of the big wheel combined with the strength and acceleration of the 26" rear. IMO suspension isn't at all necessary on with a 29"er front wheel, as it feels nearly identical to a 60mm suspension fork...