Hi there!
I have read the forum for a while and I think time has come for a lil' introduction.
I have ridden MTBs for ages but with a difference : I gave up gears, shifters and all those stuff from the very beginning, that is about 20years ago... :mrgreen:
One of my hobbies is converting friends to single-speed MTBing, and in turn, converting their bikes into full-rigid SS MTBs!
My secret plan is to see all the guys on the Tour de France ride single-speed steel bikes that were handmade in the good ol' times when competitors still had red wine and sandwiches to recover from their efforts.
I know that project will take some time but I am a positive person.
I don't like high-tech at all : full suspension, hydraulics, electronics... aren't my cup of tea (though I do prefer coffee, BTW).
At the moment, I own 3 bikes.
A DB Fuji Cromo steel Sunn with straight rigid Fuji BD Sunn forks. 42*18/19 SS and slick tires for commuting and fast rolling XC (42*20). It has a rats looks as it had had a top-racer's life before we met, and I got rid of some of the decals in order to keep it non-appealing to bike thieves.
A sub 9.8kg animal, though I have never tried to cut weigh down - well, not yet. Amazing ride. Pure pleasure on single tracks.
A non-quite-vintage Q-Bikes GoldFinger. I ride it with fat tires when I want to play. Single speed (32*16/17) with Sunn rigid forks (DB Fuji Cromo).
It is also my girlfriend's bike (she has her own seatpost & saddle combo, for that girly feel) with slick tires when we go for a ride on Sunny days along the river.
A Canondale M800
Beast of the East I got when I lived in Northern Ireland about 15 years ago.
The workshop is always full of stuff : at the moment, I am building the 'Dale again, as well as another SS bike for my brother and a vintage SS road bike based on a 70's racer.
My dream bike ?
Definitely a high-end handmade steel MTB, or a Titanium bike (Kona or Sunn, maybe...).
But single-speed and full rigid - of course.
I guess that's it folks,
Cheers,
Rémy