I was wondering how long you were going to last on that. The arm pump is too real. I won't give up my suspension. Lets me do things I normally wouldn't touch. Good for you on trying it out though.

I rode fully rigid when I started riding mtb in 1983 in Vancouver. We all did. Trails were different then. As bikes changed so did the trails. Loamers wore down and became trenches in the glacial till that were deeper than your bb. Bikes became more capable in rough terrain. New trails were built to suit the more capable bikes and become more rough with jumps and more and more. Today bikes are super capable, trails are being maintained a whole lot better but not all of them. I applaud your experiment with rigid. You’ve discovered something and that is a positive thing. I’d never go full rigid here in Whistler where I live now. Trails all seem to have several sections where it’s just a bit too rough for my old bones. It’s why I don’t want a gravel bike. I’ve ridden a cross bike around here and it’s certainly possible but certain sections are hell on wheels. Give my regards to Andrew.

So until recently you didn’t know there was a such thing as a rigid fork? Seriously??? And how do you assemble a bike any other way than by hand?

dude how tall are you and what bar width you rocking?

Good for you for trying it out and I learned enough from your experience to not try it. Single speed though, I love it!

you must love punishment i cant imagine anyone going full rigid these days lol. just having a front air fork makes a world of difference.

As someone whom rode the Shore in the OLD days as a full rigid, sure, full rigid is nice, but the front fork is a must.

You may have jumped the gun An-drew a Major change that is only for the truly unwell...

8 & 15 psi. That's what I would call dangerous at over 10 mph

Yea $700 service is a bit off. I got my 36 serviced last week through ns dynamics and got their highest level service with aftermarket wipers, custom resized bushings and a new air shaft to cut travel and it came to $330 AUD which is around $220 US.

Jenson USA is selling the DVO Onyx for $399

Appreciate your content, you always bring a fresh openness and humble approach, thanks for your clear and direct style. My old man rationale for you though is formed from my experience, so these points are just my thoughts and opinions. I started racing in the Vancouver area in 1990 on a Rocky Cirrus, a rigid bike and quickly had a choice between Manitou or Rock Shox first editions forks, or small hit elastomer vs. big hit air oil, or at least that is how we tried to describe it back in the day. Since then trails have become MUCH more intense and bikes have become stiffer and designed around the use of today's suspension forks. Gnarly back then is not what it is today, nor were the bikes as focused as they are today. I get all nostalgic for the simpler bikes but I don't miss being punished for imperfect lines on a trail where your rim brakes aren't slowing you down sufficiently or big drops, anything over 2' causing a serious rethink on the trail. My ramble in summary, glad you found out what was right for you but for me, I never would have left having a suspension fork, it makes riding safer and more fun.

Pretty sure you can get a new 36 for 700$

That terrain looks challenging on a rigid. I’m sure on smooth single track it would feel great

Horses for courses. Good on ya for trying something new!

$700 seems like a lot for a service. Glad you gave rigid a try. Single speed rigid really helped to change my riding, but I could see how it makes familiar trails seem not as fun. Maybe some brand new trails will help you see the benefits???

awe. i was excited to have a decent ytber with the same setup as i do. my only mtb is fully rigid/SS. i love it to bits. its my favorite purchase of all time

You getting soft bwoi. Just kiddin bro. Still got my rigid, but my last two builds have been HT. Sometimes it's just good to blow through roots and RG.

Kudos to you for trying a single-speed and ridgid set up. with the only bike I have, being a hardtail, I am not ballsy enough to try those set ups.

One up bars, even the aluminum versions have good give, also 31.8 clam bars as well ( they felx more due to have a lower dia)

$700? 😵‍💫 I feel like you got scammed. You can buy a new take off for that

Well done!!! ❤

You dont need this filter it just takes aways from the brightness

TMI reports... Can this be a regular thing, lol. I definitely laughed 😅

Easy sub :D

That's not a rigid bike, that's a hardnosed hardtail!

mtb is dangerous for sure. Minimize the risk by wearing protective gear, and riding in your skill level.

Interesting take on rigid fork choice. I'm lazy on maintenance and thinking of getting a rigid fork now. 😄

Chasing creaks has been my experience with single-speed bikes (rigid too). And chains breaking before they wear out. But in the rides between creaks it's so quiet you hear the forest.

I didn't expect to like Andrew more than I already did from his ramblings and industry defying decisions from nsmb, meatengines, and now bike mag, but his explanations for all the mechanics have immensely raised my opinion of him higher than anticipated.

Welcome to the small and exclusive club know as rigid single speeding. May it become your happy place like it is for me.

I ride my fully rigid hardtail once a year to remind me how much it sucks compared to my Epic. Theres a reason things progress.

Dont blame the tool when the tool is used incorrectly.

ive ridden hard for 20 plus years and have never ever ever ever ever broken a rim. you're the issue not the rim. get rid of your pussy ass cushcore run a higher tire pressure and you'll be fine. i live in upstate NY which is similar to the north west rocky and rooty. also this goes back to my tube vs. tubeless debate. you're running tubeless so you think you can run low pressure in that back and still send shit is rock gardens.

dude dude dude if you have broken 2 wheels its not the wheels its you.

first question should be how did you dent it? was it on a rock? so would running a higher tire pressure help???? domt blame the material if your not setup correctly. if you run low rear tire pressure bc you want a softer rear end bc of the hardtail then this will happen if you come down to hard on the edge of a rock. this kind of dent doesn't look like a rock kicked up and dent it. To me it looks like he was running too low of a pressure and dented the rim on a rock and if that the case don't blame the wheel material.

carbon wheel will break just as easy as aluminum dents. yes they are stiff but they are still fragile.

FWIW I have found toenail clippers a far superior tool for cutting zip ties

How old is the dude who set up your bike!?😅 Loved the video, greetings from Croatia from Kris 😎

48 years on rigid Single Speed. Never owned a bike with gears or suspension.

I rode rigid, the fastest climbing and you pick good lines - but once you hit consecutive big bumps youll get launched into the air.

Double hardtail! Nice work Steve. You are only a rigid seatpost away from triple hardtail perfection.

I partially have this channel to blame and andrew for a rigid hardtail. It's a blast, I have an rsd for my taival. I think I like it a lot for certain rides but I did just put a coil fork on the bike now as it's a good time of the year to have some cushion. (I only got up to 2.6 tires). My older ss rigid was only on 2.3 tires and the modern setup was way better.

I have built a rigid Chromag samurai, it was great the first season but I abandoned it. We've come a long way since 1992 when I started. I'm happy about it 😂

Do you exclusively ride a hardtail, or do you have a full sus too? If you do have a FS when do you ride it/ what do you ride when you choose it?

Video was really informative and good fun, but the colour grading could use some work imo. How is it both flat and contrasty? I understand going for a certain aesthetic, but i feel like this is just a little bit overdone. Also, I'm currently looking into converting my dj (only bike, too) to rigid, so this might end up coming in handy, so thanks.

There is a lot of solid tech data in this video Thanks!

Well done, congratz

Seeing rigid mtb’s make me physically ill 😂

Love seeing more full rigid MTB. I'm doing a selectively budget axum comp that is full rigid. It is an experience to say the least lol.