i am a fan of function following form for sure. the 29r was a simple racing machine. no frills. no extra weight. just clean and quick. more than saying that one bike is better than another, support the person you feel builds the style you like. i can say that tony p. can wheelie and jump some crazy shit.

So many comments about how it looks and what you have to explain. Who can explain for me why those things are in any way relevant to the ride of the bike?

Cary mentions that Rick Hunter's pictured frame has a "mis-aligned seat tube." I take it that Cary neither builds nor designs fillet brazed steel frames. Obviously Cary doesn't have a grasp of the reason for the curved seat tube -- shortened chainstays, which equate to better climbing in technical terrain for some riders (i.e., NOT the sit-and-spin types).

Bicycles aren't about looks. They're about function. Those who agonize over the appearance while sacrificing function shouldn't call themselves MTB riders. They should call themselves poseurs, or frame art aficionados.

Form which follows function = superior.

Form that sacrifices function for the sake of visual uniqueness = waste of good material.

As to the original question, I would choose Rick Hunter's frame only because I have a friend who rides a Hunter 29er SS with traditional (no curves) frame design, and it rides efficiently with good snap in the climbs.

Soulcraft. Duh. Double Duh.

But remember- nothing really whispers "individual" and "detail" and "one of a kind" like a bike manufactured by a company named "Giant".
Look inside, Cody, you know it to be true.

Soulcraft.
Duh.

I say El Gato Negro.

What? No Sycip love? They've got my vote.

Hunter or Soulcraft They make nice bikes!

what about an Igleheart?
I mean he was there for the Fat City days.

MTBR Video from NAHBS.

The answer is obvious. BLUE COLLAR

The way I see it if he orders one, my chances of getting one will increase 100%

Just to be clear: My comments about "compliance" and Ira Ryan were sarcastic. I just read my comment and wanted to make sure that y'all didn't get the wrong idea. I'm a jerk like that.

Get a new job and buy all of them. Nuff said.

Decisions, decisions,...given the limited amount of info about the rider and his desires, type of riding, etc it appears from the postings to all come down to personal bias. I would like to offer some observations however:

-The revival in the 29er cruiser MTB (1916-ish Schwinn) is a beautiful thing and my observation is that:
1) Don McClung has been doing it the longest and has
2) some custom options (ie handmade seat tube clamp/cable hanger, shortest chainstays (16")) that the others have yet to reveal
3) BUT you will pay $2,200 (frame AND fork) at a minimum and
4)Don ain't getting any younger (so get them while you can) and is
5)seen as one of the original fore bearers of whole 29er MTB movement. Plus
6) he's a retro-juggernaut by most modern standards (goes well w/ the whole single speed ethos)and more so than the others,
7) no one else (more likely than not anyway) will have one of his rides in your county or region of CA, (if that factors in for you).

So with Don, if you can afford his works of art, probably has the most history behind him as far as SS 29er MTBs, (not to offend the younger guys (sub, subtext-plz don't withdraw my registration from SSWC '08, or cut me off on the trails, hehe!)

Other stuff:
-Price, most of the other manufacturers will build you a bike for around the relative same price, $1,300-1,800+ but

-not everyone does bent seat tubes to accommodate short chainstays, or curved tubing, so I think that might narrow things down. HUNTER does lots of wonderful curved tubing, and his motto is "Satisfaction guaranteed".

-voting with your $: this factors w/ me because i think it's an extension of supporting the arts locally, supporting the local economy, etc..and i think in general (stated or not) you are more likely ,IMHO , to get a better over all if your a "local bra".

-so, if your not looking for anything curved, with short chain stays, any of the above can deliver on a custom steed that will bring you lots of joy, get lots of lustful looks, and most of all fit you and your riding style like no off the shelf bike can.

(soon to be HUNTER owner)

pear-air-ah.

Retrotec.

Given the options, I would throw in
Don McClung's work as well. I can't say Don originated the retro bomber, but he executes it better than anyone. See one here.

h.

all of them are phony
get a Black Cat chump....

Get some gears.

It seems a lot of people think he's deciding between the bikes in the picture. He's getting a "custom" meaning it can look like whatever he wants.

So the real question is who builds, as in manufatures the nicest bike.

After seeing what they all did at NAHBS I would have to go with Pereira.

sheeeesssh. It's a can not loose situation. Any of those would do....when push comes to shove, I would rally down with the Hunter however.

Retrotec.
Curtis built me a sweet Retrotec Half SS CX bike. It handle like a dream.

Hunter - if the mountain bike rides anything like my monster cross or Cameron's mom, it will be the sweetest thing you swing a leg over.

Pereira.

hunter. hunter. hunter.

In baby poo yella no less.

I had one. I miss it.

I have a Hunter 29er that's a regular lookin' frame and love it. - JR

Cary was spot-on. Sloped top tubes are retarded.

Is he gonna use the bike for cyclocross or xc mountain biking? I mean, I use my CX bike on the trail, but my mtb is better.

I say go for a Giant Iguana and say up yours to the self rightous tools out there who look down on you and your humble steed.

Bikebuff

Kidding go for the lightest one so you can eat more cookies and have a fat ass!

Definitely go for the Pereira. The extra top tube provides for lateral stiffness while retaining it's vertical compliance. The fork is also very compliant (vertically) and stiff enough (laterally). You know when you get that right that it's gonna be da bomb. hahaha...
These are all great choices (except for the Ira Ryan), but I gotta say that I love my Pereira! It is a wheelie king. http://tinyurl.com/25cmuw

Soulcraft first, then you should consider the Coconino, that guy is pretty hard core.

Soulcraft....do it

get a pereira

soulcraft son. hunter is a close second.

Errrrmmmm, a 700cm wheel would be approximately 23 feet in diameter. I think you mean 700C, which is about 700mm in diameter with 39mm tires.

get a pereira

one. of. each.

My husband Steve Garro makes an amazing ride...Truely an extension of your body, that moves and responds without thought. get a coconino !!! www.coconinocycles.com

wwwd

soulcraft

Get which ever he can get built the fastest before he changes his mind.

Other things to consider. The more frilly and curvy the frame, the more you end up having to answer questions about the bike. If you just want to ride the dang thing, go with the double diamond - tried and true.

Retrotec. Inglis has taught a lot of other builders much of what they know. And he was way, way off the front with bikes like this. Also, look at Iglehardt's stuff.

Check out Wanta, www.wantaframes,com Al puts together some of the sexiest fillet brazed bikes in the world. I think he has been building for 35 years. Otherwise go for the Hunter.

uh, given that i have 3 of the 5 options in my collection, i'm not sure i can speak to my own decision-making skills...

Soulcraft.
If it was good enough for The Bad Brains, itll be good enough for you.

How about a Generic?

http://genericcycles.com/images/swobike.jpg

Pereira: Too many unexplained frame bits; CFO, you’d be spending more time trying to explain why there’s an extra top tube than riding, and don’t get me started on the fork…too late, what, is that some sort of trail divining rod meant to guide you thru root gardens to the oases of sweet water single track? Next!

Hunter: Again with the extra top tube. At least if you owned this one you could explain it away as needed to support the miss aligned seat tube, which is a good example of design over function. Moving on.

Retrotec: I actually love this bike but the seat post length makes me nervous. I’d be afraid that every time I wanted to take it out for a ride I’d have to look under the mattress on my wife’s side of the bed for it. Don’t want to compete with that.

Ira Ryan: I got nothing, nothing but homogenized white bread, plain with no butter or anything else. Maybe give some tagger a sharpie and hope for the best. Please…

Soulcraft: Yep…this is the bike, keep the color but loose the scrotum scratcher thud buster and I think we have a winner. Ride it like the wind, giggling like a 10 year old boy with the summer sun on your back, a pocket full of candy and not a thought in your head.

Go with Tony! Not only did that bike win all the trophies at last years NAHBS, he is a really swell guy to boot. I've seen him ride a block-long wheelie on that bike you posted, and he just took first place in the Tour de Bomb freakbike class on a chopper he built in an afternoon with dumpstered bikes and coat hangers.

Ira all the way. Messenger powered and Trans Iowa tested.

Hunter... solid.

Soulcraft. I think the name pretty well sums it up.

Give the dosh to Curtis! He's got a race to fund this year, after all. Oh, and he makes lovely bikes.

Damn teachers making all that money... go with the hunter

Cuuurtis, curtis, CuRtis, Retrotec.. despite our differences,(tall, not so tall, right coast, left coast, I 'undoubtedly outperformed' at the SSWC decider, He's hosting, ETC. " His bikes are still most raddest, simple, utilitarian in so much as the curves aren't particularly excessive materially or anything. And there's also that heritage stuuufff,, retrotec's been around for since ferever-ish .. so anyway there's a fairly subjective view point for you, oohoooh and Curtis told me that the cool kids were now running 650b's in the back and 29 in the front, so do that too... m

Retrotec

Both Big Curtis and Big Rick rode well in the Grasshopper Adventure Series #1. Flip a coin.

soul craft.... duh