To all you 29er's out there!

£35 for a Ti bash ring isn't to be sniffed at!

$140 for a Ti spiderless middleburn chainring.

I'm not convinced of the advantages of a Ti chainring. But bow to the bling.

Thats one hot ride, the pic has me reaching for my credit card

I know.

Cielo make fewer than 100 frames a year too. All frames are custom made, and even the paint is done in-house.

It's as much a labour of love for Chris King as it is a business. Given their prices I can't see them making a lot of profit out of the venture, most of the money in a 29er is in the forks, brakes and cranks which aren't the bits that Chris King do.

The thing I love about the Cielo is the spirit in which it was created. It's not designed to be a competition bike like a Niner, a Cielo is as close to a traditional bike or original mountain bike that you'll come to. The geometry, materials and even clearances are a nod to that. The non-S-bend version of the frame cannot even take the largest tyres (mine is S-bend), it's supposed to have the feel of a classic frame and set of components put together for a certain goal, that being long days out exploring a wilderness and it's trails.

The reviews of the bike were weird, the people who didn't understand that approach to heritage (one foot in the past, one in the present) didn't get why it wasn't as super aggressive as it could be. But those who did get the aim just wrote lists of superlatives.

I was pretty taken by the Cielo on that basis... I'm not a competition rider, and a slightly more relaxed position for long days of off-road fun at non-aggressive paces sounds pretty much perfect. That you can put nicer components on (forks, wheels) to find a balance between comfort and energetic action just sealed the deal.

similar attitude to the build on my bike

i am not a racer, so (apart from the forks) tended to go for parts that offered longevity and comfort, not the most aggressive or lightweight parts

I'm not sure what people mean buy aggresive in a MTB sense. The slacker your angles are the steeper the hills you can throw yourself down. Which feels pretty darn aggresive to me.

I ride my bikes like a reckless, respectless child. Sent myself over the bars last year. Walking back to my bike I passed a couple walking their dog. They gave me a weird look, as I was walking out of a bush, wearing cycle gear, but no bike could be seen. So I explained that I had fallen. But I think it was the massive grin, and subtle giggle, that made them look at me weirdly.

I ride my bikes like a reckless, respectless child. Sent myself over the bars last year. Walking back to my bike I passed a couple walking their dog. They gave me a weird look, as I was walking out of a bush, wearing cycle gear, but no bike could be seen. So I explained that I had fallen. But I think it was the massive grin, and subtle giggle, that made them look at me weirdly.

Hah, that's exactly what I'll be doing.

It's probably time for me to get a helmet.

all of us use helmets for swinley, its always commented on when someone is seen on the trails without one

the childish giggle after a fall is part of the fun

I still wear roadie gear. Which is frankly too little.

The problem is falling off trails. A little stumble while winter running last winter led to a 15m tumble down a rocky mountainside. I worry for my elbows and knees.

i am fully rapha'd for offroad, does get commented on by others on the trails - the "oh, so you are a roadie" type comments

sometimes i forget to take the visor off my helmet when i go out on the road (hangs head in shame)

Jame do you have a pic of your bike?

Silver cranks were defo the right option.

Looks a lot fun!

Bromley Bike Co are doing a lovely job of bringing together the Cielo, including my request for a 31t chainring:

We have sourced a 31t chain ring and you are correct you will need the Middleburn chainset to run a 5 arm 94bcd spider. Having just spoken to Middleburn about your set-up they are going to customise you a 5 arm spider.

Rather than using the standard triple spider they are going to turn down the back of the spider and remove the granny ring mounting surfaces. This will give you a much neater and single speed friendly finish. Hopefully this will be a real nice detail to add to your bike.

Everything else is going ok, the majority of the components are here and I’ll shortly be building your wheels up for you.

I’ll let you know how everything is going when we return to work on the 27th. Hope you have a good Christmas.

Emphasis is mine.

Awesome stuff.

I realise I should probably bump this out to the current projects thread, but I think most people interested in 29ers would just prefer it in here.

i'm going to have a spin on one of these soon - can't wait!

http://singularcycles.posterous.com/new-singular-buzzard-all-mountain-prototype-f

i'm going to have a spin on one of these soon - can't wait!

http://singularcycles.posterous.com/new-singular-buzzard-all-mountain-prototype-f

That looks like a lot of fun.

They need to shoot their photographer though, the pin cushioning on those images is screwing with the perceived geometry of the bike.

you're not wrong - i'm in the process of shooting him some new ones :)

Good stuff. When it's all muddy too?

proper studio shots and muddy action shots too, consistent throughout - it's a lovely little brand that doesn't have budget to do fancy photoshoots but for 2012 he's trying to get a more consistent feel across all media which should be achievable

the products are so highly rated that they sell themselves thankfully!

p.s i don't work for singular! sam is just an old friend from single speeding and i do his ads for the ride journal and his new site launching in 2012 - gonna be lovely

I've taken a bit of a fancy to this...It would tide me over until I can get my custom English.
I kind of need something to use in 2O12 so I can get back on the dirt...this would do nicely. :]

Looks light'n'fast. I like Merida MTBs, not sure how availible they are in the UK (at least under the Merida brand), but they are popular up here.

Pretty sure one of the bigger norskie XC teams ride Mreida hardtails,

Merida has had a few world champs on their bikes...most notably Gunn Rita Dahle.
I'm pretty sure they own most of the specialized brand too.
My folks stock them so I can get them easy enough...just can't afford THAT one. :]
I'm gonna go the opposite way and buy the cheapest twenty niner in the range to tide me over until the English is done.
I just need to get back on a MTB again in 2O12

TerrengSykkel magazine rated one of the alu Big nines highly last year. Like you say, Merida own half of cycling. So you get a massive name, with a little price tag.

If you just want to get out there, EdinburghCycleCoop do some decent cheap options.

This has a justified, cheap spec. But the frame and forks are OK. Good enough to have fun. Shit enough to be mean to.
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=14421&f_SupersetQRY=K29er&f_SortOrderID=-1&f_bct=