Hybrid of last two posts - Non-road bike, fast commuter, off road capable, geared or single speed, complete bike, 29er.

Valierm

29er Power! Yes i'd like to respond by saying thumbs up to the 29ers!! I own a Avanti Scratch 29, which was bought for a similar reason as you have posted. ("I'm not keen on a road bike (too much lycra required), but do want something light and responsive. Rigid probably. I'd like it to be tough enough to take off road.") Although i love the road I'd never get into a pair of Cycle Knicks.

The 29er rolls very well both up and down hill, and is very fast on the flats. A friend and I ride regularly on the road and both are on mtbikes, he has a 26inch (trek 4300) with slicks and my 29er with slicks. He is far fitter and stronger (he rides every day 20km and pushes it) however when we race a short distance I win! This must be the fact of larger wheels and maybe slightly different cranks length and we have the same gears ratios. I too also roll faster and passed him with-out even pedalling. We have tested this many times and unless he pedals I win. (Quite funny as we are always challenging each others bikes and fitness levels.)

In the bush this bike is smooth, fast and handles fine. (not great but fine) As long as you’re riding an up hill or flat technical free trail its all good. However as soon as you hit a downhill that requires launching off rocks, swerving obstacles and jumping it throws you off the front end. I guess the geometry and longer stem (handle bar stem) plays a significant part and not the wheel size. (Anyone agree?) I felt like I was going to stack over the front bars and had to slow down to a walking speed.

Overall, great bike and just a little more then what you want to spend in $$ (1850 RRP) but as I’m sure there will be deals this time of the year. Good luck.

anything to do with what i saw on oxford street recently, high heels and adam's apple?

EDIT!

got it - cyclo cross - not really, more mountain bike, but minimalist.

Seen nice frames from niner etc but want a complete bike.

How about a straight forward simple bike no bells or whistles no gears no carbon fibre imagine that it has flat bars so roadies will ignore you that’s a bonus its a single speed so not as cool as a fixie but a hell of a lot faster down a decent hill who wants to peddle down hills anyway this bike will do everything you ask except for the offroad part. Its steel comfortable and fast and just for the record you can get away without gears around Sydney you just need to harden up and it will make you fitter than a geared bike ever will. It’s not a 29er but 29ers are mountain bikes and best saved for offroad duties anyway.

Fortunately you can’t buy a bike exactly like this from a shop so it would need to be built but it is an awesome commuter and a fantastic bike for training. Its a Salsa Casseroll frame with what ever you want to chuck on it and if you are soft it does have a hanger for gears. Cost of mine about $1700.00 less without the bling parts.

The short answer:

http://youtu.be/JJkzC1JFrkw

The long answer:

http://youtu.be/H_W8AsilPMM

There's loads of this stuff on YouTube, look for the world champs stuff if you have time. And bloopers...

Surly Karate Monkey for an ss or run it with a rohlhoff(kinda costly upgrade) as a friend of mine does. Check out Cheeky Transport in Newtown. I have ridden his as an ss around Sparrow hill and loved it. He rides to work everyday with the Rohlhoff and swaps it for ss for endurance events. Not sure about costs though if you want front suspension. See whats online for a later upgrade as I'm sure the bike and forks wont be too far from your budget. There are plenty of other uncommon bikes( If that appeals. It is kinda about being different isnt it?) out there with sliding dropouts so you can run ss or gears. Some are even available as completes with postage from the US for less than your budget. The ones I'm keen on are more for off road. Maybe check out the surly crosscheck and I think Masi are doing a cross bike. Maroubra Cycles are the only place in Syd I've seen a masi steel bike. They make very good looking bicycles. Get online and research.

Get as a frame kit a Surly karate monkey or Salsa la cruz and put it together yourself. Need a hand in building? Always happy to help.
I have a karate monkey on the way and it'll be my new commuter set up with a single 44t crank and nine speed out back. I'm not quite ready for single speed. If I ever am I'll get a Surly steamroller.

The Stumpjumper hardtail isnt cheap at $3299.00 rrp and the FSR dually is even more at $4449.00 rrp.

As fr ready to go bikes Stanmore cycles has an 18inch Voodoo Dambla for about $1150.00 its a rigid hardtail 29er steel frame with V brakes fairly average parts but the frames are good. He also has a rigid 20inch Kona Unit with mechanical disks for about $1350.00 better than the Voodoo and a nice bike.