![]() If this was a few years ago when I was just getting into racing, I wish somebody would have shown me one of these, rather than a geared bike with crappy parts. I’m amazed at what you can get for $470 from Redline. If I didn’t already have a GF Rig, I would consider getting one of these as a cheap 29er singlespeed to use for everyday riding. Overall I was really happy with this bike. I wouldn’t call it the best 29er tire out there, but for an all around tire on an inexpensive bike I’m satisfied. Unlike my Bontrager Jones that hook up well in snow, but can’t roll on dry fast terrain, the Exiwolf still rolled well everywhere. As stated above, I was skeptical, but they even hooked up pretty well in the snow. I was impressed by the WTB Exiwolf tires as well. After a week of riding this wheel set, they were still about perfectly true. I consider myself an expert at finding a way to knock the best wheels out of true. They’re not lightweight, but the idea of this bike is to have something to beat up, not race up mountains. With the suspension adjusted fork and laid back geometry it was perfect for riding across campus and through town, ready to jump anything. For being much heavier than my favorite hopping machine, my ‘cross bike, I was surprised at how well I could throw this bike over stuff. The rigid fork made this bike extremely responsive and bunnyhoppable (no, that’s not a word, yet). The steel softens up the ride a little and you can still beat it around with the giddiness and carelessness of a 4-year old with some toy trucks. I’ve only ridden a few 4130 bikes, but I always end up loving them. The frame and fork also had a good feel and were very responsive. After much bashing, no problems with the frame or fork. When I used it as a commuter I was throwing it up against all kinds of posts and rails to lock it up. Between Ben (owner of Milltown Cycles) and myself, this bike was ridden off concrete drops, down concrete stairs, over mountains of plowed snow, through snowy trails. The 4130 chromoly steel of the frame and fork proved to be tough as nails. I used it as a campus commuter, urban assaulter, and snowy ski trail invader. I assumed the tires, with narrow knobs, would not hook up so well in the snow. I looked at the tires remembering that it’s a Minnesota winter, and there’s snow on the ground. It’s the perfect design for a simple, no gimmicks mountain bike. I really dig the flat greenish-grey paint job. Some extra weight, however, is to be expected from a 4130 steel frame. I lifted the rear wheel and thought “whoa.” I’m used to race bikes that are a bit lighter. I’ll be honest, my first impression was that this bike was pretty heavy. ![]() Mallet pedals Sans pedals, this bike would retail for closer to $600 rather than the $470 retail of the stock Monocog 29er. For some foot connection, I rode Crank Bros. We used WTB Exiwolf 29x2.3 tires which Redline stocks on the production Monocog 29er. Bontrager select bars, Bontrager race lite stem, Thomson seatpost, and WTB seat made up the cockpit. Race Face designed our Deus XC singlespeed crankset. Rather than the tektro linear brakes, our stoppers were Hayes Sole hydraulic disc brakes. I’m only going to review those essentials, but I will explain the parts spec, so you can have a better idea of what I was riding. The wheelset is made up Redline hubs manufactured by formula laced to Alex DH-19 with 32 spokes each. The frame and fork are made from 4130 chromoly steel. Milltown Cycles was able to acquire a 15" demo frame, fork and wheelset from Redline. That is the idea that I will test in this review. The Redline Monocog 29er is designed as an affordable, tough, and fun 29er mountain bike. ![]()
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