A List of Drop-Bar 29er Mountain Bikes

Three weeks ago, John laid out a quick look at dirt drops on early mountain bikes by using his 1983 Steve Potts as a vehicle for the discussion and today we’re looking at our favorite modern drop-bar 29er mountain bikes. But first, we’ve got to define what a drop-bar 29er mountain bike is!

There are a few crucial distinctions that define a “drop-bar MTB,” and some of those characteristics also define a modern mountain bike. Remember, this is a drop-bar mountain bike, so it ought to be considered a mountain bike first and foremost.

In many ways, these classifications are important in establishing a bicycle taxonomy. Similar taxonomic discussions might be why not all whiskey is bourbon, but all bourbon is whiskey, or why a salamander looks like a lizard but is not a reptile. (It is an amphibian because it must return to water to lay eggs, and a reptile lays eggs on solid ground or gives live birth. Turtles that live in the water and tortoises that live on the land are both reptiles for this very reason.) I digress – back to bikes.

We’ll have some hurdles to cover here, the first of which is the taxonomy of modern bicycles since this is a modern drop-bar mountain bike list. Let’s look at how we define a modern mountain bike.

The first is the tire clearance.

For it to be a drop-bar mountain bike, we feel a 2.2″ tire is the minimum since even the first mountain bikes cleared that size tire. There are very few, if any, modern mountain bikes on the market that won’t clear a 2.2″ tire.

The second is the rear spacing should be 148 mm or “boost” spaced.

148 mm is where most modern mountain bikes fall, with 157 mm (super boost) being a rarer option. Since this is a modern bike list, modern standards apply here. Non-boost bikes with a 142 mm rear end are all-road, adventure, or gravel touring bikes.

And third, the look and stance of the bike; or the degree of the top tube slope and the stack height.

While not all drop-bar mountain bikes are suspension-corrected, they need a compact front triangle, in our opinion, to allow for lots of body English while riding rough double and singletrack and to allow for stand-over height. This is achieved by a top tube slope greater than or equal to 10º and a stack height that puts the level of the bars with the height of the saddle. This is because they are meant to be descended on in the drops at the same riding position as if the bike had flat bars.

We look at a size medium frame for this distinction.

For the sake of ease of digestibility, we’ll omit the wide variety of custom framebuilder creations unless there is a production model offered in stock at the company.

Finally, this should be obvious, but a proper drop-bar mountain bike ought to be designed specifically to run drop-bars.

Unlike the early mountain bikes that used a LD stem to get the bars up high, modern drop-bar mountain bikes rely on mountain bike stems and high stack numbers to get the handlebars high enough where riding in the drops is not only more comfortable but is advantageous to wielding the bike while descending.

This means drop-bar mountain bikes often have shorter reach numbers to accommodate for the extra 4 – 8 cm of reach extension of the drops and brake hoods themselves; as such, they won’t handle as well with flat bars.

2006 Don McClung drop-bar 29er mountain bike, via The Vintage Mountain Bike Workshop

… and lastly, have 29″ wheels. Let’s chat quickly about the history of the 29er tire.

A legit drop-bar 29er wasn’t built until a proper tire was available. That’s where WTB comes into play. Mark Slate, Charlie Cunningham, and Steve Potts, the founders of WTB, developed the first-ever 29″ mountain bike tire, the Nano, in 1999 that measured 2″ wide. From there, guys like Wes Williams, Kent Eriksen, Don Cook, and others began building the first drop-bar 29er mountain bikes.

Bruce Gordon’s Monster Cross bike was designed for the 43 mm Rock’n’Road tire, which was based on the Hakkapelitta 650b tire found in Europe.

Prior to that, there were plenty of fat-ish 700c tires available for road, touring, and cyclocross bikes. Bruce Gordon developed his Rock’n’Road tires, which were based on an original Hakkapeliitta 650b tire, from which he made a 700c die and upped the ante with a 43 mm width. Tasshi has an excellent article on Bruce’s Rock’n’Roads that’s worth reading. We’ve referenced this before in our RockShox Rudy review. But the Rock’n’Roads are not proper mountain bike tires.

As Wes Williams once said: “A 700 x 47 mm wheel measures 28” in diameter, hence, the term “28 Incher”…”

It should be noted that several drop-bar 29ers have smaller sizes specced with 27.5″ wheels, but the chassis ought to clear a 29″ wheel as it’s designed.

Now, here’s a Q&A to help identify this unique taxonomy.

What’s the difference between a touring bike (above) and a drop-bar mountain bike?

Modern drop-bar mountain bikes, as we define them, aren’t necessarily touring bikes by default. In short, if it has rack mounts, it’s a mountain touring bike. If it doesn’t, it’s a mountain bike, but only if it has 148 mm rear spacing, or it’s a gravel/adventure bike if it has 142 mm rear spacing. Naturally, there can be drop-bar mountain bikes with touring accoutrements; they’re drop-bar mountain touring bikes.

As painful as this is to admit, the Kona Sutra LTD, with its non-boost rear end, is a touring bike and doesn’t make our list of drop-bar 29er mountain bikes. One of John’s critiques of this bike in his review was that it ought to have a boost-spaced rear end.

Does it have rack mounts, drop-bars, a high stack, sloping top tube, but non-boost spacing and it won’t clear a mountain bike tire?

It’s a touring bike like the Bombtrack Beyond.

Does it have clearance for big tires but not mountain bike tires, with no boost spacing but it kinddaaaaa looks like a mountain bike?

Bikes like the Chamois Hagar barely fit a 45 mm tire and are non-boost spaced with a gravel bike drivetrain; as such, it is not a drop-bar mountain bike.

Is there a lot of saddle-to-bar drop, requiring you to ride a majority of time riding on the hoods?

It’s a gravel bike, which can often look different than a gravel road racing bike. The Sklar Super Something has a relatively flat top tube and lower stack numbers with a non-suspension corrected fork. It also has rack mounts, so it’s more of a gravel touring bike than a drop-bar mountain bike.

Does it have a suspension fork, drop-bars, but not boost spacing and won’t clear a tire larger than a 2″?

It’s an adventure gravel bike or just a gravel bike. Like the Rudy-equipped Santa Cruz Stigmata or Kona Ouroborus. Neither are boost spaced, nor do they clear a mountain bike tire.

Our intention here isn’t to alienate anyone or dissect semantics but rather to narrow down this list to a digestible and updatable entry in The Radavist, which is a massive bicycle database in itself.

Here are a few proper drop-bar mountain bikes we’ve reviewed over the years…

Curve GMX+

$4,852 complete starting price

Boost spacing, front triangle optimized for frame bag space, so the top tube doesn’t slope much, but it has high stack numbers and massive tires. With tons of rack mounts, this is a proper drop-bar 29er mountain touring bike.

Read Sam’s review here: A Longterm Review of the Curve Cycling GMX+

Moots Routt Esc

$9,854 complete

The evolution of the Moots Baxter in an titanium frameset with a boost-spaced rear end, big tire clearance, high stack, and a sloping top tube but no rear rack mounts. This is a proper drop-bar 29er mountain bike.

Read John’s review here: Review: Moots Routt ESC

Otso Fenrir Stainless (or Ti)

$3,800 (on sale) complete for stainless, $4,850 (on sale) complete titanium

What’s interesting about the Otso Fenrir is it uses a modern hardtail geometry with a steep seat angle and a slacker head angle, is suspension-corrected, has a high stack, and has rack mounts. It’s one of our favorite drop-bar 29er mountain touring bikes on the market.

Read Hailey’s review of the Fenrir Titanium here: Longterm Review of the Otso Fenrir Ti

And John’s review here of the Fenrir Stainless here: Review: Otso Cycles Fenrir Drop-Bar 29er

Salsa Cutthroat

$3,499 complete starting price

The Cutthroat’s first entry into bicycle taxonomy was a non-boost specimen and at that time, it was a gravel touring bike but later versions quickly adopted boost spacing and mountain bike wheels. Much like the Salsa Fargo, the Cutthroat is a drop-bar 29er mountain touring bike.

Read Spencer’s review here: 2019 Salsa Cutthroat Review

And read John’s review here: Salsa Cutthroat Review

Singular Gryphon Ti (also in Steel)

$3,200 frame and fork

Available in steel and titanium and with boost, non-boost, or super boost rear ends, depending on the customer’s desired use case, the Singular Gryphon has rack mounts and is a very lightweight and capable drop-bar 29er mountain touring bike.

Read John’s love letter here: Singular Gryphon Drop-Bar 29er MTB Review

True Love Heartbreaker (Custom)

€2,800 frame and rigid fork

Hailey wrote such an exceptional review of the True Love Heartbreaker that we have to include it in this list of the drop-bar 29er mountain bikes we’ve reviewed here at The Radavist. While the Heartbreaker is a “custom” bike, it is available as a stock geometry configuration as well. It relies on the RockShox RS-1 inverted fork and has rack mounts, making it a drop-bar 29er mountain touring bike.

Read Hailey’s review here: A True Love Cycles Heart Breaker Review

Tumbleweed Stargazer

$3,875 standard build

Last but not least is our top pick in the drop-bar 29er mountain bike category, the Tumbleweed Stargazer. It won over our hearts with touring accoutrements a-plenty and a proper drop-bar setup. The Stargazer has legit drop-bar 29er mountain touring DNA and is as home on gravel, doubletrack, and singletrack routes.

Read John’s full review here: Review: Tumbleweed Stargazer Touring Bike

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Now that we’ve run the gamut of proper drop-bar 29er mountain bikes we’ve reviewed here at The Radavist, here is a list of others we’d like to test out!

Binary Bicycles Havok

Price: $2,099 frame

Max tire size: 29 x 3″

Suspension compatible: 100 mm

Sizing: XS through XL

Bearclaw Bicycle Co Titanium Beaux Jaxon

Price: $2,290 frame, build kits starting at $5,990

Max tire size: 29 x 2.6″

Suspension compatible: NA

Sizing: 51 cm through 60 cm

Panorama Taiga EXP

Pricing: $1,349 complete

Max tire size: 29 x 2.6″

Suspension compatible: 100 mm travel

Sizing: S through L

Salsa Cycles Ti Fargo

Salsa Fargo Ti (or Steel)

Pricing: $3,149 titanium frameset, or $999 steel frame, $2,599 complete

Max tire size: 29 x 2.4″ (some sizes fit up to a 29 x 3″)

Suspension compatible: 100 mm travel

Sizing: XS through XL

Surly Grappler

Pricing: $749 frame or $1,899 complete

Max tire size: 29 x 2.2″

Suspension compatible: NA

Sizing: XS through XL

Tanglefoot Moonshiner

Pricing: $1,400 frameset

Max tire size: 29 x 2.8″

Suspension compatible: NA

Sizing: XS through XL

Viral Wanderer

Pricing: $9,295, complete with Pinion Smart.Shift system

Max tire size: 29 x 2.4”

Suspension compatible: 100 mm travel

Sizing: V2 through V5 sizing

Wilde Dream Engine Steel (or Titanium)

Pricing: $3,200 steel frameset or $5,700 titanium frameset

Max tire size: 29 x 2.6″

Suspension compatible: 100 mm travel

Sizing: XS through XXL

Phew! That was a long one! We’re sure we missed a few models, so drop them in the comments if we left one out that meets our criteria. There are also tons of framebuilder offerings, so what’s your favorite custom drop-bar 29er mountain bike?