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Black and White on my bike that is…I simply love the color combination. Recently we mentioned Pricepoint.com has some white lock on grips for about $10. Jeremy and I ordered a set for our bikes and I finally was able to install it on my Sette Reken Single Speed.

Like my Cow Horn? I figured it would match the theme of the bike.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I also upgraded from V-brakes to Disc.

These are the reliable Avid BB5′s with Roundagon rotors. I’m using a set of WTB Speeddisc wheels.

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Well its been a few months since I first received the Sette Reken from PricePoint.com. I’d like to thank Magally Gomez and Brian Cleveland for sending us this frame to test and review. So let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Sette Reken Frame

Price: $99.00, not bad if you ask me!

Specs:

Model Reken Hardtail
Material Full 6061 Alloy, Double Butted Main Triangle
Welding Tig Welded
Wheel Size 26″
Headset 1-1/8″ Standard
Front Derailleur Size/Mount /Type 31.8mm, Clamp, Top Pull/Top Swing
Bottom Bracket 68, English
Seatpost Size 27.2
Seat Clamp Size 32.0
Disc Mount 51mm IS
Max Tire Clearance 2.3″
Available Sizes 14″, 16″, 18″, 20″
Color Black
Weight 4.5 lbs/ 2041g (18″)
Warranty 5 Year Manufacturer’s Warranty

Size 14″ 16″ 18″ 20″
Headtube Length 117mm 117mm 130mm 145mm
Top Tube Length (actual) 54.5cm 55.2cm 56.9cm 59.2cm
Top Tube Length (effective) 56cm 57.4cm 59.4cm 61.5cm
Seat Tube Length (C-to-T) 14in 16in 18in 20in
Chain Stay Length 424mm 424mm 424mm 424mm
Headtube Angle 70.5 70.5 70.5 70.5
Seat Tube Angle 73.5 73.5 73 73

If you scour the internet for product reviews of the Sette Reken, you’ll have a tough time finding it. For some odd reason people are either scared or skeptical of a mail order brand frame or bike. People like to stick to the well known brands thinking that they are of superior quality. But in reality, the same factory that made those chic brands was probably the same factory the Sette Reken came from, besides the frame has a 5 year warranty!

The Sette Reken started off as a single speed project back in Winter. I had talked to Magally Gomez about wanting to build an affordable single speed mountain bike. After a few words, she agreed to send me the Reken frame for our project along with their single speed conversion kit and tensioner.

The Reken would be my second single speed to build up. I came off another single speed full suspension project I had started around Christmas time. But by January, the Sette Reken was on the trail.

A couple things I noticed about the Sette Reken that made me immediately fall in love with it. First was the geometry. It had a slack 70.5 degree head tube angle that made it more comfortable to ride. I ran a 90mm stem on it because I have short arms, the frame was a 16″, stout, and flickable.

Single speed riding causes quite a bit of stress on any bike. The Reken held up nicely throughout the months of abuse that I gave it. I’ve taken that bike on some of the hardest climbs I can handle to the technical trails such as Rockit, and Lynx at Aliso Woods.

One of my favorite aspects of the Reken is the color, flat black. It’s unassuming, very humble and low key. It’s what you would call a sleeper bike. But once you put some power to those pedals, this thing responds. The Reken doesn’t have a lazy bike feel. It was light enough (25lbs), so that mean I could get up to speed really quick and since it weighed like an anorexic teenage girl, the bike was easy to handle.

Then at one point I had this idea of converting the Reken into a 69er. The frame did well, and there was some concern that the head tube angle was too slack to accept a 29er wheel. But during that time, the bike never felt like a chopper and rode just fine. However, that didn’t last too long since it wasn’t my cup of tea to ride a rigid 69er.

Now at a cross roads where I am considering turning the Sette Reken into a geared bike, perhaps a 1×9. This actually brings me to the summary of this review.

The Sette Reken by far has surpassed my expectations of this frame. I honestly thought that the frame would be OK to use on a build and possibly do well in the review. But after months and months of hard single speed riding, the frame has performed way better than I and anyone else thought. This is a frame that I could literally do just about everything with. Not only does it make a great single speed, but its disc brake ready, gears ready, has an awesome paint job(never chipped during review) and its totally versatile! This frame has seen more projects and tests done on it than any other bike we’ve tested.

So to say that I highly approve of the Sette Reken is an understatement. This frame ROCKS and as the Co-Founder of MtnBikeRiders.com, I am authorizing and approving that this frame gets the Stamp of Approval from MtnBikeRiders.com. Um…that’s a big deal! That means this bike has done its job and a bag of chips! I cannot say enough about how much I absolutely love this frame. Besides the $99 price tag makes it easy on your budget

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Originally myself, Moe and Lance were going to head out to Santiago Oaks to check out the demo bikes from Pivot Cycles. But it didn’t work out since Lance and I had to be somewhere by a certain time. So Moe and I decided to ride our favorite trail, the Fullerton Loop. We were both on our single speed bikes and fully prepared for hurling. I even ate a bit of food right before the ride so I don’t disappoint people just in case RALPH came calling.

First thing we saw on the trail was Priscilla’s nemesis…this sheep charged at her last summer…He’s lucky I wasn’t there, or things would have gotten really Baaaaad between us! Get it Baaaad…aye…nevermind that was weak…

Fullerton is a great place to ride a single speed bike due to the slow rolling hills and quick steep climbs. What’s interesting is, Moe had asked me to see if I can clear a certain climb on our ride. I can normally get to the top without a problem with my SS, but Moe has had some difficulty with his SS on this particular hill. Sure enough we traded and keep in mind my SS is a 26er and his is a 29er. What was weird was, I couldn’t make it up the hill with his 29er at all! Dunno if it had something to do with the bigger wheels or what, but it was tough!

Since it was spring and stuff, I decided to wear my Velotees, Single Speed Shirt just so I could match the mustard plants on the trail.

Here’s Moe showing the world his new Rudy Project sunglasses.

As we were making our way through the last part of the trail a few things caught our attention. I saw this ladder sitting right next to the trail. I wanted to try it but the thing wasn’t secure.

So then we ran into this big ramp! Now that is something I couldn’t resist…

3,2,1 lift off!

Once I got in the air, the landing came up VERY quickly! I managed to hit the transition just fine…

But quickly ate it due to the loose dirt.

Overall Moe and I had a great time at the Loop. We were hoping to run into our buddy Vince Rodarte of KHS Bicycles at the trail when we got back since he said he was riding with his buddy. But the dude never showed, unless he was late. So after the ride, Moe and I capped off the morning with some breakfast at Roadside Cafe. I got me a breakfast burrito and Moe got a breakfast burrito, french toast, hashbrowns, eggs, bacon and coffee…dang for a guy that’s “watching” his figure, he sure can eat a lot!

Oh by the way, that big jump was totally staged…but it looked real, eh?!

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This past weekend, as you may have read in Moe’s pictorial ride report that we rode Aliso Woods. On our way down to a place called Dripping Cave, we stopped to rest and wait for the remainder of our group to catch up. As we were waiting this guy on a green single speed muscles his way up one of the hills. So in my normal social way, I started talking to the guy about single speeding and how I was at this same trail a few days ago with my SS and even commented on how hard it was.

He began telling us that he has been single speeding for nearly 5 years and that SS bikes are better because there’s less maintenance involved with them. It wasn’t until recently that he actually broke something on his bike, the chain. Joe Solancho asked him about the shirt he was wearing, Warrior Society…one of OC’s premiere mountain biking club/teams that are always hosting some crazy race. This fella tells us that he recently broke a new course record on his rigid SS at the Counting Coup race…Before I go on, just picture this guy to be super buff and veins are popping out everywhere. I’ve always have heard about SS riders are buffer because they are constantly grinding through everything. At the same time they’re are pushing and pulling on the bars which in return they get an upper body workout…

After we said our goodbyes, this guy, I think his name is Eric Hunner, I looked up the race results…left a pretty big impression on me. I was motivated to start riding my single speed more than I do my geared bikes. Mind you, this Saturday was the first time I had been on my geared bike since I’ve built up my SS…almost 3 months.

Anyway, because of this stranger I have this new found need to make sure that I master my single speed riding. I know it will be tough and I’m sure I’ll puke a few times, but having to put your body through that kind of harsh work is going to just make me a better rider as a whole.

I do feel kinda wrong talking about how a passing stranger made some sort of impact on me…it almost sounds Smurf encounter. But who cares, I’m pretty glad I did run into that fella, I’m sure its going to help me in the long run.

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I’ve owned two 29er bikes and so far, I have not really bought the whole “29er inches is overall better” idea. However, I can say that there is one noticeable advantage on owning a hardtail 29er versus owning a hardtail 26er: comfort.

KHS Team Alite

I posted before that I’m pretty much new to riding a hardtail, I’ve ridden full suspension bikes most of the time.

Since my current Full Suspension bike weighs about 34lbs, I recently built a 23.5lb hardtail racing machine that would allow me to try to keep up with my friends. Riding this bike really made me miss my 6 inches of rear suspension.

KHS Solo One

I came across a deal that I couldn’t pass up on a KHS Solo One 29er, this bike is a singlespeed and it is fully rigid. I rode the bike 3 times with this setup, but my wrists and shoulders couldn’t take the pounding so I installed a modified (100mm instead of the 80mm) RockShox Reba Fork. After a couple of rides, I’ve noticed something… I didn’t miss my full suspension bike!!! Per the recommendation of Jeremy, I’ve been riding with the minimum tire pressure recommended. I can honestly say that the big wheels are super cushy and riding with this setup has been totally fun. I no longer worry about picking the ‘perfect’ line, and if there are ruts or bumps, the front suspension along with the 29er wheels really mute the shock to my body that I experience with my Alite. If you are a hardtail lover, I think that you will benefit from riding a 29er.

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