First xc bike - building it myself

nathanman

Hi all,

Im taking up xc to try and build a bit of fitness and generally stop being a fat f*%k. I have been buying bits off ebay etc to build up a bike and have got the following so far:

Giant terrago frame
Manitou black elite forks
Avid juicy 5's
Deore lx crank, rear and front mechs
Deore shifters
Mavic EX721 rims on deore 475 disc hubs (36 spokes)
hope seat clamp
canondale stem

Being a beginner i dont have huge amounts of knowledge but would like to know if you feel these components will make a good starting bike? also, can you suggest a decent headset for this setup as i dont want to spent fortunes (£20-30) but want something reasonable. Should i go for a different frame as i have read mixed reviews on the terrago(although it looks the same as the xtc frame).

Any help or advice would be very appreciated.

supersonic

Do you know what type of headset it takes? Ie standard, zero stack.

Be sure all the parts will fit the frame.

dynamis_dk

if its a standard threadless headset,your can't go wrong with a FSA Orbit XL II headset. Can get them for your budget on ebay - just bought one myself not long back.

xtreem

[b]nathanman[/b] wrote:

Mavic EX721 rims on deore 475 disc hubs (36 spokes)

If I'm not wrong, those rims are for DH/FR, so you don't need that much weight or strenght for XC.
Don't know how heavy you are but lighter rims will be better choice.

Dirtydog11

+1 for the XL11 headset

nathanman

Xtreem wrote:

[b]nathanman[/b] wrote:

Mavic EX721 rims on deore 475 disc hubs (36 spokes)

If I'm not wrong, those rims are for DH/FR, so you don't need that much weight or strenght for XC.
Don't know how heavy you are but lighter rims will be better choice.

Im a big lad (110kg) so wanted to make sure i got kit that would suit.

Thanks for the advice on the orbit XLII, i ordered one today after reading some really good reviews.

The Spiderman

Giants very often use a semi integrated /internal or zero stack headset,at least my XTC and Trances and Anthems do.The races are recessed into the frame.

Maybe the Terrrago is different,but I`m not sure the XL 2 is going to fit.......

If it is semi integrated or zero stack,this is what you need:http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=27947

Explanation of internal headset here:http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12600768

nathanman

Thanks for all the help guys, the XL2 arrived the other day and went in fine with the help of a homemade headset press. It was all alot simpler than i was expecting having done some research on the net. Alli need to do now is sort the juicy 5's as i cant get them to stop knocking on the rotors!

nicklouse

nathanman wrote:

Thanks for all the help guys, the XL2 arrived the other day and went in fine with the help of a homemade headset press. It was all alot simpler than i was expecting having done some research on the net. Alli need to do now is sort the juicy 5's as i cant get them to stop knocking on the rotors!

wrong rotors or wrong adaptors or missing alignment spacers.

reading through this http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12646834 might help.

nathanman

Thanks for that Nick, i'll shout again if i cant get it right.

nicklouse

as you can see in that topic a picture is worth more than words.

just include the info and most problems can be sorted painlessly.