What would you build out of these parts and this budget?

Northwind

Ah, well, OK, I just accidentally bought a cheap GT I-drive 5 frame off the classifieds here. No particular reason why, I just liked its looks. So, now I have a dilemma- what to build, what to build...

In the garage right now is:

A Carrera Kraken 08-
complete set of X5 gears
Truvativ crankset (rubbish but workable)
Tektro Auriga Pro brakes with 160mm discs- perfectly decent
120mm Suntour XCR forks, part way on the road to worn out, not very good.
DDM wheels on Formula hubs- seem strong enough, about 2200 grams
Assorted random decent-but-heavy finishing kit

A Cotic Soul-
08 100-130mm Revelation Dual Airs
SLX crankset
X9 gears
Roval Traversee wheels (convertable for maxle or quick release)
Gravity dropper
Nice Truvativ Noir carbon bars and AKA stem
XT brakes on Hope floaters

Leftovers-
All the tyres I can eat
Mavic 717 rims on XT hubs with 160mm XTR discs
Raceface Next 400mm seatpost
Lots of cables and hoses
660mm Easton Monkeylites
Some random stems

In the bank- lets say £500. No, let's say £400 so that when I go over budget it'll be £500.

So... I can build 2 bikes, but which 2 bikes? I love my Soul, the GT should definately see less use so the logical thing to do is to make the Soul up best- in fact to leave it alone.

But, the GT would probably benefit from a stronger build. And some parts will sit better on the Soul than the GT, for instance the Suntour forks aren't good enough for a Soul, but the GT wants 130-140mm forks while the Soul suits 120mm, so the REvs would fit the GT better. And the Rovals can take a maxle, the GT seems like it was made for Pikes. And the Rovals are definately the strongest of the wheels...

I am stumped. Very poorly planned, this. What would you make? I'm thinking I'll just kill the Kraken, build the GT out of its bones, and buy a 140mm quick release fork for it... Possibly fit the 717s as I reckon they're stronger than the DDMs. Or sell both sets of wheels and try and get something stronger. The Revs would work in this role as well so possibly, a new set of maxle revs for the Soul and move the QR ones to the GT.

Oh, the other option is to timeshare- I could fit a compatible headset to the GT and Soul and swap the whole front end over- brakes, wheel, the lot. That'd save a mint and mean I can build both bikes very nicely. It's obviously a pain to do this but not the end of the world, sub 30 minutes to swap bikes I reckon.

Another option- donor bike! Furys are £440 again this week... Tora 318 and Mavic 317 rims, better chainset too, sell the frame and the Kraken and the 717s and we're only talking £150-£200. Or something similiar. really I'd like the GT to get a 140mm fork.

Last option- admit I am an idiot, put GT frame on Ebay. Buy new GT Idrive 5 on Cycle2Work next year.

It's a nice quandry to be in, but I'm stumped.

supersonic

Get the Fury, and use it as the donor for the GT!

Northwind

Yeah, that seems like it'd work pretty neatly... But I dunno, I'd like a 140mm height adjustable for the GT. Pike, really, or 09 Rev. But that's where it gets complicated...

supersonic

5 frame probably best at 130 I'd say.

Northwind

Hmm. But then that opens up The Forbidden Thought, that being, "These old Revs could be perfect for the GT" followed by "I bet this Soul would be ace with 140mm maxle Rev u0turns in it". But then Cy would reach down from his high tower and snap my frame like a twig, for lo, it has been written that Souls may not have 140mm forks, no matter how ace it would be. But it's a constant temptation...

The Spiderman

Brain frying conundrum this one!
Realistiscally which one are you going to ride most?
Soul sounds perfect as is.(Your spec,is almost my ideal bike....)
Hide it out of sight,then look again at the I drive frame and your box of bits.
The,decide,"...balls to this", sell the lot on the classifieds,and buy complete full susser!

jayson

Dont know if ur aware but Merlin have complete Deore groupsets for £169.95 or £185 for the dual control disc set. I recently broaght the disc setup with a set of m505 factory wheels for only £250 which seems a better offer than buying a whole other bike just to strip the parts off it.

RichMTB

IMHO sounds like you just need a decent fork for the GT, use your budget for this
Maybe use the Roval wheel for the GT and put the xC7I7s on the Cotic

Northwind

RichMTB wrote:

Maybe use the Roval wheel for the GT and put the xC7I7s on the Cotic

Yeah, that's the temptation... There's nothing wrong with 717s after all, and that means I can get a new fork with a maxle, which means I can get a cheapy Pike. It solves most of the puzzle straight off. Though it'd be a shame as most of my rides would then be on the cheaper wheels. I could do something similiar, sell the 717s and get a set of 719s on a maxle hub or somesuch.

Anyone think the timeshare ideal will work? Thinking about it, it should be simple enough- get another Orbit X headset, which are all contained bearings so nothing will fall out... So drop fork, wheel, and front brake out... And either unbolt the shifters and rear brake from the bars, or unbolt the front brake from the bars, and have a spare set with the GT. It might be a bit of a pain to do but not too terrible it seems?

The Cotic's definately to remain bike #1, it's just more suited to most of the riding I do, it's just sometimes something a bit more implacable would be nice IE, when we go to innerleithen, and I've got the only hardtail in the car park :oops:

blister pus

Northwind wrote:

when we go to innerleithen, and I've got the only hardtail in the car park :oops:

Means you're a man god. A skilled mountain biking man's man not to be fooked with. Demon rider, master of all terrain. ....god.

Northwind

Also means I end up going down the chicken runs

Northwind

OK, so, got the Idrive tonight. Spent some time staring in utter bewilderment at the cable guides. Realised that the only seatpost I have that's remotely the right size is a steel one off my brother's old Saracen Raw 2, and it's only 250mm long and weighs 600 grams... And then weight the frame, then weighed it again on the assumption I'd weighed it wrong, then weighed it again just to be sure, then gave up on any idea of making this thing anything approaching lightweight.

And, reached a sort of decision, which is that I'm going to go half assed! And build the rear up using the Kraken bits and the rear 717, pick up another headset the same as the Soul's one and temporarily steal the forks, front wheel, bars etc off the Soul, which'll give me a chance to try it out with a reasonable overall setup. I might even switch the rear wheel, cranks etc, everything but the mechs and the rear brake. It's only fair to give it a run with good parts. And then... We'll see.

The Big Cheese

The GT frames are not light are they, unless you go carbon.... you'll like the i-drive though!!

Northwind

Oh goddddd... I've killed my Soul and stolen its organs Discovered that the GT needs a 73mm BB and the one in the kraken is 68mm, so it needs a crank of its own or I need to spend £15 on a ****ing horrible Powerspline BB, in order to retain my 1300g Truvativ cranks... So after nearly buying a Deore one I've decided to just built it temporarily with almost all the Soul bits other than the mechs and the rear brake, in order to give it a fair chance to impress and to make sure I actually like it. So, fitted my shiny new white FSA headset to the Soul and the old black one to the GT, took the Kraken entirely apart, fitted the rear brake, mechs and shifters off the Kraken to the GT, swapped the forks over... Not quite finished, I wasn't sure what spacers to use on the BB and now that I've found out I can't be arsed to leave the house again.

I hope the Soul doesn't leave me! It gets jealous if I even look at another bike usually.

RealMan

Put all the good stuff on the soul, then what's left on the other frame(s).

tom-117

Cheesey wrote:

The GT frames are not light are they, unless you go carbon.... you'll like the i-drive though!!

dont go carbon they snap, the ally frames are nice and light.

BlackSpur

tom-117 wrote:

Cheesey wrote:

The GT frames are not light are they, unless you go carbon.... you'll like the i-drive though!!

dont go carbon they snap, the ally frames are nice and light.

hahahah!

Northwind

tom-117 wrote:

dont go carbon they snap, the ally frames are nice and light.

I'll see Blackspur's "Hahaha" and raise you an "Oh my" It weighs aout a third more than an orange 5, which isn't exactly a benchmark of superlight 5 inch travel itself. But that's OK.

BlackSpur

it was the "don;t go carbon they snap" bit that made me chuckle

Northwind

Had a wee pedal around the block on it just now, singlespeeded since I've not wired up the mechs... For an 18" it seems titchy, short cockpit etc. Seems to be a wee bit of play in the idrive mechanism, I'll have a look at that later. Certainly doesn't feel heavy though. I like the initial feel though. Looking good...

Northwind

Yeah, I like this. It actually rides weirdly like my Soul, except a bit heavier. It's got some bob on pedalling but it doesn't seem to wasteful... Pretty pleased with it after a local testride. Though it does feel short...

Oh, and it weighs in at 29.95lbs All built up with lightish-but-strong kit and a gravity dropper. Not too bad.

Anonymous

sounds good, pictures please.

n.battison

i will buy the Mavic 717 rim's on xt hubs if you want to part with them?

Northwind

OK, here it are:







Took it out for a proper ride today... Not sure what to make of it really... First impression is that it's a 5 inch full suss that really wishes it was a 100mm bike. It rides like a really burly XC bike... Carries speed over lumpy ground brilliantly (it barely notices roots), climbs nicely enough for its weight, finds grip everywhere... But point it downhill and it's twitchy and front-endy, it doesn't feel happy bouncing over obstacles that I know my Soul eats up.

So, I'm not sure... I don't think it knows what it is. The XC manners are nice but seriously, who'd buy a 5 inch 8 lb full suss XC frame? So far it just doesn't seem to be good enough downhill to justify its bulk. I've got a 140mm Rev on the way with a maxle in it, so that might make the difference... We'll see.

Oh. And my X5 front mech doesn't work with it, the mech casting fouls the frame. So right now it's manual shift

supersonic

It needs a longer fork to get the best out of it's all round nature. But I quite like steep, the Idrives I have always liked for his. Personal preference.

Try a little more rear sag too.

It is quite weighty, but then again the whole bike costs less than some frames it is compred to ;-)

Anonymous

thats ace looking, ive always quite fancied one.

Northwind

supersonic wrote:

It needs a longer fork to get the best out of it's all round nature. But I quite like steep, the Idrives I have always liked for his. Personal preference.

Try a little more rear sag too.

It is quite weighty, but then again the whole bike costs less than some frames it is compred to ;-)

Yeah, I'm thinking the longer revs should tip it back a bit, maybe enough. Can't run any more sag without bottoming it out everywhere (I've a feeling I'm going to wish I had the version with the Fox shock though).

I think, with the weight, I've no objection to a 30lb trail bike but a 30lb 5" XC bike is a bit... weird. And that's what it feels like so far.It does look good though, bit industrial but I've got no issue with that, made in scotland from girders

I'll not make any judgement just yet, though, I think there's a really rock solid bike in there and I do like it, but I'd be surprised if I ever love it. But then so far it's cost me about £180 and a couple of hours, all in

supersonic

It is more than an XC bike really, WMB really rated it as a great all rounder - but many do find that front end a little steep.

Northwind

Ach, I don't mean it's just an XC bike, probably not explaining myself very well :oops: It feels like what it's best at is absolutely monstering interesting singletrack. like an XC bike on steroids. So, I think it's possible I'm going to kill myself at Glentress, since it seems ideally built for going far too fast there I don't mean XC bike as a criticism!

But then... I guess that actually makes it a more suitable bike for most use, after all a lot of Fives and Hecklers and whatnot never see anything more demanding than a typical UK red route, and despite the lower budget I reckon this is actually better for that sort of thing. Certainly climbs better than my mate's 5 Pro despite the price difference.

It didn't really start to feel really out of place til I was on the downhill track and that's a fairly harsh test for any bike. I don't think I'd like to ride it at Nevis Red though as it is, I reckon all its weaknesses might all combine together into one smashed face on the bedrock sections But for Glentress, Innerleithen etc it ought to really shine.

joshtp

i think with the longer revs it will be a proper beast of a trail bike. maye it would work well with a doulble and bash front set up? and a shadow mech? with the right build it could be the perfect hardcore trail bike.
maybe have the GT with the 140 revs, rovals, m4 brakes, x9 r mech, slx crank.
kit it really nicely. and leave the cotic with the 130 revs, x5........ 717's. i recon that youl never get the mosty out of the bike with the current build. the cotic is nice, but with the gt having the poorer spec it wont shine and youl never feel that its as good as the cotic. am i making sense?
thats what i recon anyway.

Northwind

Yup, spot on. But then right now the GT has the exact same spec as the Cotic usually does and I still don't think it's as good Though that's a really unfair comparison.

It's still true that the stronger/more trailey bits make more sense on the GT while the more XC bits make more sense on the Cotic, but then again I'm off to Kirroughtree and Drumlanrig in 2 weeks and there's no chance at all I'm taking the GT, which I think tells me something. Maybe if I had muscles in my legs :oops:

It's such a hardship, this choice malarkey