HandsomeDog XC01

Kiblams

Thought it made more sense having the bike as it is now on the first post



Spec as of July

Frame: HandsomeDog XC01 A7 Aluminium
Forks: Rockshox Tora 318 Solo Air
Bars: Easton EA50

Front Brake Lever: Shimano Deore
Front disc: Avid BB5
Rear Brake Lever: Shimano Deore
Rear Caliper: Avid BB5
Rear Shifter: Shimano Deore
Front Shifter: Shimano Deore LX
Cables: Shimano Deore
Front Mech: Shimano Deore
Rear Mech: Shimano Deore

Cranks: SR Suntour XCR
Chain: KMC x9 95
Cassette: Shimano Deore HG50 Cassette 11-32
Pedals: Wellgo Resin
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN54

Front Wheel: Unbranded
Tire: Continental MountainKing 2.4 (soon to chance not I have bounce at the front end)

Back Wheel: Unbranded
Tire: Continental Explorer 2.1

Weight: 30lbs-ish

Cost so far is £500

Not light anymore but for the price I'm chuffed

cat_with_no_tail

Poor Penny

What you doing with the frame?

Kiblams

She will be built up using all of the spares I have to replace my daft heavy steel commuter bike, will get a good few more years use yet

But as two Pinnacles are replaced; another is brought into the world of Bikeradar

Kiblams

So I have the frame now... and I must say for £85 with BB and headset fitted; I am really chuffed with how it looks and the weight All of my digital camreas have either died or I can't find the leads/chargers so i have had to take really dodgy pictures with an old phone (my HTC PDA died too) and here it is in glorious low definition blurryness:



EDIT: 3 Images removed as they were pants

Will hopefully get some better pics when I get my new phone/camera Just need to convince the OH to let me build it up before xmas day now (was a present)

Kiblams

I did a little work to the bike, finished today after a trip to the LBS for a new cassete. Oddly, I have quite enjoyed cleaning bits up as I have transfered them from one bike to the other.

Here are pictures of the progress so far: (29/12/09)

Kiblams

Replaced the seatpost as it was too short yesterday, the bike now feels awesome. Also got the WTB Dissent 2.5 beast of a tyre off and replaced with a nice and light Conti MK 2.4; best £16 I have ever spent!

Current Spec: (29/12/09)

Frame: HandsomeDog XC01 A7 Aluminium
Forks: Surly Instigator
Bars: Easton EA50

Front Brake Lever: Shimano Deore
Front disc: Avid BB5
Rear Brake Lever: Shimano Deore
Rear Caliper: Avid BB5
Rear Shifter: Shimano Deore
Front Shifter: Shimano Deore LX
Cables: Shimano Deore
Front Mech: Shimano Deore
Rear Mech: Shimano Deore

Cranks: SR Suntour XCR
Chain: KMC x9 95
Cassette: Shimano Deore HG50 Cassette 11-32
Pedals: Wellgo Resin
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN54

Front Wheel: Unbranded
Tire: Continental MountainKing 2.4

Back Wheel: Unbranded
Tire: Continental Explorer 2.1

Weight: 27.6lbs

Cost so far is £450

Looks like my build is an aquired taste

jadamson

how much and from where did you get the forks? im looking to do a similar build but with slicks to commute on. good work

cat_with_no_tail

Not sure where Kiblams got his from, but Instigator forks can be had brand new for £68 from Wiggle.

FWIW Kiblams, I like this bike, and it shows that you CAN get a proper bike for not loadsa money.

Oh and Fully Rigid FTW

Kiblams

Thanks guys.

The Surly Instrigator was bought from either Chainreaction or Wiggle back in January for £55 if memory serves.

Cat With No Tail wrote:

Oh and Fully Rigid FTW

Sounds convincing there Cat It certainly takes some getting used to, took me about 4 outings back on rigid to get back up to a good speed downhill after using Toras for a few months.

seward4or5

Nice one Kiblams - I like it!
Well? How does it ride? Is it light?
Can I ask, what size frame is it and how tall are you?

Kiblams

Hey thanks, I have only managed to get out on it once (on proper off-road) since building it up and did a small write up here if you want to take a look. Though as you will see, due to the riding conditions, the jury is still out on that front.

The weight is in the spec list (27.6lbs) which is not great for a rigid bike, but feels responsive enough for me (16stone of man meat )

The size of the frame is very small for my height (hence the long steep stem and seatpost) as I seem to have freekishly short legs and need small frames to ensure my 'unmentionables' are safe. I am 6ft and the frame is 16".

For the price I would recommend the frames to anyone, really can't fault the build quality and finish.

I am hoping to have a few 'bling' bits waiting for me when I get home this evening so expect more pictures over the next few days

Kiblams

The new blue bits arrived this weekend, trying to keep it subtle with the customisation so won't be suprised if you can't see the both bits of bling

Here are pictures of the progress so far: (10/01/10)




Damn you Easton and Avid!

I really can't decide if I need more blue or not, maybe pedals?

blister pus

not pedals

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=5458

^ and if you could get some type of two tone blue / black grips. I reckon you'd have it nailed. But that saddle would balance things up nicely.

blister pus

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=29558

^ and if you could track down the "black / blue" picture of that, might well be worth a shot.

MacAndCheese

That looks sweet, and for 450 it's amazing! My old, old Kona had an black X-lite saddle with blue shoulders that would have looked mint on that, shame they don't do them any more. Really like the look of rigid forks, perhaps a bit of P2 nostalgia.

Kiblams

Thanks guys, I have found the grips that I need here and am still on the hunt for a saddle. Thanks for the suggestions guys

missmarple

Ahh I love HandsomeDog frames, nice simple ride. Its the sort of thing I'd like to build. If I didn't have debt.

Kiblams

EDIT: Moved the current bike to the first post in the thread

Kiblams

A quick update; new wheel, tyre and bling grips




Question: why do bikes never look as good in pictures as they do in real life? You can barely see the blue grips in these pics :x

Current Spec:

Frame: HandsomeDog XC01 A7 Aluminium
Forks: Rockshox Tora 318 Solo Air
Bars: Easton EA50
Grips: Superstar Black with blue lock-on rings

Front Brake Lever: Shimano Deore
Front disc: Avid BB5
Rear Brake Lever: Shimano Deore
Rear Caliper: Avid BB5
Rear Shifter: Shimano Deore
Front Shifter: Shimano Deore LX
Cables: Shimano Deore
Front Mech: Shimano Deore
Rear Mech: Shimano Deore

Cranks: SR Suntour XCR
Chain: KMC x9 95
Cassette: Shimano Deore HG50 Cassette 11-32
Pedals: Wellgo Resin
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN54

Front Wheel: Merlin Custom build
Rim: Mavic XM317
Hub: Deore
Tire: Continental Vertical 2.3

Back Wheel: Unbranded
Tire: Continental Explorer 2.1

Weight: 29lbs-ish

ricardo666

I have had my HD XC01 for a few years now. Cracking ride and it doesnt attract attention from the local scallys either

Using it as my commute to work bike and the local woods/ canal path/ evening ride

Built up over the years to its current incarnation.

Kiblams

ricardo666 wrote:

I have had my HD XC01 for a few years now. Cracking ride and it doesnt attract attention from the local scallys either

Using it as my commute to work bike and the local woods/ canal path/ evening ride

Looks great, what sort of spec do you have on it now?

It's really odd seeing another black one, must be how people on Spesh bikes feel everytime they go for a ride

ricardo666

Love this bike to bits, after running my 14 year old GT karakoram into the ground with no suspension/ disc brakes etc, thought it was time to treat my myself to everyones off casts on ebay, and a few tweeks of my own, being shimano brakes as theyre a doddle to bleed and a decent set of wheels.

Beats sitting on a bus full of sniffly students at £1.80 for a 2 mile journey to work. And a blast round the leeds liverpool canal in the evenings. Plus it doesnt attract attention from the local scum.

My HD comprises of

Cranks - Shimano XT760
Brakes - Shmano XT775
F+R Deraillleur - Shimano XT 775
Rockshox Reba team 2009 (was running 2005 rebas until 6 weeks ago when they packed up)
Wheels - Hope pro2/ dtswiss42 rims
Tyres - Maxxis Advantage 2.3" (weekend) and Hutchinson Python (mon - fri)
Fsa seatpost and SDG saddle
Sunline V1 carbon bars and carbon cycles stem

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=12527
http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/6479.html

bikaholic

Not mine, but something I put together for a friend.


This forum is not as good as mtbr for displaying pictures so I've made them clickable:

orbital

Just thought I'd add my newly finished Handsomedog build to this thread

jakeeeeeee

thats a very tasty bike you've got there

orbital

It's my first attempt at building a bike from scratch and I'm quite pleased with outcome. It was a very enjoyable project. Not very cost effective though!