Building a bike

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  • mickedwards61
    mickedwards61 Posts: 175
    bigbenj_08 wrote:
    mickedwards61 wrote:
    bigbenj_08 wrote:
    You could save a load by having a look in the classifieds....

    And even you spend the same amount you were going to, you could end up with better spec parts for the same money
    English please... :?:

    What I was attempting to say was if you had a budget to spend on, let's say your seatpost stem and bars, the same budget in the classifieds could get more for your money, make sense?
  • cat_with_no_tail
    cat_with_no_tail Posts: 12,981
    bigbenj_08 wrote:
    mickedwards61 wrote:
    bigbenj_08 wrote:
    You could save a load by having a look in the classifieds....

    And even you spend the same amount you were going to, you could end up with better spec parts for the same money
    English please... :?:

    He's saying that even if he dosent save any money, and spends up-to his original budget, he'll end up with a better spec by using classifieds.
    "Avan-TT"
    F*cking Fast 29er
    Rapid Rose Roady
    Bionicon Beast
    Rockhopper Communter
  • The Northern Monkey
    The Northern Monkey Posts: 19,174
    Ahhhh I get it now lol!

    And yep very true, theres some corkers to be had in the classifieds.... I keep bloody missing them though :evil:
    Santa Cruz Butcher
  • tricky_dicky
    tricky_dicky Posts: 211
    the spec i did was based in my opinion on getting best value for money. i did this on my custom build. I know i could have had a very well specced GT for the same money however i liked the idea of speccing a bike. when i did mine Exotic kit was still available but now seems sold out.

    The wheels are crud (no offence) so the merlin deore groupset with hydro discs and wheelset is way superior to the Sora (road) and other bits you have specced. I went with the deore gruppo (minus wheels and discs as i had a bit more money for avid discs and xero wheels i wanted) and it performs flawlessly.

    Don't think we are trying to put you off in any way, like others have said there is great satisfaction in putting a bike together yourself - just bear in mind that we are trying to help and some (like Sonic) work for mags and have excellent product knowledge.

    Personally id buy the deore gruppo from merlin (will include all cables etc) and get a good frame like the dirty jo and the tora forks. everything else source cheap or 2nd hand. i say this because i bought 3 bars for my custom build before finding the ones i liked so spending a fortune on new contact kit could be a waste unless you know exactly what you want.

    have fun!
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    Thanks for the all comments everyone, have just been sorting out somewhere to build the thing over the past few days. Pretty much all ready to go apart from the light source! Stand came today :D

    The Deore set isn't completely out of the question, I have heard a lot of good things about the Deore range.

    I'm going to put my current spec and the spec with the Deore set side by side and see which is cheaper/more effective/better.

    I appreciate all the comments, I know you guys are trying to get the best for me.

    I'm set on building my own bike for ~£600, so it shall be done!
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    Right, this is what I have with the Deore groupset:

    Dirty Jo
    Deore 590 Disc Groupset & MT15 Factory Wheels - Shimano Groupsets
    RockShox Tora SL Coil 100mm Black Red TurnKey Crown Adj 2010 - Black Red 1-1/8"
    Race Face Ride XC Bar,Stem & Seatpost - Mountain Bike Seatposts
    Bontrager Race Inform Mens Saddle (Hollow CroMoly Rails) 08
    Wellgo 9/16" LU313 Pedal (V8 Copy)
    Avid Speed Dial 7 Brake Lever Set Graphite
    Continental Vertical Wire Bead 26 x 2.3"
    Orange Strange Grip 2010
    FSA No.11N Headset
    M:Parts Threadsaver seat clamp Black
    Continental MTB 26 Tube

    £641 - which I'm pretty pleased about considering most of the parts in the Deore set are better + hydraulic brakes :D

    One question though, where do you specify BB size etc. when ordering the Deore group? :/

    Still not set on my grips, pedals or saddle, but those can come later.
  • mickedwards61
    mickedwards61 Posts: 175
    Unless I've missed something, you won't need the Avid lever set, the groupset comes with levers (I assume?)

    I would recommend the Charge Spoon saddle, got one on my bike and will transferring to my Dirty Jo, which should be arriving on Friday :D

    For grips, Superstar seem to the BikeRadar Forumites current favourite, so I promptly jumped on that bandwagon too :oops: and they should be here tomorrow!
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Yep, the levers come with the brakeset!

    No need to specify BB size, it comes with spacers.

    For the money that is a good build!
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

    VOODOO CANZO

    Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    edited April 2010
    supersonic wrote:
    Yep, the levers come with the brakeset!

    No need to specify BB size, it comes with spacers.

    For the money that is a good build!

    Ooo nice, even less then as it comes with the levers.

    However, it says "NOTE: Picture shows a the group options, only the items listed above included" - are you sure it comes with the brake levers?
    mickedwards61 wrote:
    Unless I've missed something, you won't need the Avid lever set, the groupset comes with levers (I assume?)

    I would recommend the Charge Spoon saddle, got one on my bike and will transferring to my Dirty Jo, which should be arriving on Friday :D

    For grips, Superstar seem to the BikeRadar Forumites current favourite, so I promptly jumped on that bandwagon too :oops: and they should be here tomorrow!

    I shall check those out :)

    [Edit]
    Hmm, that seat looks like it may violate me. The Bontrager I have above doesn't seem much better for that though :p

    Where can the superstar grips be bought?

    Thanks,
    Craig.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Yep, hydraulic brakes come with the levers, all fully bled and ready to fit.

    If you can squeeze this fork:

    http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/marzocchi ... forks.html

    Lighter and more adjustable than the standard Tora, and would really elevate the bike to a class (or two!) above most off the shelf bikes for the same price.
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

    VOODOO CANZO

    Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    supersonic wrote:
    Yep, hydraulic brakes come with the levers, all fully bled and ready to fit.

    If you can squeeze this fork:

    http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/marzocchi ... forks.html

    Lighter and more adjustable than the standard Tora, and would really elevate the bike to a class (or two!) above most off the shelf bikes for the same price.

    Bah, you tempt me!

    Hmm, maybe. I'll have a think about it, providing it's noticeably better?

    The Dirty Jo takes 100mm forks, a bit more at a push apparently. I assume if I get the forks above I can adjust them to 110mm or whatever the Dirty Jo can be pushed to? It does say travel adjust, just making sure though :)
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    It is quite a bit better! Same damping circuit they use on the basic Rebas and Revelations.

    You can adjust them internally with spacers.
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

    VOODOO CANZO

    Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    Cool

    I assume it comes with the necessary spacers?

    Thanks again for your continued help :)
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    Does anyone have pics of a black frame with white forks they can post please?

    Just been colour matching and price searching and am wondering what the black Dirty Jo & white forks are going to look like.
  • mickedwards61
    mickedwards61 Posts: 175
    Craig321 wrote:
    Hmm, that seat looks like it may violate me. The Bontrager I have above doesn't seem much better for that though :p

    Where can the superstar grips be bought?

    The saddle is very comfy, even though it doesn't look like it i'll give you that!

    The superstar grips can be bought here

    http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php

    I've got red ones with black locks, to match the red Dirty Jo frame and the black forks 8)
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    Thanks for all the suggestions and help guys. I'll definitely be taking them into consideration when upgrading and buying new parts.

    Most of my stuff has arrived, bloody frame is out of stock though. Comments on the Kinesis Maxlight XC2? :D I'm feeling a little rich.

    Bits-and-Pieces---20-04-2010.jpg

    As you can imagine, all the stuff is just lying there right now with no frame. Argh!!

    I think I'd be better off the the Kinesis Maxlight XC2, will really compliment the white forks :D

    Anyone know if the XC2 can take 2.5" tyres? The ones above are 2.3"s but I wouldn't mind sticking some chunky 2.5s on there some time.
  • bwfc4eva868
    bwfc4eva868 Posts: 717
    I want new bits :) lucky bugger. Wheels look nice, are they shimano jobs?
  • kaytronika
    kaytronika Posts: 580
    That's an interesting carpet you have.

    I'd quite like to build a bike myself. I imagine the sense of pride is pretty good when you're done. Having something utterly unique must be fun too.
    --
    '09 Carrera Fury
    '94 GT Timberline FS
    '89 Saracen Tufftrax
  • Craig321
    Craig321 Posts: 169
    bwfc4eva868 wrote:
    I want new bits :) lucky bugger. Wheels look nice, are they shimano jobs?

    Yep, a lot of it's Shimano Deore as I bought the groupset :)
    kaytronika wrote:
    That's an interesting carpet you have..

    Yea, it's the Ikea Gräs range... :P
    kaytronika wrote:
    I'd quite like to build a bike myself. I imagine the sense of pride is pretty good when you're done. Having something utterly unique must be fun too.

    Yeah, it's a nice little project. Most of it is Deore due to the groupset, however my other parts and future upgrades will make it even more unique :)

    Craig.

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