is this a stupid idea?!

welsh_14

Hi guys I've been riding bikes for years but have always just bought them "off the shelf" and maybe made a few upgrades. Currently riding a Merlin Malt with some upgrades. I love this bike and plan to keep it but would like to have a go at building up a bike from scratch. Is this a stupid idea when I already have a bike I love and plan to keep?!

If not a stupid idea then what would you guys suggest?! Planning to try and keep the costs down by buying 2nd hand/sales and build over a period of time rather than all at once.
All my riding is natural all day trails in the cheviots with occassional trips to the Lakes and Scotland.

oodboo

Not a stupid idea at all. How about building something different to what you currently ride, maybe build yourself a DJ bike and hit some pump tracks and stuff for a change and to gain new skills?

welsh_14

Are there many pump tracks in the north east? I notice thats where you are as well.
I was thinking it was stupid to build up something too similar to what I already have but that doesnt sound like a bad idea! Was also thinking maybe a full suss trail type bike but wondered whether that would be worthwhile with the type of riding I do.

oodboo

Not really many pump tracks up here so might not have been the best idea. Plenty dirt jump spots or you could use it for street trials stuff. Just thought it's something you could build up on the cheap for your first build. A full sus trail bike would be good but it's not going to be cheap.

felix.london

I wouldn't see the point of building up something similar to what you've got

A little street/jump bike is what I'm building to complement the downhill bike and the cross-country/all-mountain bike I have. Pretty much got all the bases covered and each bike will get a fair amount of use

I know full well - If I built/bought a 140mm trail bike my Rockhopper would get very limited (probably no) use at all.

Check this link for progress on my Nukeproof Snap Build I've used a mixture of spare parts I already had and new parts.

Very good fun and would recommend it to anyone interested in bikes.

welsh_14

Cheers guys. Thats what I was thinking that building something too similar will leave my Merlin redundant! I love it so wouldnt want that to happen until I break it. Might have a look down the street/play bike route.

Felix thats looking like a good build!
Thats what I was thinking that it would be something fun I could try. Having my hip operated on so will be off the bike for up to 8 months :shock: so would be something that would at least keep me around mountain biking in that time without going to crazy!

felix.london

Cheers! More pics to come next week. It's ready to ride now - just missing brakes :shock:

1mancity2

felix.london wrote:

Cheers! More pics to come next week. It's ready to ride now - just missing brakes :shock:

You only need one or your foot....

To the OP building a dj/street bike could cost you a far wedge if your buying new parts, a lot more than buying the bike off the shelf, I would do it as a second hand project with a few new parts chucked in.

Buy the frame first then source parts to suit, one tip if your going singlespeed try to get horizontal dropouts.

felix.london

1mancity2 wrote:

felix.london wrote:

Cheers! More pics to come next week. It's ready to ride now - just missing brakes :shock:

You only need one or your foot..../quote]

And a decent pair of shoes!

welsh_14

You may need more than your foot in the Alps though! Even with a decent pair of shoes.
Going to try the build using mostly 2nd hand parts to keep price down. Its more a project to build one as I've always wanted to and while i'm off the bike will give me something to do while I also cant go to work. I suppose the other option is to turn the Merlin in to a commuter and build myself a nice new trail bike! But whether I could do that to the Malt I just dont know ha-ha.

felix.london

Mine's come in at about £490 - using spare parts I already had and new parts from various different retailers. That doesn't include brakes btw - but it will eventually inherit the Deore's off my Rockhopper as that's due for a brake upgrade anyway (when funds allow) as could do with something with a bit more power for the big mountains

Pretty happy as the goal was to keep it under £500. If you look at the 'Comp' version of the fully built bike on CRC, they're selling for £1,250...OK I have an inferior fork and XC wheels but still not bad if you ask me

That also included some optional extras i.e. I could've happily used the Schwalbe Nic & Ralph tyres that are on it in the photos but have ordered a set of Schwalbe Table Tops instead (£40)

Saying that - I'm looking through the list now and the tyres are the only thing I spent on that it didn't need

There's also about £100 worth of tarty finishing kit from Superstar (red bits, white hoses, Nano pedals etc) that I'd like to add at some stage but not required as have all that stuff already on the bike...just in black