What wheels and fork for Cotic Bfe build?

Yippeekiyay

Hi,
I'm looking to get a Cotic Bfe as it looks like a good do-it-all frame. I mainly ride trails and singletrack, mostly natural stuff with 2-4ft drops. My current bike is a Rock Lobster 853 which can only take a 100mm fork and only has room for 2.1 tyres. I'm also running Mavic XC717s so I'm looking for wider, heavier duty rims. I haven't experienced using many of the components out there so I need a bit of help choosing.

For wheels I'm thinking of spending £200/250. I weigh 10.5 stone so I'm not that heavy but I've been riding fairly hard on my current bike. The wheels I have in mind are Mavic XM719s or EX721s on XT hubs. What other alternatives are there? Are the Hope Pro 2 hubs worth the extra ££ ?

For forks my budget would be about £300. I was thinking about getting Rockshox Sektor Dual Position Coils 120-150mm maxle light. I like the idea of having travel adjust. Or a 2nd hand pair of Pike 454 U-turn air which look in pretty good condition. I would have to pay a bit extra to swap out the spring for the Sektors for softer ones and with the Pikes being 2nd hand, I would have to consider the cost of getting them serviced.
Or I could extend my Marzocchi Marathon LRs to 120mm with a spacer. They seem to do the job ok and are pretty solid forks but I've nothing to compare them to apart the Toras on my old bike and the spring on that was too stiff for me.

Recommendations would be much appreicated.
Thanks.

ilovedirt

As far as I know, XT hubs still run loose ball bearings, which are pretty much obsolete these days. Anything with cartridge bearings would be preferable IMO, easier and less frequent maintenance (usually). My Pro IIs have been virtually maintenance free since I've had them, can't recommend them enough. Got a hope hoops build on DT EX500 rims, they're nice and light and I true them up every 2-3 months, and they seem pretty solid. Totaled one crashing at a downhill race, but replaced with the same, and they've held up for about two years of abuse aside from that, and I'm not particularly kind to bike parts...

As for forks, you can't go far wrong with Sektors, just go for the model that best suits your needs. I can't tell you what features you want. Myself, I try to keep it nice and simple with a fixed length spring most of the time. Not fussy over air/coil and go for the best damping I can afford. I hear those Marzocchi Marathons aint great, you'll probably notice a good deal of difference between the two, and go for a 20mm axle if you can, much more solid. Plus, the BFe is more oriented towards a 140/150mm fork.

plugp7

ilovedirt wrote:

XT hubs still run loose ball bearings, which are pretty much obsolete these days.

What! Does Shimano know this?
Cup and cone bearings, if properly maintained, will last for many years. They are just another option. No need to discount them.

The Northern Monkey

plugp7 wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

XT hubs still run loose ball bearings, which are pretty much obsolete these days.

What! Does Shimano know this?
Cup and cone bearings, if properly maintained, will last for many years. They are just another option. No need to discount them.

+1

I've look into some Rockshox Revs if you can find a deal.
Superstar wheelsets are great value too!

rockmonkeysc

EX721's are a bit ott, I use them for DH racing and they are solid. DT Swiss EX500 are weak for their weight, I found mine dented too easily and were as heavy as a good set of DH rims.
A nice set of Stans Flows or Arch on superstar hubs with either Sektor RL 150mm or Revelations. Travel adjust is pointless.

supersonic

The 853 can take a 120mm fork no probs.

Yippeekiyay

Thanks for the suggestions....
Supersonic, I need a frame that can take wider tyres so the 853 needs to be replaced.

I can only afford the more expensive rims if I go for the SLX hubs since they are cheaper. Don't want to spend more than £330 on a set of wheels.
If I go for the Hope Pro 2s then I can only afford the Mavic EN521s which should be strong enough but a bit heavy. The DT Swiss Ex 500s and Stans Flows/Archs are too expensive with Pro 2 hubs.
It's either cheap hubs with expensive rims or expensive hubs with cheap rims.
So it's either :-
SLX hubs + Stans Flows/Arches, Mavic XM719(are these strong enough?)
Hope Pro 2s + Mavic EN521
or I might just go for SLX hubs + EN521 if I want to save some cash.
Opinions please?
Read about some bad experiences about the Superstar Switch hubs so I'm not sure about them.

As for forks, i can't find the Sektor RL Dual Position Coils for a decent price and it'll be too much hassle sending them off to swap out for a lighter spring which will add to the cost.
Options so far are:-
Sektor RL SoloAir Forks 20mm Maxle Lite....crown lockout.
Revelation RLT Dual Air 15mm Axle Remote Lockout.....no crown lockouts in stock at Merlin. Is crown lockout better than remote lockout?
Sektors are £38 cheaper but are 200g heavier. Not sure if I need Dual air. What are the benefits and are they more fiddly to setup?

ilovedirt

RockmonkeySC wrote:

EX721's are a bit ott, I use them for DH racing and they are solid. DT Swiss EX500 are weak for their weight, I found mine dented too easily and were as heavy as a good set of DH rims.

Really? Mine are much lighter than my superstar DH rims (considerably), and I've never dented them either, and they have taken some serious abuse.

My superstar wheelset is really good too, the hubs don't need much maintenance, but it's a bit on the heavy side. The stock bearings are a bit crap too.

ilovedirt

plugp7 wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

XT hubs still run loose ball bearings, which are pretty much obsolete these days.

What! Does Shimano know this?
Cup and cone bearings, if properly maintained, will last for many years. They are just another option. No need to discount them.

I don't see why they would still run cup and cone though when you can use good quality cartridge bearings. Yeah cup and cone bearings can stay sweet for a long time if properly maintained, but so can cartridge bearing hubs. And maintaining them is MUCH quicker and easier. It's a no brainer to me.

supersonic

Cup and cone run with less drag, can take more load. Don't see many bust Shimano hubs... see plenty of broken Hopes!

Takes me 2 mins to service cup and cone.

ste_t

Revelations over Sektors any day of the week. I went from solo air Recon 351's (which the Sektors replaced,) to dual air Revs and the difference was massive as the Revs coped much better with repeated hits on rough ground.

supersonic

That's the damper: the Revs get dual flow rebound.

rockmonkeysc

ilovedirt wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

EX721's are a bit ott, I use them for DH racing and they are solid. DT Swiss EX500 are weak for their weight, I found mine dented too easily and were as heavy as a good set of DH rims.

Really? Mine are much lighter than my superstar DH rims (considerably), and I've never dented them either, and they have taken some serious abuse.

My superstar wheelset is really good too, the hubs don't need much maintenance, but it's a bit on the heavy side. The stock bearings are a bit crap too.

When I got my EX721 switch EVO wheelset I weighed them and my EX500 on formula hubs and the difference was literally grams. I found I was constantly trueing and straightening dents with the DT Swiss rims but the EX721's stayed dead true after several DH races, freeride sessions and uplift days.
Supersar bearings are crap, I replaced mine with some NSK bearings I "found" at work, they have lasted six months so far.

ilovedirt

To be fair, I do find myself trueing up the DT rims pretty often (more often than my superstar ones anyway), but as long as you keep on top of it, they seem alright.

ste_t

supersonic wrote:

That's the damper: the Revs get dual flow rebound.

Obviously. Clearly not thinking whilst I was typing.

Yippeekiyay

supersonic wrote:

Cup and cone run with less drag, can take more load. Don't see many bust Shimano hubs... see plenty of broken Hopes!

Takes me 2 mins to service cup and cone.

Sounds good to me!

So it'll be Shimano hubs with either the Mavic XM719 or EN521. Can't decide.
XM719 has Maxtal and they are lighter but the EN521 are wider.

As for the Revelations, is there more adjustment using the crown lockout over the remote lockout?
I get the impression that the remote lockout is just on/off positions and the crown lockout you can dial it up and down to the required amount?....or am I just making this up?

Thanks

supersonic

Yep, the crown mount is usually better, though some poplocs can be adjusted (ie poploc 'adjust')

XM719 sound ideal.

ilovedirt

If you're getting Revs, you might as well get Maxle rather than QR, which those Shimano hubs won't fit.

Yippeekiyay

Merlin and Chain Reaction has 15mm and 20mm Shimano hubs listed
• Axle Type - 20mm Thru Axle
• Axle Length - 110mm
Maxle fits doesn't it?

Was going to get them from Merlin.
No Revs crown lock in stock They're are the cheapest I can find too.

ilovedirt

Fair enough! I thought those hubs only came in QR.

Have you checked Winstanleys? They usually have some good fork deals.

Yippeekiyay

Yeah, Winstanleys only have the higher end Revs.
Can't find the Rev RTL with crown lock anywhere. Looks like I'll have to get the remote lock version and get the Poploc adjust(argh....another £45 for that) if it just comes with a plain Poploc.

Thanks for the advice guys!