Budget Build Rigid (Now a Kinesis)

peter413

Since my Dad got himself a new frame which left this one unused I decided I would build it up for myself. Well, after a few months of waiting to get the money/find the right parts I finally finished the rigid. Were a few luxury items that weren't strictly needed like the bars and brakes but mostly it's just spare parts or spending the minimum possible to get parts that will last. This is mostly a training thing to get a bit more upper body strength but it's also a bit of fun. Quite pleased with how it turned out even if it is slightly heavier than a bike like this should be, doesn't help the only other rigid bike I've got a proper look at is a proper lightweight thing.

So some pictures:




And the specs are:

Frame: 18" Kona Caldera from I think 2009
Forks: Black On One rigid, would have liked some carbon Exotics but these were a fair bit cheaper.
Bars: Silver Nukeproof 38mm 760's, weren't strictly needed since I had some flat bars already but I felt they might have been a bit low.
Stem: Red Truvativ Holzfeller, just what was in my spares box.
Headset: FSA something or other, just a cheap OE spec headset that was with the bike originally.
Grips: Some pretty worn out Lizard Skins Peaty's
Front Brake: Shimano Deore M596, again, weren't strictly needed but saves swapping brakes between bikes and they were pretty cheap.
Front disc: Tektro 160mm
Rear Brake: Shimano Deore M596
Rear Disc: Tektro 160mm
Shifter: Shimano Zee 10 speed
Rear Mech: Shimano SLX 10 speed
Chain Device: Superstar XCR
Seat: Nukeproof
Seat Post: Standard Kona, only the headset and this are the remaining original parts from the bike.
Seat Post Clamp: Superstar Superfly, don't really like it but it came with dad's new frame and he wanted to keep the stealth look so took the standard Kona seatclamp.
Cranks: Shimano Deore
Chainring: Shimano Deore 32t, should probably change this for a single ring specific ring at some point
Chain: KMC X10 93
Cassette: 11-36t Shimano XT
Pedals: Shimano M530
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Deore
Front Wheel: Superstar DH-595
Front Tyre: 2.4 Maxxis Ardent
Back Wheel: Superstar DH-595
Back Tyre: 2.1 Maxxis High Roller, dunno how long this will stay on there, depends if it's as bad as I remember it being.

A lot of the weight is in the wheels, plain gauge spokes, heavy DH rims and steel freehub don't make lightweight wheels but it only cost me £13 for some bearings to get them working so was far cheaper than some new wheels. Should be a hoot to ride though and lets face it, although I quite like the way it looks, no one's going to want to steal it are they so makes a good bike to ride to the shops if I choose to.

DanDax1990

I'm guessing the type of people who steal bikes would think that is fairly expensive.

gt-arrowhead

DanDax1990 wrote:

I'm guessing the type of people who steal bikes would think that is fairly expensive.

Thats the only problem with having a sexy bike nowadays 10/10 though. Colour scheme is really good if i were a thief i would steal that....just saying LOL

peter413

Yeah, after looking at it some more I realised I really liked the way it looks so I do hope nobody decides to steal it although it would be far cheaper to replace than my other bikes

Done a few rides on it now, it isn't light for this sort of bike at 26.5 lbs but it's great fun, partly due to the fact it's far too short for me. I would fit a longer stem but I've said my little brother can use it since he's getting rid of his bike so it would make it too long for him. Still way lighter than my Marin so flies up the hills in comparison, obviously not as fast on the way down on most stuff. It's a great feeling passing people on their Orange 5's going down though.

gt-arrowhead

Your brothers a lucky guy! Yeah its always good going past someone thats on a more expensive bike than you
Do you mind if i ask where you got your forks and what they are called? They look pretty awesome

Edit: Nevermind. I forgot that you listed the spec! LOL

peter413

They're the On One rigid forks in case anyone else missed it. Was wanting the Exotic Carbon's but they were £50 more and they have a weight limit of 97.5 kg which I'm a bit over so wasn't sure if I wanted to risk it. Plus when I asked them questions about them they were useless so they lost the sale because of that. Yeah the On One's are a lot heavier because they are steel but I've got peace of mind with them.

gt-arrowhead

peter413 wrote:

They're the On One rigid forks in case anyone else missed it. Was wanting the Exotic Carbon's but they were £50 more and they have a weight limit of 97.5 kg which I'm a bit over so wasn't sure if I wanted to risk it. Plus when I asked them questions about them they were useless so they lost the sale because of that. Yeah the On One's are a lot heavier because they are steel but I've got peace of mind with them.

Oh i see. In that case you made the right choice. Did you buy them directly from On One or did you buy it from somewhere else? I was trying to find a fork similar to yours on eBay and they are all carbon ones that cost loads!

peter413

Bought them directly from On One.

peter413

About time I updated this. Changed it quite a bit, biggest change is that it's now a Kinesis Maxlight. Rides so much better than the Kona, a lot more spring in the frame and a fair chunk lighter



Frame: 19" Kinesis Maxlight
Forks: Black On One rigid
Bars: 780mm Kore Torsion 20mm rise, didn't get on with the shape of the Nukeproof's and had these left over from when I upgraded the bars on the Rocky.
Stem: Raceface Ride XC 60mm, since this frame is too tall for my brother I can have a longer stem that fits me better.
Headset: Cane Creek
Grips: Superstar Supagrippa's, want another pair of ODI Rogue's though.
Front Brake: Shimano Deore M596
Front disc: Avid 160mm
Rear Brake: Shimano Deore M596
Rear Disc: Tektro 160mm
Shifter: Shimano Zee 10 speed
Rear Mech: Shimano SLX 10 speed
Chain Device: Superstar XCR
Seat: Nukeproof
Seat Post: Kona
Seat Post Clamp: Hope, got rid of that horrible Superstar Superfly, kept catching my shorts on it and popping it open.
Cranks: Shimano Deore
Chainring: Raceface 34t Single Specific
Chain: KMC X10 93
Cassette: 11-36t Shimano XT
Pedals: Shimano M530
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Deore
Front Wheel: Shimano M525/DT Swiss X455
Front Tyre: 2.4 Maxxis Ardent
Back Wheel: Shimano M525/DT Swiss X455
Back Tyre: 2.1 Maxxis High Roller

Weight: 25.12 lbs

Eventually going to get a narrow wide ring and get rid of the useless Superstar Guide. Half tempted to ditch it as it is, it just flexes out of the way as soon as the chain tries to come off anyway and then it jams instead of just lifting the chain back on.

Ouija

Love Kinesis frames. Gone through about two Kinesis Maxlight XCPro frames and two XCPro2's (with the carbon wishbones). They also make a lot of frames re-branded for other companies (Merlin and Viper spring to mind). I actually have a Viper frame making up core of one of my Mountain bikes.

As for the forks. Exotic also make aluminium versions of those type of forks for about half the price of carbon ones. Seem to see a few popping up on ebay every now and again. Those steel forks can way in at over one and half kilos. Almost the same weight as a set of lightweight suspension forks like the air sprung Suntour Epicons (1.6kg) which you can pick up for £150. If there's no weight saving i think i'd rather lug around the suspension forks instead as they have a lockout for when you want things to be rigid.

peter413

The On One's were still cheaper than the alloy Exotic's. They aren't nearly as heavy as you say either. Part of the reason I wanted rigid forks was that I wanted rigid forks so there would be no point in having suspension forks, especially at nearly three times the price. Plus when I asked Exotic a few questions they were useless and wouldn't answer most of them so I decided to go with a company I trusted a little more.

Ouija

On One state the weight as 1200g which is pretty hefty (some of the top end suspension forks can get that low). I have three bikes with rigid forks (one Exotic Carbon, one Merida Carbon and one Maxlight alloy) and two with suspension forks (about 1.6kg) and to be honest you can find it difficult to feel the difference between a lightweight suspension fork and a heavy steel rigid. Even the 400g Merida doesn't make the bike feel significantly quicker compared to other bikes i have with light'ish suspension forks and the same set of wheels. IMO, by far the biggest difference you can feel is in fitting lightweight rims and tyres, i think.

Notice that the On Ones cost about £60. If you paid full retail price you could of spend £44 on a set of lightweight Mosso 2013 alu forks at 750g instead.

peter413

Which I wouldn't trust not too snap on the first bump. 1200g's isn't 1.5kg's either

Honestly you're comparing a £60 fork with a £600 fork when you say you get suspension as light and you're still comparing two forks that are completely different prices when you say I could have got a cheap suspension fork. I didn't want suspension and that has nothing to do with speed. If I had been looking to spend that much I would have got lighter rigids but it was a budget build so I went with cheap, reliable parts that I trusted.

peter413

Done a few more changes. Changed the grips for some ESI's and the bars for my old OCD's since I got some more Sixc's for the Rocky. Changed the tiny High Roller for a slightly bigger worn Crossmark just to get a bit more volume and raise the BB slightly. Had to buy a new drivetrain as well so ditched the crappy Superstar guide and got a Raceface Narrow Wide ring. Going to try it without a clutch mech but got a Zee sitting on my bench for if it doesn't work. Managed to get it sub 25 lbs to 24.8 lbs now.

ruggerbugger

Liking that a lot buddy. Had 2009 caldera too but cracked the frame!!! Now have a rigid Charge Cooker 29er & loving the rigid riding thing(but buying some boingy forks for days out). :P

peter413

Unfortunately found a crack in the chain stay today while changing the bottom bracket

Think this is the perfect opportunity to go 29er if I can find the money.

lawman

Gutted!! They're mega light frames, had one built up for the best part of 5 years, frame sat in the garage now. Later on in it's life I was worried I'd break it, so gave it a dignified retirement, ready to hang in the man cave when I get my own place It ride brilliantly though, if they updated it a little I'd definitely have another!

Giraffoto

peter413 wrote:

Unfortunately found a crack in the chain stay today while changing the bottom bracket

Think this is the perfect opportunity to go 29er if I can find the money.

See if you can get a Scandal 29er frame - they're very good and not terribly expensive. Or investigate some of the steel frames

peter413

I've got a bit of a thing against buying from On One again if I'm honest. I'm going to try a mates Kracken frame for size and buy that if it fits. New forks, wheels and a frame is too far out of my budget really and if I was spending that much I'd rather buy a new AM frame.

Cqc

Shame it cracked mate tbh I'm surprised it wasn't nicked, as it's pretty bling compared to your average bike that gets nicked