Thinking of building a bike

Philapino

Hi all,

I'm new here so go easy on me...

Been thinking of building a bike for around £500. It's something I've wanted to do for a while but never got round to setting aside the cash or the time. I haven't owned a mountain bike since about 2008 and it's crazy how far they've come on since then. Everyone was riding around on 26/24 inch wheels and now it seems there are two new, slightly larger sizes on the market which seem interesting.

Anyway, I've been looking at steel frames like the On One 45650B (what a ridiculous name for the frame by the way) and would want somewhere between 100-140mm travel on the forks as I'll mainly be using it for trails/XC/singletrack. This then leans more towards having a 650b setup which I think I'm pretty set on (rather than going 29" as I think it would be just a bit too big).

I am yet to purchase anything but have found that the three most important (and costly) things are going to be the frame, fork & wheels. So, along with a few questions of compatibility, I need help choosing what to get pretty please! Like I said, I've not so much as taken a second glance at a mountain bike for almost a decade - when Hope Mono Minis were the disc brakes to have - and as such I'm confusing myself with all the new gear available and different sites.

Basically, I'm after recommendations but not completely against the idea of going second hand as it's just going to be a hobby and don't need a completely top of the range setup. I've seen a pair of Fox Floats for sale on here for £40+ delivery which seems pretty spot on but it raises the issue of compatibility with the On One frame which I know nothing about!

Any help you can give me would be much appreciated, thanks!

The Rookie

It's not worth building a bike for £500 unless you are happy to make some compromises.
1/ de spec some parts on the basis they will be marked as the first to upgrade
2/ or buy good used parts.

For example to make it worthwhile doing it yourself you would be spending at least £150 on forks, frame and wheels, leaving £50 for all the rest, that's not going to work.

Either buy a complete bike or buy a new frame and then get good used parts to complete it with.

I build all my own bikes, I've also built all the ones in the family.