Chinese 29er race HT build - Aiming sub 8kg - Complete

[Nicholas68]

Hey guys, so I've been lurking around for some time and figured it's about time I introduce my self and get a bit of a build thread going so it encourages me to document each individual weight making future upgrades easier. First off a bit about myself.

I am almost 22, 6'2" and 67Kgs. Been riding my whole life mainly doing social and distance rides. Any races I entered where mainly distance ones and just rode them for completion. I've outgrown my old ride long a go but just never replaced it being on the poor student budget. I just recently completed a 6 series race and loved it! So will definitely be doing more and am now in the process of building up a bike. I am currently on a 26er and always get told I should be on a 29er with my build so I am very excited to experience what all the hype is about with the 29er.

Here is what I am moving up from, was a little bit fancy back in its day. 10.5Kg's:


The bike has a budget of $5000AUD and my goal is to make it a light weight race ready bike under 8.5kg. But the catch is I need to keep it durable enough that I can ride it as my training bike with no hassles. Some people look at me crazy putting $4500 of componentry on a $500 frame but it makes perfect sense to me. Chinese frame manufacturing seems to have proven itself over the years with many happy customers and by going this route I can get a nicer wheel set which is where I hear it really counts. Where I live an 8.6kg (w/o pedals) Scott RC 900 is $8200.

The frame I have chosen is the IP-106 from xmiplay. I will post a picture of it's weight when it arrives in a few days. It is a 20" and I am expecting it to weigh in at 1330grams, which isn't the lightest when comparing it to a scott. But will make a nice 400 gram weight saving one day down the track. I personally really like the visual lines of this frame (basically a direct copy of the focus raven), and the geometry looks to be quite nice, very similar to the focus raven as well. Chainstays are on the shorter side at 440mm and HT angle is .5 degree steeper.

Here is my current build spec to go along with it, although it is still a work in progress.

Headset: Ritchey pro drop in is42, is52 tapered w/ mtzoom topcap/bolt - 90
Seatpost clamp: Mt zoom - 5
Rear axle: Shmano e-thru 142x12 - 90
Fork: 2012 RS Sid world cup rct3 - 1482
Front thru axle: Sram 15mm - 76

Drivetrain
Shifter: Sram XX1 grip - 80
Derailleur: Sram XX1 - 241
Cassette:Sram XX1 - 265
Chain:Sram XX1 - 232
cranks:Sram XX1 - 582
Cable housing: Stock Gore - 34
Cable: Stock Gore - 16
Bottom bracket: wheels man. bb30 - 45

Controls
Stem: Ritchey c260 wcs carbon tuned w/ ti bolts - 120
Bars: Mt zoom 740mm chopped to 660-700mm - 150
Grips: Extralite foam - 14
Seatpost: Chinese carbon - 186
Saddle: Sanmarco chinese replica carbon - 100
Pedals: Eggbeater 3 w/ wade ti spindles - 215

Brakes: Formula R1 levers w/ rx callipers w/ mtzoom ti caliper bolts - 470
F rotor: Stock formula 160mm - 90
R rotor: Ashia ai2 - 66

Wheelset
F Hub: Extralite hyper J bend 15mm - 85
R Hub: Tune kong 142x12 XD - 215
Spokes: Sapim cx-ray - 300
Nipples: Dt swiss alloy - 20
Rims: light bicycle wide carbon 29er 30mm - 770
Valves: american classic - 4
Tape: stans yellow - 10

Sealant: Stans - 100
F Tyre: 2.25 rocket ron - 520
R Tyre: 2.25 rocket ron - 520

Total weight 8.494kgs with pedals +/- a bit for variation.

This still leaves me a little room for upgrades down the track with tune thru axles, nokon gear housing, powercordz cables. If braking power is good then ai2 rotor up front. If I was to go super WW then I could do those above mods and furious freds and get under the 8kg mark with gears and suspension incl pedals. I am happy with an 8.5kg bike with a 1400 gram wheelset that should handle everything I throw at it, heard good things about every component selected for the bike. I am happy for you guys to pitch in with ideas on further weight saving and provide feedback on the build.

[Nicholas68]

Reserved

[michel2]

A man with a plan lol, your plan looks good, very curious how it will work out, i can see i have good experiences with lightweight wheels, the chinese wheel mob.

Are you from australia ? Im in perth wa

[Nicholas68]

Something showed up in the mail today. Excited! Now I have to order the rest of the parts and play the waiting game again.

IP-106 Frame from peter at xmiplay, must say I am very impressed with the finish on the frame.


1334, Weight came in exactly as I was told. So quite happy about that.


Now this is probably going to be a long build thread as I am going to picture and document each weight. Mainly so I can have a place with reference to the weight of each part on the bike. And to give fellow WW's some reference if they're considering one of the parts used for their build.

First up, 2012 RockShox Sid WC rct3 - 1484


Rockshox 15mm Axle - 72


Chinese carbon seatpost 31.6x350. They claimed 188 grams but it came in lighter at 176. Build quality also looks very great! Wonder if it has TI or steel bolts. Going to investigate yokes and bolts for it. SMUD carbon cradle might fit down the track as well. But for $40 I'm one happy customer. Did I mention it matches the frame!


Front brake, R1 lever paired to RX calliper. Perhaps not the lightest set out there but reviews of formula seem pretty solid and I got both brakes, mounting hardware a forumla 180mm and 160mm rotor all for $290USD. Going to get TI calliper bolts and a Ai2 160mm rotor to lighten it a little more.


Rear brake, R1 lever paired to RX calliper.


Formula 160mm rotor.


Extralite foam grips, still have to cut one down to pair with gripshifter.


I must admit I am very excited with this build. Jumping to a bike with 12 years more technology put into it is going to be a big step in itself. A frame that fits me properly. Thru axles front and rear. Jump up to 29er. Hydro disc brakes from V-brakes. Going tubeless, wider bars and wider tyres. 2kg lighter then my current bike. Oversized stem and bars. Tapered steerer. The list goes on and on. Although the thing I am most excited about is there is a strava segment up a reasonably big hill. Has a nice steep shortish climb which then goes to a gradual climb and then a bit of flat at the top to a gate. Probably 400 meters all up. I am currently second out of roughly 800 people at 1 min 21 seconds. KOM is sitting at 1 min 18 seconds. Would love to get my first crown using this bike. Can't wait!

[Nicholas68]

A man with a plan lol, your plan looks good, very curious how it will work out, i can see i have good experiences with lightweight wheels, the chinese wheel mob.

Are you from australia ? Im in perth wa

Yeah. Let's hope it does end up being a good plan. Weight Weenie on a budget. That's good to hear. Unfortunately mine haven't been shipped yet, still in the process of making them and china has just gone on a 1 week holiday.

I am. Located in Brisbane, so fair way away.

[Scatterbug]

Why did you decide on the 106 frame, as opposed to the FM057? Which cables are externally routed on the 106? Good luck with the build - hoping to get a Chinese frame myself over the winter.

[Nicholas68]

Why did you decide on the 106 frame, as opposed to the FM057? Which cables are externally routed on the 106? Good luck with the build - hoping to get a Chinese frame myself over the winter.

I chose the 106 because I think it looks better, that's the main reason. Then other reasons are I like the rear compliance of the raven and this has the same design. Chainstays are 5mm shorter, headtube angle is a bit more aggressive and everyone has the 057. I also hate the look of the downtube on the 057. On the 106 it is only the brake cable that is external. The otherthing I like about the 106 is the derailleur cable routing doesn't do any bend inside the frame like the other internally routed frames.

[Scatterbug]

On the 106 it is only the brake cable that is external.

There appears to be external cable-stops on both chainstays and the seat-tube. What is the routing for the front and rear mechs?

[Nicholas68]

On the 106 it is only the brake cable that is external.

There appears to be external cable-stops on both chainstays and the seat-tube. What is the routing for the front and rear mechs?

Front mech is inside the top tube and comes out just before seat tube like in all the frames. Then the rear mech is internal down the downtube but unlike the other frames comes out just before the bottom bracket and is ran externally along the chainstay. Personally I prefer this as the inner liner doesn't have to perform any bends which will reduce play in the shifting making it smoother. Then the rear brake is down the downtube.

[Scatterbug]

OK, so the rear mech is partly external.

Am I right in saying there is a cable-stop on the seat-tube for the front mech?

[Nicholas68]

OK, so the rear mech is partly external.

Am I right in saying there is a cable-stop on the seat-tube for the front mech?

Correct

[Scatterbug]

Thanks. I'd originally discounted the 106 frame because I thought it had redundant cable stops but your explanation has cleared things up. Having an external rear brake helps with maintenance and I agree about the rear mech routing. I also prefer the straighter lines of the downtube compared to the FM057 so will consider getting this frame myself and look forward to your build. Cheers.

[moshinho]

Chinese carbon seatpost 31.6x350. They claimed 188 grams but it came in lighter at 176. Build quality also looks very great! Wonder if it has TI or steel bolts. Going to investigate yokes and bolts for it. SMUD carbon cradle might fit down the track as well. But for $40 I'm one happy customer. Did I mention it matches the frame!

Where did you buyed the seatpost?

[Nicholas68]

[

Where did you buyed the seatpost?

I got it from Peter at xmiplay.com

They are the most reputable of the chinese vendors and have built up a rapport on the mtbr forums, so lest likely to just disappear from a warranty claim etc.

[Nicholas68]

Some more goodies have shown up! And with any luck the rims will be made and ready to ship in a few days, allowing me to accurately measure the ERD so I can order the rest of the parts.

Ashima Ai2 rotor 66g as claimed.


And then the $60 chinese saddle which is a replica of the selle san marco aspide superleggera valued at $300-$400, the finish on this is mint so probably old stock or from the same factory. Claimed was 100+-5 grams, This came in just under at 92.