13.06.2020:The "Comfort" of Narrow Handlebars | |
14.01.2020:FAR Ventoux C5 Review | |
25.08.2019:Orange Seal, does it live up to it's fame? | |
14.03.2019:Tune Factory Visit February 2019 | |
02.01.2019:EE cycleworks brakes review |
01.01.1970:Jagwire Elite link cable review |
01.01.1970:Review: Elite Cannibal Bottle Cages |
01.01.1970:Giro Trans E70 review |
01.01.1970:Vittoria Rubino Pro 3 review |
01.01.1970:Specialized S-Works Power Test |
Based on a ton of reading material and test riding quite a few potential steeds, I decided to build the bike around a Scott Strike frameset. Due to budget restrictions I preferred to purchase as many parts as possible second-hand or from store blowouts. Seeing as the latter rarely include lightweight parts, I ended up buying almost everything on eBay, via the MTBR classified ads, and from frequenters of this forum. (Total cost, including everything, was a tad over $2,500.)
Here is the component list with specs and accurate weights (in grams):
Bottle cage: | Tune Wasserträger (Carbon) | 7 g |
Bottom bracket: | FRM Ti square taper (68 mm BSA, 115 mm) | 149 g |
Brake levers: | Steinbach Micro-V Short | 67 g |
Brakes (front): | Avid Mag Ti (inc. pads and noodle) | 164 g |
Brakes (rear): | Avid Mag Ti (inc. pads and noodle) | 166 g |
Cables (shifter): | Shimano (std. housing, XTR cable, inc. 1 g ferrules) | 86 g |
Cables (brake): | Shimano (std. housing, XTR cable, inc. 2 g ferrules) | 107 g |
Cassette: | Shimano Dura-Ace CS-7700 (12-27T) | 179 g |
Chain guard: | Vinyl protective tape | 5 g |
Chain: | Shimano Dura-Ace CN-7700 (102 links) | 264 g |
Crankset (total 538 g): | ||
Crankarms: | Tune Big Foot (175 mm) | 391 g |
Chainring (large): | Shimano XT (44T, shaved) | 71 g |
Chainring (middle): | Sugino (32T) | 35 g |
Chainring (small): | Avitar (20T) | 15 g |
Chainring bolts: | Tune (Al) | 16 g |
Crank bolts: | TNT (Al) | 10 g |
Computer: | VDO Cytec C15+ | ? |
Derailleur (front): | Shimano XTR FD-M952 (E-type) | 123 g |
Derailleur (rear): | Shimano Dura-Ace RD-7700 (with Accent Alu hanger bolt) | 189 g |
Fork: | RockShox SID SL ('02, 214 mm steerer, Ti brake studs) | 1321 g |
Frame: | Scott Strike 10 ('01, Medium, Ti brake studs) | 1790 g |
Grips: | Bontrager Foam | 15 g |
Handlebar: | Easton CT-2 (540 mm) | 121 g |
Handlebar plugs: | ATI (rubber) | 4 g |
Headset: | Cane Creek SL5 (1 1/8") | 68 g |
Headset cap etc.: | Woodman (inc. Alu bolt, starnut) | 15 g |
Headset spacers: | Various (carbon, 37 mm) | 19 g |
Pedals: | Keywin Mudman MTB (Ti spindle) | 222 g |
QRs: | Control Tech Skewer (Ti) | 48 g |
Seat binder: | Scott (Al) | 15 g |
Seat: | AX-Lightness Endurance Basic | 86 g |
Seatpost: | Tune Starkes Stück (31.6 mm, 330 mm) | 195 g |
Shifters: | Shimano XT (9-speed, without displays) | 225 g |
Shock (rear): | RockShox SID XC w/ Lockout (165 mm, inc. bushings) | 266 g |
Stem: | FRM Web Stem (120 mm, 7°) | 139 g |
Wheelset (front 685 g, rear 857 g, total 1542 g): | ||
Hub (front): | White Industries (32H) | 108 g |
Hub (rear): | White Industries (32H, 135 mm) | 278 g |
Nipples: | Wheelsmith AL15 (Al) | 22 g |
Rims: | Mavic 217 SUP SBP (32H) | 852 g |
Rimtape: | Strapping tape | 10 g |
Spokes: | Wheelsmith DB15 (1.8/1.55/1.8) | 282 g |
Tires: | Continental Twister Supersonic (front 312 g, rear 340 g) | 652 g |
Tubes: | Maxxis Flyweight (Butyl, Presta) | 191 g |
Other: | Grease, plastic ties, etc. | 10 g |
Total: | 8,999 g (19.8 lb) |
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A photo of the bike appears below. I will add more photos as soon as I have them.
I am still fine-tuning the bike so I don't consider the build completely done. Next on my agenda is upgrading the stem (I need something a bit longer), seatpost (I need something with a bit more setback), wheelset (I'm currently using the wheels from my previous hardtail; these are great but no longer SOTA when it comes to weight) and doing some bolt and cable fine-tuning to shed a few more grams. My goal is to get the weight down to around the 8.8 kg / 19.4 lb mark.
BTW, I am 183cm (6') tall and weigh 80 kg (176 lb). I ride mostly XC and I'm not really into heavy-hitting, big drop riding. I live in the Mediterranean region where there is not much rain (it's sunny and hot here for 9 months of the year) and there is very little mud and relatively little extreme terrain - about as far from North Shore as one can get. The trails here are mostly dry, mildly technical singletrack with more rocks than roots. There are very few long, steep, winding downhills in this neck of the woods...
The bike rides great. Not surprisingly it is ultra-quick and responsive and it climbs like there's a rocket in my backpack - all it takes is a quick downshift and turn of the pedals and whoooosh! Acceleration and nimbleness are absolutely top-notch. It also stops on a dime, which I guess is a combination of excellent brakes and light weight. With this component mix (SID, Steinbachs, Tune crank with FRM square-taper BB and so on) there is understandably some mild flex, but no more than I expected and not to the extent that it disturbs me. Overall the bike and ride are everything that I expected them to be - a true weight-weenie dream bike!
Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone on the forum who gave assistance during this long process. And if anyone out there would like to ask a question or get more information about the bike and build process, feel free to contact me via the forum or by sending an email directly to d_glassman@hotmail.com.
Happy trails!
DavidG