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Jabberwocky build help

1094 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  bpeery
Just got a new Jab frame for Xmas and need some help with the build. Will use near-new American Classics as wheelset. Have about 1,000. to spend as a early 40th birthday present from wifey. Need some opinions about brakes (Hope vs Avid hydros or just stay with BB7s), and shock recommendations (still riding an old REBA on my wornout Rig and pretty happy). Am planning on Chris King BB and headset, but would love to hear about other options. Anyone have any crank ideas? What about titanium rings? I plan on racing this bike in the Firecracker 50 and Gunnison Growler 60-mile races here in Colorado this summer-might as well build it up right the first time. Thanks for any suggestions. -bp
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Here's my Jab build:
(Rigid for almost 2 yrs with a Fox on the way as I type)
Juicy 7s....were bb7s but ordered some hopes for my fs and swapped them for the j7s due to much lighter weight.....but to be honest, on the rolling st I ride my Jab on, I PREFER the bb7s.....great brakes for rolling st type riding.
Thomson/Thomson - I ride a small Jab at 5'10 so I have a lot of sp sticking out.....Thomspn is STIFF. Both the sp and stems are great weight:stiff:$$$ ratio.
WTB saddle for me exclusively....any of them are comfy and a couple are at a reasonable wieght.
monkey light xc bars.
I9 wheels - stiffest I've ever ridden, fast engagement, light....a lot of $$$ tho.
Cane Creek 110 headset - gotta support my home state.
xt cranks - great weight:stiff:$$$ ratio.....can get lighter for more $$$ which I'll do eventually but I've been very happy w/ them on 2 bikes.
Surly/Surly - lovin me LOOONG time.

If I were buying the parts, I'd skip the ti drive train stuff and spen the diff elsewhere where you'll get a lot more weight savings fo yo $$$.....the bb7s are tanks and hopes are gettin blown out everywhere right now as are xtr cranks.....just my .02.

Keep us posted.
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Here is my Jabber build

WB Magic 80mm fork
Hand built DT wheel set with DT RWS through bolt hubs
Thomson Post and Stem
Specialized Rival saddle
Salsa seat clamp
Cane Creek Solos headset
Easton EA70 low rise bars
BB7 Brakes with Speed dial levers, and G3 rotors
Shimano SLX cranks
Time pedals
Blackspire chain ring and Spot ring guard
PC-1 nickel chain, and Surly rear cog
Specialized BG lock-on grips
Maxxis ignitor tires

Very happy with the bike!
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I would do King for the headset, but if you've only got $1000 to spend, the money for the CK BB and grease injection tool might take up a good portion of your budget. For brakes, you can find pretty good deals if you check on eBay. There's a seller called RockyMountainCyclery on eBay that usually has great deals on brakes. I got my Shimano XT hydros from them for $130 (they sell a bunch of OEM take off parts so the brakes were fully assembled and bled, I just had to bolt them on).

For the crank, a lot of people like and use the ENO cranks. I couldn't afford them on my build, so I went with the Stylo GXP 1.1, which came with bottom bracket and was < $200 when I purchased. It's been a solid crankset for me (I have about 1000 miles and a full summer on the bike now).

For the fork, I'm rigid on the ODIS fork. I like it a lot. I was going to go suspended but ran out of money during my build, so I "compromised" by going rigid. I couldn't be happier that I did that - I love riding the bike rigid.
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www.bikeman.com has a LX single speed crank setup w/32 ring and bash guard for $129,
good deal on a solid crank. Jensen has monkeylite carbon bars for $75 from '08. FSA makes some really reasonable stems and seatpost especially if you can fit the new Noir carbon parts in your budget. The cane creek S3 has a very good rep as a CK replacement.
WTB saddles seam to be the best value but not the lightest Good luck and great bike.
We are building one up for my wife. More of a middle of the road budget though.
Sette bars, stem, seatpost for now. Planning for a Cane Creek S3 headset, Hope hubs with Stan's Arches with a Reba up front. We are leaning towards a White Industries Uno and BB. Middleburn Uno cranks are in the running but they never seem to be in stock at Chainreaction.

I'm not sure on the brakes just yet. I'd like to try BB7 but we test rode a Jabber with them and they were terribly squeaky. I have Formula K24s on my bike and love them but they are pricey.

FTW we both ride the same size bike! So two seatposts and saddles and it'll go both ways. Well did I mention she is thinking of powdercoating it hot pink? I think I can live with that as long as she doesn't put the streamers on the grips.

Flyn G
bpeery said:
Just got a new Jab frame for Xmas and need some help with the build. Will use near-new American Classics as wheelset. Have about 1,000. to spend as a early 40th birthday present from wifey. Need some opinions about brakes (Hope vs Avid hydros or just stay with BB7s), and shock recommendations (still riding an old REBA on my wornout Rig and pretty happy). Am planning on Chris King BB and headset, but would love to hear about other options. Anyone have any crank ideas? What about titanium rings? I plan on racing this bike in the Firecracker 50 and Gunnison Growler 60-mile races here in Colorado this summer-might as well build it up right the first time. Thanks for any suggestions. -bp
Go with the lightest/strongest wheelset you can afford. Ti rings are cute, but a waste IMO.. a blackspire ring & surly cog will do the same job. King HS is a good choice, I have one that's over a decade old and still going strong... just clean and service once a year and it's good to go.... that said I've heard great things about the Cane Creek HS. Fork, if your Reba is still working fine, why change it? I'd opt for an ODIS fork just so you have the option of going rigid or squish. Brakes... while I love the feel of hydro's, it's hard to beat the value and simplicity of BB7's. Properly set up BB7's can have plenty of modulation and power. BB.... tough call. I haven't tried the King BB yet, currently running a RF Deus crankset with BB... so far so good, but I'd like to try out a King... much easier to service. Seatpost/Stem... personal choice, I've had excellent luck with Thomson. Bars... whatever works for you.
Thanks to all for the great recommendations. Thompson and Chris King seem to be common themes throughout for the threads. I don't know enough about hydro brake systems to compare to BB7s. BB7s just work so well and are easy to maintain/fix in a pinch. I think I'll just go with those. They definetely squeak but compared to the maddening EBB creak on my rig-I can handle anything. Anyone else notice that bashguards tend to clog mud against the chainring? I may run without this time around. If i can get some scratch ahead I'll lay it down for a new REBA shock-maybe an ODIS for now as Fat Bob and others have stated. I'll keep my American Classics rolling for now. Light and reasonably tough-not as durable as I9s or Dave's but cheaper. I agree with the arguments against Ti rings, lots of bling and no performance advantage. Just signed up for the Tour of the Gila, the Leadville and the Single Speed WC in New Zealand. My wife is gonna kill me...
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