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Well, after what feels like an age, I've finally finished my new bike.* It's the first custom build I've done and I couldn't be happier with how it's turned out. I was fairly happy with the Stumpjumper, but was I was keen to get something that had a bit more travel and a slacker head angle to inspire a bit more confidence on the downs. I also just fancied a bit of a change. :wink:
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Although it looks new and shiny in the pics, it had it's first outing today on a forum ride at a local trail centre and it's now happily sitting in my garage caked in mud.
First impressions are that it's a tad slower on the ups than my Stumpjumper (a lot of that will have to do with the tyres), but it's so much faster on the downs. The Pikes and RP23 just eat up all the bumps and the slacker head angle and more upright position really inspire confidence. You also can't help noticing the that the frame is just so well made. It really is a work of art!
The particular parts of the build I'm pleased with are the brakes and the wheels. There is just so much power and feel in the levers of The Ones. The wheels are Hope Pro II's on the new Mavic EN521 enduro rims and were hand built for me by Big Gow at Wheelcraft, who built my first set of road wheels when I was 12 and they are still going. The rims are wider than what I had on the Stumpy, but as well as being stronger they are actually lighter and give a good profile on the 2.35 High Rollers which I was running at 35 PSI.
For anyone who's interested, the bikes weighs in at just under 30lbs and the full spec is here (you'll have noticed that, I've sinced changed the tyres to High Rollers and the Grips to Ergons).
I got a bit snap happy with the camera - here are some more pics.
I have to make a special mention to all the folk on here that offered advice during the spec and build - don't think I could've done it on my own!:thumbsup:
Although it looks new and shiny in the pics, it had it's first outing today on a forum ride at a local trail centre and it's now happily sitting in my garage caked in mud.
First impressions are that it's a tad slower on the ups than my Stumpjumper (a lot of that will have to do with the tyres), but it's so much faster on the downs. The Pikes and RP23 just eat up all the bumps and the slacker head angle and more upright position really inspire confidence. You also can't help noticing the that the frame is just so well made. It really is a work of art!
The particular parts of the build I'm pleased with are the brakes and the wheels. There is just so much power and feel in the levers of The Ones. The wheels are Hope Pro II's on the new Mavic EN521 enduro rims and were hand built for me by Big Gow at Wheelcraft, who built my first set of road wheels when I was 12 and they are still going. The rims are wider than what I had on the Stumpy, but as well as being stronger they are actually lighter and give a good profile on the 2.35 High Rollers which I was running at 35 PSI.
For anyone who's interested, the bikes weighs in at just under 30lbs and the full spec is here (you'll have noticed that, I've sinced changed the tyres to High Rollers and the Grips to Ergons).
I got a bit snap happy with the camera - here are some more pics.
I have to make a special mention to all the folk on here that offered advice during the spec and build - don't think I could've done it on my own!:thumbsup:
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