The Blog Within

Those of you who know me at all are aware that I occasionally whine about my hardtail mountain bike. It’s actually a very nice bike, and I have no qualms about riding it on any trail, but sometimes I feel like it is holding me back. Or maybe I’m just getting old…

At any rate, after an insane amount of some research and shopping, I finally found a full suspension frame on eBay and shopped victoriously.

While a reasonably priced complete bike would have been perfectly fine with me, I had in fact hoped to find a well priced, good quality frame so that I could get it for a smaller initial investment, and then spend the rest of the winter outfitting it as funds allow.

What I found is a 2006 Giant Trance 1 frame with a Fox RP3 shock!

And here’s the best part, it was local so I saved myself the shipping charges as well!

So for the next few months, to Jen’s delight, I will be selecting and periodically purchasing components for it, despite how tempting it is to migrate all the components from my hardtail and therefore ride it that much sooner.

First, what I already have:

Fork:
Marzzochi MX Comp Air

Tires:
WTB Velociraptor 2.1

Pedals:
Shimano M324 SPD

Headset:
This frame model has an integrated headset, how cool is that!

And now for what I need…
so please donate to the Corey-needs-bike-parts charity fund!

Wheels:
WTB Dual Duty – $89.00
Purchased from JensonUSA.com + $15.50 shipping

Handlebars:
Race Face Evolve XC – $27.98
Shopped Victoriously! $17.95 + $8.98 shipping!

Grips:
Lizard Skins Moab - $6.98 (free shipping)
Jensen USA – Yeti Speed Grips – $10.50
The Yeti grips were awful on my bars. I put them on my daughter’s bike and got Ergon GX-1′s

Stem:
Race Face Evolve XC – $29.98
Shopped Victoriously! $10.50 + $7.67 shipping!
Seller listed the part wrong, so back to the drawing board :(
Shopped Victoriously! $22.49 + $8.50 shipping & tax!

Crankset (with bottom bracket):
Race Face Evolve XC – $129.98
Purchased from Pricepoint.com, with free shipping!

Seat Post:
Race Face Evolve XC – $44.00
Shopped Victoriously! $15:50 + $10.13 shipping

Saddle:
Selle Italia XO Gel – $39.98
Performance Bike – Forté Pro RS1 – $29.99

Shifters:
Sram Attack Trigger – $49.98
Shopped Victoriously! $31.00 + $5.99 shipping
(Shimano Deore M530)

Front Derailleur:
Shiman Deore XT M770 – $49.98
Shopped Victoriously! $24.99 + $8.13 shipping
(Shimano Deore XT M760)
It turns out this XT is a top-swing, which doesn’t work with my frame. :|
So, back to eBay, where I picked up a new XT, this one a bottom swing. $35.94 with shipping.

Rear Derailleur:
Shimano XT M760 – $69.98
Shopped Victoriously! $19.75 + $7.00 shipping
The XT M760 has an issue and will not work on my 9-speed cassette
So from Craigslist I purchased a Shimano XTR M970 – $50.00
(Update – I fixed the XT derailleur, and now it works great on the old hardtail)

Cassette:
Shimano HG-50 – $33.82
Jensen USA

Chain:
Shimano XTR CN-7701 – $25.98
Jensen USA (Grips, cassette and chain, $8.95 shipping)

Brakes:
Formula Oro K24
Front – $159.99
Rear – $159.99
160mm Rotors – $58.90
Shopped Victoriously! $279.96 + $14.80 shipping & $10.36 tax

I have researched brakes probably more than any other component. The issue turned out to me not so much what I wanted, but what I could afford. When I picked up the frame, the seller had a set of these Formula K24 brakes that I suspect came on my bike when it was whole, and he wanted $265.00 for them with no rotors. I lacked the funds at the time, and in subsequent  research had narrowed my affordable choices down to Hayes HFX-9, on sale at Pricepoint.com, Magura Julie, on sale at Nashbar, or various Shimano models I had seen on eBay.

Then I sold some computer parts and was able to get Jen a much-needed laptop, and at the same time I saw a Formula K24 brake set, in white, with rotors, for $279.96 on eBay. I had enough money left over after purchasing the laptop, so after talking it over with Jen, I decided to treat myself to the brakes. They should look amazing, and they have the highest rating on MTBR.com of any product I have ever looked at there, so they should perform well too.

As for the rest of the components, I didn’t intentionally set out to select all Race Face Evolve XC, but this series seems to offer an excellent value in terms of weight and price, and on this frame, I think they will make for a nice package for all day trail riding. It also doesn’t hurt that Pricepoint.com’s prices seem to be reduced about 40% off of MSRP across the board!

So hopefully, when it’s all done, it will look something like this:

Tags: Cycling

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 1st, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Cycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.