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Which 29er?
Suggest for me, good people:
A hardtail 29er
Sub 10kg
Is actually available in Sydney
about $5-6K budget
Probably 2x10 gears
Oh and I really like XT/XTR components but that's optional
thanks!
[Mod. moved to Shopping as asking for something available locally]
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That is a massive budget for a hardtail.
Niner Air9
Intense Hard Eddie
Santa Cruz Highball
Cannandale Flash/F29 as they now call it!
If you want light, efficient, and with an awesomely stiff and accurate fork with great small bump compliance the Cannondale Flash is the way to go.
Merida, specialized, giant, niner, cannondale, focas. XX1, xtr brakes, Roval or Reynolds carbon wheel set , Sid worldcup forks, saddle post and bars to personal preference.
+1 Cannondale Flash, for that price spec with XX1 and XTR brakes, Crest Wheels 9.5kg super fast!
Some good thoughts, thanks.
Im a Scott fan and they have the lightest frame
What type of riding do you want to do on the bike?
Race/train/pratt around?
Have you considered a Chinese Carbon Frame and a custom build?
I was lucky enough to get a frame off Torpedo for $500 with a 2 year warranty (you can get them from China for slightly less). I had a lot of the parts from upgrading another bike and should be able to finish it for around $2500 and will be around 10kg. It is 8kg ATM without the XX1 cranks/pedals, front brake and deraillier/shifter/chain.
You could easily shed another kilo with lighter wheels/handlebars/brakes/cassette etc so a 9.0kg build wouldn't be too hard. There is a massive post on Rotorburn about them:
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?2...
The Fixed Wheel in Manly have just ordered one of these. Might be worth a look, unsure of prices, super light at 7.3kg
http://t.co/sUUmtODBqq
$10k+ price for that bike!!!
As mentioned, some good thoughts, thanks again
Not out of the question is a Cube
http://99bikes.com.au/cube-elite-super-hpc-race-...
seems they don't have the XTR equipped bike in Aus, which is a shame (I will check with the distributor though).
What else?, Oh - since it was asked - I do have a scott genius for pratting around the bush, whereas this will be a race bike. I've ridden a lot of mt annan recently... probably a 10k frame would be out of the question.
yours truly
AT
Just to put cheap chinese frames in context, my recent Scalpel purchase which comes with xt shifters, xtr rear mech, the best fork in class, lightweight stem, carbon bars, carbon cranks, decent lightweight wheels and a reasonable saddle ... I could not have built up something nearly as good for what I was able to negotiate.
I've seen the same bike advertised for sub-$5k, still cheaper than what I could have have built for. Ok so the Elixir 9 brakes aren't brilliant but they're adequate and the whole bike is still sub 11kg without yet going carbon rims.
And I have warranty and LBS support. Generally once once Chinese manufacturers have your money the concept of after sales support and reputation protection are foreign cultural concepts they don't comprehend (with rare exceptions).
I'd consider it if I had some of the high cost bits already but if you're looking for a complete bike build, building up is always significantly more even with cheap (disposable?) chinese carbon frame
Another thing to consider is poor quality control. Do your research well. There are a number of forums you can investigate.
My main concern is that what was good a few months ago can develop major problems. A case in point is farsport.cn. Last year their road wheels had a stellar reputation. This year they have serious problems with mass delamination and warping from braking heat according to threads in bicycles.net.au and weight weenies. One Brisbane bike shop is out $30k I hear for wheels it built for customers that it's had to call back. Not heard how the negotiations with farsport have gone but there was some hope for reparations and replacement, unusually.
Not saying don't do it, just be aware of the risks. I may get a set of chinese carbon tubeless rims built up ... we'll see. No risk of heat problems with mtb rims ... maybe. The issues raised by the farsport stories have put me off doing a chinese 29er HT frame build for now.
Sub $5k, are the parts gold plated? I've got XX1 cranks and rear brake, Crossmax wheels for under $2500, will weigh 10.1Kg. Have a read through the Rotorburn forum, lots of happy riders. Half the fun is picking the bits and building yourself.
And if you're not so fussy with getting all new gear all thru the bike and are prepared to be patient, you can do a real light bike for quite cheap.
I'm just sayin' there can be additional risks involved that you ought to factor in, is all. Some folks are fine with them, others less so.
Don't forget to post photos when you're done building
Feeling some pressure now though
Ended up 10.5 kg but I want to go tubless and add a Carbon Bar along with an XX1 rear brake I need bled, so this should bring it down to a shade under 10kg. The wheels are a bit heavy, but the Crossmax rear is pretty tough.
It's basically a combo of parts I had left over from playing around with an Anthem and my Avanti Vapour - although I lashed out on the drive train.
I got the frame on sale off Torpedo 7 (last one) for $499 - weighs 1130 gms.