Carbine SL as an xc race bike

[Ole]

I plan on building up a Large Carbine SL as a XC race bike for this season. SID 120 World Cup, proper tires (Conti X-King 2.4), 660mm risebar, Crest rims, 15mm front, 10mm Thru Axle rear. My strengths are in technical terrain, so I aim for decent stiffness. Hoping for somewhere in the 19-20 lb range. Whaddaya think?

[Shocker]

Go for it! Not to be a buzzkill, but 19-20 is pretty stinking light. I think 22-23 is doable without getting crazy. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I hope you have a HUGE budget for this thing. Either way, the SL will make a really good race bike!

[mtbnozpikr]

Originally Posted by Ole

I plan on building up a Large Carbine SL as a XC race bike for this season.

I've been told by my local Intense dealer that xc race is kind of the market where the carbine sl was aiming and meant for. It kind of appears to me that both of the carbines can be extremely versatile (climb like mountain goats and also hold their own on the descent). As for a sub 20lb build, I'm sure it is possible but going to be extremely pricey. I'd be interested to see you post pictures when you finish.

[dopaminer]

Lotsa carbon parts, lotsa Ti bolts, can be done I think

[Ole]

Back in the day, my Spider FRO with 100mm SID was 19lbs sharp, but that was with silly carbon rims, alu discs and 2.0" tires.

Now will gain 250g in the wheels/discs, 200g in the tires, but loose 150g in the fork and around 200g in the frame.

Lots of high end stuff, but luckily, I already have most of the parts. Apart from fork and seatpost, all the parts will be picked off my Spider2, which again borrowed a lot of parts from my Spider FRO, which again borrowed from Spider XVP, which again borrowed from Extralite F1, and from an Amp B4 before that. And suddenly we,re back in 1996. :-)

[awai04]

Crest rims -are they stiff enough for XC racing *and* the potential terrain that a Carbine SL can handle?

[Ole]

Crest are definitely stiff enough, if built by a competent builder. Strengh is no problem as long as you make sure to run tires and pressures that prevent bottoming too hard.

My wheels, for 10mm TA in the rear and 15mm in the front, weigh 1130g. Not the lightest, but pretty good for Crest. They feel super stiff for my 80kg weight.

All I need now is my Carbine SL frame...

[have2ride2day]

A buddy of mine has been running Crests on his Mojo for a year now with no problems. He is 160 lbs and we frequently ride rocky, rooty nastiness here in the Southern Appalachians. I thought he was crazy when he built those wheels up for our riding style, but they've done well. Neither of us race anymore, but we do the best we can to terrorize each other every chance we get.