I haven't posted here much, but I've been mountain biking for a while. However, I do a fair bit of commuting by bike and I only own a hardtail MTB which is fairly heavy.
I'm thinking of building a very lightweight (under 15lb) rigid single speed, but I'm no expert in building bikes, so I came here for help. First of all, do you think I can end up with something good for under $2k? And - if so - what do I need to achieve this? Any recommendations or ideas for components?
Absolutely. I am in the process of building a Kona Honzo as a SS and that is going to end up at about $1900 all in. Everything is new and that includes a front suspension fork. Just shop around for the parts and you will be able to find some great deals on individual items from different sites. Good luck.
I probably should have been more specific, but this is going to be a commuter bike. I can buy a complete SS almost under 15lb for well under my budget, but I want to go really light.
I just need some help choosing parts because I don't know the single speed market well. So do you have any suggestions?
I was also considering buying a carbon 29er hardtail which can be my mountain and commuting bike. I've found some really good used deals near me which could leave some money for upgrades to make it lighter. What do you think?
Under 15#? Less than two Clevelands? The fact that you're asking for help finding parts here pretty much proves you ain't got the goods. My prediction: not gonna happen. Don't get me wrong. I'd help you if I could. I can't. Anyway you're the guy who says it can be done. Show us. Please.
--sParty
Edit: I guess this is obvious but I'll point it out anyway. This is MTBR which stands for Mountain Bike Review. If you're building a commuter bike, I respectfully suggest you head over to Roadbike Review where their components aren't so burley & heavy. Bet they can help you better over there.
I think it's pretty much impossible. To get anywhere close to that weight, you need a carbon frame and fork and that would eat up most of your budget before you bought anything else. But if you want to try anyway, you might start by looking at On One bikes - they have some pretty good prices on their carbon frames. A full carbon fork would be lightest (Niner, for instance) but pricey. And if you do a search, there are people on MTBR building with cheap knockoff generic Chinese carbon frames.
Like everyone says- gonna be a tough build. If you got crafty and lurked eBay you may be able to do something like that- but hope you aren't in a hurry.
I would find a very light road or cross frame, use cross wheels and road components- but then.ypu have a road bike that could take some gravel roads- not an mtb.
We built up a Niner Air 9 carbon with the Niner Carbon fork SS at work and the complete bike was roughly 19lbs. You could save weight by using a slick tires but the bike was still easily a $4000 build.
Your better off building the bike up around a cross bike platform like the Felt Breed or something.
Here is your sub 15 pound single speed. This bike is taking to an extreme. Weight Weenies - Articles
I commute via bike to work from March-November. It's a 50 minute ride each way and I live in Canada. Don't worry I do still go riding outside through out the winter. I'll be honest I'm more interested in reliability than weight. I run into situations where I have to bunny hop stuff and may smoke a pot hole at speed. I also like to hit up some trails on the way home from work. So some super light bike won't cut it.
I thought that a 15lb SS would be possible for around $2000 because I read it in a thread on another bike forum. I can't post the link because I only have 8 posts. rft:
Just Google 'sub 15lb SS' or something like that if you want to see it.
Anyway, I found a couple of really nice used, sub-20lb XC bikes that are in my budget. One's a 2011 Scott Scale 10 and the other is a Whyte 20-CS; both have had quite a few upgrades. The Scott is running a mix of XX and X0 with a Sid XX World Cup fork, and the Whyte has full XX with a regular Sid fork and Formula R1 brakes. They both have carbon frames and weigh about the same. Do you guys think that buying one of those would be a better idea?
But if I were to get another MTB, I would prefer a 29er so it would make a good commuter bike with some skinnier tyres, and the bikes that I mentioned are both 26". Do you know if it would be possible to fit either with 29er wheels?
My friend build a cheap KHS alite 2000 (2013 version) gears with shocks and some expensive parts (maybe not that expensive)and ended up around 1K 23lbs well it's a 26 and could be more lighter if converted to SS.
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