Well, hell, I drank some kool-aid. Looking for an interesting new build and decided to give a longer-travel hardtail a go. Sold my SS 29er, which wasn't being ridden. This new bike will be a backup/fun bike to my go-to rig, a Titus El Guapo.
I ride pretty technical, rocky Arizona trails, so I'm not 100% sold on the hardtail idea, but thought I'd give it a try.
Frame showed up from CRC in just less than two weeks total, so no complaints there. Had to jump through some delivery hoops, but that's a USPS thing. There was absolutely no padding/packaging in the box, just a frame and a sticker pack. I'm astounded that the frame didn't get hashed during the trans-Atlantic trip, but it appears nearly perfect. The paint is thin around the head tube and there's a paint bubble on the top tube, but that's it. No real complaints in that regard; two weeks of riding in the rocks here and it's going to look like crap anyway.
Otherwise, the paint is nice, the welds are clean and I really like the do-it-yourself sticker pack; wish more manufacturers did that. For reference, I'm 6'2" and about 190; the frame is an 18. It does looks a little small, but it's pretty hard to tell unbuilt.
Photos:
I decided to go all new on this build to save from dinking around trying to piecemeal parts from here and there. The build will be:
Manitou Minute Elite 140
Cane Creek S3
Transition Temple stem 50mm
Deity Dirty30 bars
Avid Elixir R 185/185
Kind Shock I7 adjustable with Chromag seat
Transition Revolution 32s tubeless with Minion and Ignitor
Truvativ 1x9 drivetrain with E13 Freehucker guide
SRAM X9 shifter/rear der.
Deity Decoy flats and various Hope bits (clamp, spacers, etc.)
Just awaiting the last of my parts and will start building next week.
I ride pretty technical, rocky Arizona trails, so I'm not 100% sold on the hardtail idea, but thought I'd give it a try.
Frame showed up from CRC in just less than two weeks total, so no complaints there. Had to jump through some delivery hoops, but that's a USPS thing. There was absolutely no padding/packaging in the box, just a frame and a sticker pack. I'm astounded that the frame didn't get hashed during the trans-Atlantic trip, but it appears nearly perfect. The paint is thin around the head tube and there's a paint bubble on the top tube, but that's it. No real complaints in that regard; two weeks of riding in the rocks here and it's going to look like crap anyway.
Otherwise, the paint is nice, the welds are clean and I really like the do-it-yourself sticker pack; wish more manufacturers did that. For reference, I'm 6'2" and about 190; the frame is an 18. It does looks a little small, but it's pretty hard to tell unbuilt.
Photos:
I decided to go all new on this build to save from dinking around trying to piecemeal parts from here and there. The build will be:
Manitou Minute Elite 140
Cane Creek S3
Transition Temple stem 50mm
Deity Dirty30 bars
Avid Elixir R 185/185
Kind Shock I7 adjustable with Chromag seat
Transition Revolution 32s tubeless with Minion and Ignitor
Truvativ 1x9 drivetrain with E13 Freehucker guide
SRAM X9 shifter/rear der.
Deity Decoy flats and various Hope bits (clamp, spacers, etc.)
Just awaiting the last of my parts and will start building next week.