Hi
I’m wanting to build a DH rig a cheap one but with rockshox boxxers and shimano Saint
Any frame/wheels/other bits suggestions please! 😀

Have a look at the pinkbike classifieds, they have every shape and size of DH bike there, along with components, frames and pretty much anything else you would need.

I built mine up for £1800 nearly all new, only front wheel was second hand. Cheaper SLX brakes with 200mm rotors, use Zee instead of Saint to save money on drivetrain. Dont skimp on chain retention. The French sites are often cheaper than the Germans, Probike and Alltricks.

how much?

I got an old stinky frame and shock for £200 and a set of domain triple clamps for the same. built the rest up with old wheels and worn casstte, chain and chainrings i’d taken of my proper bike. got chepo shimano brake with big rotors as well. its a bit heavy bit is absolutely solid. so you can build a cheapy downhill bike without going mental.

£1800 gets you a whole YT tues. Brand new.

Don’t worry about saint and all that, it’ll be smashed off soon enough. And can be upgraded over time as a result.

reubena
Hi
I’m wanting to build a DH rig a cheap one but with rockshox boxxers and shimano Saint
Any frame/wheels/other bits suggestions please!

I’d recommend getting as close to a full bike if you can. If you already have boxxers then that means you can find a frame with, say Domains for example, take them off and move them on.

You should be able to pick up something relatively cheap. The likes of Nukeproof Scalps and Yt tues complete bikes have been doing the rounds for a few years now and weren’t pricey to begin with. If it’s for racing or “proper dh” you should avoid the likes of old freeride frames as they will have geometry that’s less useful for dh than many modern 160mm bikes.

I bought a new canyon instead of this.

I looked at loads of old/ shonkey cheap bikes and some nicer s/h stuff.

They had some of the bigger bikes in their outlet (sale stuff) for about £1000.

Not cheap, but:

The forks and shock didn’t need serviced, £30 in oil +3 hours for me, £60 service
The bearings didn’t need doing, £30 kit + immense amounts of swearing
the cables didn’t need doing £20
the tires didn’t need replaced £50 to £100

For me my choice of frames and bikes was limited by the lack of large frames. It will be easier if you are after a medium/ small

Yeah, some of the full builds are amazing value- I built my 224 to my taste and it end up costing the same as a brand new bike built to pretty equivalent levels (just not with kit I wanted). And those bikes are now good used buys too. You need to be cautious with DH bikes just because some get the **** kicked out of them then sold on rather than serviced so you can be buying someone else’s bill. Then again, some are garage queens that got ridden twice then parked.

Also agree with Jimjam, you need to be careful with older bikes, I had IIRC a 2007 Ellsworth Dare and it had geometry like you’d find on a 120mm trailbike these days, what a bag of shit it was, I rode it twice then sold it to some other poor sap. Then again my 224 Evo was a 2007 as well and it still felt pretty modern in geo terms- 64 degree head angle, decent wheelbase etc. Suspension off a horse cart but that’s by the by.

Actual hints? Boxxer R2C2/Team are a worthwhile upgrade if you can stretch to it imo, much better than the RCs and not generally that much more expensive. If you get a frame with 73mm BB and 135 rear axle (like my Herb and my 224 Evo) then you can use trailbike parts and that can widen choice, allow reusing of stuff you have, and save money- my Saint 73mms are uncool so they cost way less than 83mm. And I reused my old trailbike wheels as I wanted a light build. OTOH, if you want bombproof and cheap then the DH standards probably serve you better. But don’t obsess over DH specific kit, tons of all mountain/ #enduro stuff is up to the job these days.

Scott Voltage seems to be a consistently good value, proper frame, and very adaptable. Just make sure and get the right rockers.

Zee is really competitive with Saint now. But the Saint mech’s worth the upspec IMO as it’s just so much stronger. I’d sooner get old 9-speed Saint than Zee, you will definitely mash it off a rock.

Oh, er, PS, want to buy some bits? Got a nice set of Boxxers, a Last Herb DH frame, and assorted build gubbins. 😉 The Herb’s probably out of your price but maybe not.

Aaahhhemm. 2013 Lapierre dh720 s/m boxers with J-tech damper and saint brakes/chainset/SRAM gears and brand new rental fat bar/integra cockpit!
Little used frame and forks,bit more used groupset.
Selling for a friend and can’t deal with pink bike muppets anymore
Yours for £1100
Pm for piccies…..high jack over.Carry on as you were.