Hi all

Im thinking about a full suspension,all mountain,project.I want to build a two grand plus build on the cheap.I was thinking of buying a frame from say chain reaction, a 160 fork(not sure what brand yet) and using all the other bits from my spec 2010 hard rock pro hard tail.I know there is a lot of experience on this site with this sort of thing ,so can you give me the heads up on any problems i may run into regarding sizes and compatability and so forth,as you have already guessed its my first build and engineering aint my strong point.with regard to the frame i was thinking rocky mountain,orange five,kona coiler,something with a bit of beef as well as a climber for long trails in wales.

it rarely works out cheaper to do this than just buy an off the peg bike tbh but you do get what you want.
In terms of comparability everything for a bike pretty much swaps over – check fork steerer length and size is the main issue

Possibly [ but unlikley] cables for brakes too short.
May need some specialist tools for Bottom bracket/cranks but not that expensive [ under a tenner

You cannot test ride it either so you are stuck with it

You will probably safe much more buying a second hand frame and forks tbh or even complete bike.
You may want to cost up selling yours [ you tend to get more as parts but it is more hassle and see what you could get then.
Frame and forks is just personal choice really very few frames are utter rubbish at the price point you are considering

Check front mech and seat post size too.

May work out cheaper to buy whole bike then sell the parts you don’t need off the new bike and use old parts from your Hard Rock.

DOH how stupid of me 😳 – if it is larger on the new frame shims are easily available for both

as above,

cables will need replacing,
bb may need spacers
heatset may need replacing
steerer spacers
seatpost
seatclamp

stem might not work if the geometry is different.

You’ll need some tools too.

Look at off the peg bikes, you may get something good for the money and then a bit of money selling the old bits. Or keep the old bike for winter and/or singlespeed it for a laugh.

Be honest when costing it up, could be cheaper but could be more pricey – depends how good a deal you get on frame and fork really.

Might be worth looking at bikes from direct sales companies like Canyon and YT to see if they offer something better.

This looks alright too, 66deg head angle!

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain/product/review-voodoo-zobop-11-42597

Thanks for the reply i was thinking maybe £500 to £800 for frame and maybe £300 to £400 for fork with everything else from the rock is this possible?

The fork will be the tough thing to get on budget if you are after a Fox 36/Lyrik class 160mm one.

Your front wheel is highly unlikely to fit a 20mm through axle too. If you are staying with QR to use yr existing wheels then CRC will have some decent forks on budget, or you could get the Sektor Coil with maxle lite they are doing for £200 and buy new wheels too.

My frame choice would probably be the Commencal Meta 55 – £400 (without shock). Budget £150-200 for a decent shock if you shop around.

Kona Dawgs look alright too (£450 with shock), but the Commie will probably ride better.

if you’re gonna spend 800-1200 on a frame and fork, that not inconsiderable sum would buy a really nice one year old bike with change left for upgrades! I’d do that and use the Hardrock as your hack, as you’d only want to upgrade the parts you’ve transplanted. Obviously budget is a factor here, if it wasn’t you could buy whatever you like and build a dream bike!

IMO if your buying a new frame and fork it will be difficult to keep the total cost low, these need to be second hand

Interested you should mention kona,I have been looking at the stinky,do you think this would be to slack for long climbs

Stinky is a freeride frame, very heavy and a right pig for climbing.

I may be able to help you with getting a descent spec’d build together. Ive got a 140-160mm frame, elixier 7 brakes, XT cranks, sram X9 mech & shifter, bar, stem & saddle. If youre interested drop me a message at kh306 (at) exeter.ac.uk ! May also be able to help you out with forks and other parts. Just let me know what you’re after.

Thanks ska I’ll be in touch.

P.s what frame?

Send me a message and i’ll forward all the pictures and details 🙂 !

I’ve just done a similar thing, built a stumpjumper up with a frame, a new fork and donated everything off my couple of years old hardrock.

Since been buying better bits to replace what I stole from the donor bike, I think currently i’m upto about £1300 in total, only thing left to replace is the handlebars. Closest thing specialized do for 2012 would be a £2000 camber – but the camber wasn’t what quite what I wanted so i’ve built exactly what I was after.

How much you pay for the frame nick?A stumpy would be perfect.
Are all the parts a direct match being both specialized bikes?

I have a nice 2011 Cube Fritzz frame for sale, only oddity about it is the reducer headset it takes (but thats included – Hope) and the massive seatpost size, but I have a shim to run 31.6 mormal post… mail for pics if interested. tony_kitsonAThotmailDOTcom

How much for the cube frame tony?

Hey ska
im not that interested in the frame mate but ill give ya a shout for any other bits i may need,Im gonna try to use as much of my rock as i can ive been upgrading it over the past year or so,the gear is almost new,thanks for the offer.