So I’ve got an itch that needs scratching for a 29er FS. Something to replace a Zesty, and to cover everything from all day epics with plenty of uphills to Inners downhill (except the matador!), Laggan black etc. So far, looked at :-
Gyro (not enough travel?)
Five29 (too much travel?)
Rumblefish (could be OK but wrong colour!)
Canyon (18week waiting list, not enough travel?)
Stumpy – out of stock
Horse Thief – not available
Niner – too expensive
etc etc…..

So thoughts turn to buying a frame and building it up myself – but before I spend hours on CRC, is this a good way for a fool and his money to part, or can I bring it in for the around the same spec as some of the above?

Thoughts please!

btw, I’m a long legged 6’4″, so if anyone has a 2nd hand niner RIP going for cheap……

Building a bike usually ends up being more expensive unless you are very thrifty, or compromise on second hand parts.
If you are fussy about the build though, go ahead, you’d end up with your perfect bike, plus get the satisfaction of building it up!
You’d also learn a lot about maintenance if you don’t know it all already.
After ages of saving I’ve spent a fortune (to me) building up an Orange Five, it’s spec is nearly as good as that of the SE, but I built it up for easily under half the price, however it took 5 months to collect the parts, and I did make one or two mistake buys.

It’s been good fun though, and I can’t wait to build next weekend. Plus it should be perfect and last me a good few years!

Thanks 06, did you know what you wanted, or did you pick ‘that’ll does’ up when CRC had them on offer – they seems to knock out stuff at great discounts if you time it right, so can see where the savings are. Guess you have to have the patience to wait for the right parts at the right time.

What I tend to do is by the base model of a bike and then upgrade with a mixture of old and new bargains.

That way I get a fairly bespoke build but do get to ride the bike a little earlier.

My Five Pro is now running 1 x 10 but with a spec similar to the SE, all XTR and XT, but cost a lot less. Likewise my Clockwork 29er started as an S model but is now close to the Pro model but again it cost a lot less.

In terms of the amount of travel I have been quite pleased with my 29er compared against my Five. It climbs better, is quicker on smooth surfaces but does still cope with the rough stuff so you might find that a Gyro is all you need.

Haha, it was in no way patience – just lack of money!
Ummm, kind of, I knew what kind of bike I wanted (ish) I originally wanted an El Guapo, and then I saw a 5 pop up on here, so I bought the frame (It was the right size and pretty cheap and I have a thing for Oranges).
That meant I had to sell the forks I had bought as they wouldn’t fit the five. Managed to sell them for £360 and then bought some Fox 32 Float kashimas off here for £350.
Stuff like brakes and chainset (except cranks) I bought new as I know they can be temperamental.
I bought the rear shock off CRC for an absolute steal – £200ish for a Kashima BV shock.
The build ended up costing around 1.8, but your talking about over 4k new.
In hinesight I would have bought a cheap second hand Giant Reign, as although I’m an alright rider, I don’t need all the mod cons, but I got a bit carried away – when I saw a bargain I went for it!
However, the end result will be awesome I’m sure, and I’ll post some pics when it is done.
My tip would be to get a frame first, and then buy the parts to fit, as different frames obviously have different compatabilities. Stuff like cranks, bars, stem and pedals etc. can be bought second hand, but the moving parts I would be tempted to buy new where possible.
Hope this helps!

EDIT: Most of the new parts I bought off ROSEBIKES in Germany (sosososo cheap) or CRC if the deal was right.

I’m planning on scratching the itch with an anthem 29er, probably buying a poverty spec one on the classifieds and upgrading, selling bits as I do, means I have the bike, and it keeps getting better!

Good idea! Can’t go wrong with a Giant either.
Plus that way you will know what kind of parts you need as you can ride it and see how it feels.

Trance x29 er. Cheap and fast

Same height and in the same boat.

Looked at a Tallboy LT with RCT3, SLX groupset / Thomson for circa 3k (self build) but have been offered a Cannondale Trigger 2 29er for a good price. The only problem is I want the Trigger 1 with the Lefty.

oh, now I’ve got to go and research as Anthems as well! If I worked this hard at my real job, I’d be rich.
Some good advice there.
I’m going to head to alpine bikes at inners and have a look at a few bikes in the flesh. Also, I like the look of the transition bandit – got one going for £3300 in JEJames. Can get the frame from £1450. Most of the parts on that look like the parts I’d be looking to buy anyway – so will cost things up from rose and see what the difference is. I did get a dropper post from hibike germany for about 70 cheaper than over here, so I know that’s a good source of gear.

Oh and rules for setting a budget. Start with a figure that you can only just afford without selling body parts then by the time you are halfway through the build, it will have doubled. Xt turns to xtr, alu turns to carbon, steel to ti, xtr to yumeya 😳 then as you approach the end and you realise you haven’t got all the little bits to finish, so head down to the lbs and spend a small fortune on a ton of little things!

My last build budget started at 1k, finished at the scary side of 2.5k 😯 😳 my current one I think I’ll play by ear….

that’s the reality of functionality creep tom – I’m actually on this path because I got another pinch puncture last weekend. Thought I’d go tubeless on the rear wheel, started browsing the web – now I’m on the niner website wondering if 5.5k “really” is too much!