I’ve been busy gathering parts for the next transformation of the very adaptable Ibis Tranny. The Tranny’s carbon frame only weighs 1350g, which is about 3lb, and as such it’s begging to be built up as a very light XC bike. On the Ibis website they say that with a blinged up, or as they put it a ‘WTF’ build, the bike can weigh in at around 19lb. Not that I’m at all interested in such shallowness, you understand, but it will be pretty bloody exciting to see what my build weighs.
Driving the Ibis are Shimano 10 speed Dyna-Sys XT cranks, mechs, shifters, cassette and chain. There should be a gear for all occasions with 24, 32 and 42 tooth chainrings up front and 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 28, 32 and 36 tooth cassette sprockets at the back.
The fork is the new 2011 Marzochhi Corsa Superleggera RC. It’s bang on race weight at 1490g and promises to have the performance and reliability that we have found to be part and parcel of Marzochhi’s new range.
Due to be tested in the Grinder for issue 61 of Singletrack magazine are the Hope X2 brakes. Apparently with 160mm rotors they are the lightest brake set in the world. Check the magazine to find out how well they perform. I have been riding with them briefly as part of the last Tranny build and was impressed. However it never rained in all that time, so we’ll just have to hope it pisses down on me from now on. Or maybe they have magical powers and prevent rain when you have them fitted to your bike. Just a thought.
Light and spangly are these Crank Brothers Cobalt wheels, in a lovely ‘Champagne’ finish which complements the ‘Copper Metallic’ frame. It’s enough to make me feel all Gok Wan. Did I mention how the ‘Pearlescent’ finish on the fork just ‘holds the room together’?
The tyres are black and manly. They are the all new tubeless Continental Mountain Kings in 2.2 Race Sport flavour.
Handlebars and pedals are both from the Crank Brothers Cobalt range as well. It’s good to see that XC bar width is slowly expanding. These are 680mm so I probably won’t die. I haven’t ridden clipped in for over a year though, so there is still a chance. I have faced up to the reality that flat pedals will just not be right on this bike and am willing to give way of the clipless another try.
Seatpost and grips are from the Pro Series of components and the saddle is a very light weight job from Sport Manie.
In the next update I’ll give a full test of how the bike as a whole rides. I’ll also list details of the components and report on how they perform. I’m off to weigh myself now.
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