So, weirdly saw an ali MTB frame on Amazon (was totally not, underlined not, browsing at work) and I've half a plan to build a lightweight-ish and simple urban-MTB. was thinking maybe 9/10 speed for cheapness, no dropper, don't need one, no suss fork don't need one. maybe tyres like hookworm - again don't need no skinny/road/gravel nonsense thank you v much. Point me at bargainous components like seat posts and stem, bars etc, cheaper the better - should look nice though.
What are you wanting to do with it, just cruise around?
As demonstrated with one of my bikes I have a bit of a thing for retro '90's frames built into cafe cruisers
Hookworms! You don't need a valid reason.. just build it.. it'll be fun. I used them on an old MTB one summer for messing about and slow staying away from roads commuting... surprising good for bits of proper off-road. I stress again though... it was summer.
Second hand surely will get you a cool set of wheels for pub ride posing? Don't go full Retro Bike perhaps, but I would think there's something out there that's fun..
26 isn't dead, but it is cheap to find nice bits 
When you say “Urban” do you mean hopping between bollards and hucking off staircases or a Pub bike?
The terminology could mean wildly different things to different people…
Love this!!!
could definitely have something like this to liven up the commute
When you say “Urban” do you mean hopping between bollards and hucking off staircases or a Pub bike?
Surely this is the fate of all pub bikes post pub 😉
(Mostly I ride a road bike to the pub so a big maneuver is popping off a curb)
This was never that good at being an MTB, but I made it work for me.
It's now terrible as an MTB, but it's bloody great fun for cruising round town. By round town, I mean going to the pub. Saddle a couple of inches lower than it should be, gearing that isn't optimal, all sorts of weird stuff going off in the cockpit/steering department, but it just works for it's purpose, really well and puts a smile on my face
You can get decent stems, bar, saddle, grips from AliExpress.
I got a Funn stem for less than 1/2 price. It's not a knock off, but it didn't have the spacer in the box that it's supposed to have so maybe a second? I've done thousands of kms and half a dozen races on it without issue.
Sportandleisure are good for bargain components -stem example - seatpost - bars ...mucho cheapness
