One Bike to Rule Them All: Let’s Hear Your Fantasy Builds!

Cotic SolarisMAX, travel adjust forks like the olden days...probably100/120-140mm , 2 sets of wheels one lighter with faster rolling tyres.

Any decent 160-170mm MTB.

I have no interest in any other riding. I could do whatever I need on it, even a road Sportive, just a bit slower

Been there got the bike

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/readers-rides-tjs-shand-bahookie/

2 sets of wheels

Nice try, but only multiples allowed are tyres, too easy otherwise!

2 sets of tyres then, one faster rolling than the other. Only takes 10 minutes to swap tyres over....

I think Shand Kirk with Fox 32 AX gravelly fork, XT & Hope with a flat bar. Maybe an ALICE with same fork.

40mm almost slick tyre and a 2.3 knobble - with a rim that splits the difference.

I think.

I'd either have an out of the box Santa Cruz Hightower CC XO1 AXS Reserve or S-works Stumpjumper Evo.

What @ads678 said

Cotic Solaris Max style geometry in carbon at under 1kg for the frame
36x10-52 for Road to MTB covered (wireless)
Would be lovely if those 120mm or 100-140mm external travel adjust forks could be locked out in their travel (ie not lock out extended- did Magura used to do this?). Rigid if this fantasy fork never gets made again
Light and tough 30mm internal carbon rims on DT Swiss 240 hubs (deep section carbon rims are wasted as you get to wider gravel tyres)
Custom CF MTB 750mm wide bars with removable custom arm rest and aero extensions
All the lightest, durable finishing kit to try and keep it under 9kg
Something like Bontrager XR4/ XR3 2.4's off road, fastest durable ~40mm gravel tyres for road/ mixed road
Seatpack filled with Wiggins' brown envelopes 🙂

A steel framed singlespeed/fixed that can take 40c tyres. I only ever ide from teh door and that bike goes everywhere ride (road, gravel, singeletrack)
I sort of have an unlimited budget already but choose to ride bikes that cost under £1000 for some reason (helped by no gears or brakes)

Transition Spur

SID Ultimates

DT Swiss XMC1200 wheels

SRAM XX1 AXS

SRAM G2 Ultimate brakes

EEWIngs - not sure about theses as I'm not sure they'd look right. Might stick with the XX1 Carbon crankset

This is all a bit mainstream, albeit top of the range, but having ridden my buddy's Spur I can't think of anything better. It could cope with pretty much anything I wanted to ride, and wouldn't even be that bad on the road.

SRAM brakes on a dream build 😀

Trickstuff something or other would be nice 🙂

Also an integrated dropper like the Eightpins design or maybe the old BMC Trailfox style where the dropper matches the suspension settings in one push

Mine’s is mostly there already but there’s a few parts I haven’t managed (read: afforded) to get yet.

Stooge Mk4 (singlespeed)

Enve/Chris King 27.5 wheels

Jones Carbon Loop Bars with ESI grips and Enve Stem

Paul Klampers with Love Levers

Some all powerful never sag, never service dropper. If not that, the Enve layback I already have

EEWings crankset

Boone Ti Cog

Cambium of some sort

And that’s probably it - not too much to ask is it?!

I'm not bothered about dream bikes or fantasy builds.

My dream is to live somewhere warm and sunny with access to actual mountains with lifts and bikeparks. My fantasy is to enjoy riding like I do when I'm on holiday but for more than once a year.

I'll provide my own bike.

Some all powerful never sag, never service dropper

Bike Yoke and one of these in the appropriate length 

I’m with Sharkattack on this.  I’ll take a chalet in Morzine and supply an MTB and road bike.

You have an unlimited budget

Cotic SolarisMAX

Santa Cruz Hightower CC

Transition Spur

It speaks volumes of where the quality of bikes lie that with an unlimited budget, relatively off the shelf frames are being chosen

I used to dream of all sorts of "bike-shed" built parts and frames, and individualism, and I still really love looking at the hand built bike show stuff and what folks are doing, but in reality I don't want to own one of those bikes. like @sharkattack what I want is something that takes 2 mins to look after, can be serviced easily (and that includes getting the parts for that), and is ready to go every time. So yeah, top end mass manufactured stuff [these days] suits my needs pretty much

ActoFive P-Train.

EXT coil shock.

Probably 2023 Lyrik ultimates.

AXS X01 drivetrain.

Trick stuff brakes.

AXS dropper.

Zipp Moto wheels.

Schwalbe tyres.

Outside of that, my current Norco Optic is pretty close to perfection (to me)

A Firefly bicycles custom frame designed around the geo of a Salsa Fargo with a few tweaks. A one of kind intricate anodised artwork on the frame. CK/Thomson kit, Jones Ti loop bars. And now for the fantasy bit - A lightweight, trigger shifter operated Rohloff hub.

I’m with Sharkattack on this. I’ll take a chalet in Morzine and supply an MTB and road bike.

I'd choose Whistler but even in my wildest dreams I don't have that much money.

Geometron G1
Ext Loria V3 shock
Intend bandit fork
Zipp Moto carbon wheels on an onyx silent hub
Magic Mary/big betty super gravity casing
Hans dampf/Nobby nic super trail casing
Full AXS drivetrain & dropper
Ochain
Hope Tech 4 V4 brakes
Cane creek eewings
5dev titanium stem

A slightly less spendy version of that is currently being specced/bits ordered for right now 😁

Stooge Ti Dirtbomb with Ti Truss fork

29er+ carbon wheels with 3.25" Crux tyres

Sram GX AXS with EEwing cranks

Reverb AXS with Brooks Cambium saddle

Hope E4 Tech 4 brakes with 203mm rotors

Kingdom Ti stem

Hope headset

Whisky Milhouse bars with Ergon grips

Bentley Components top cap

Carbon wasp Truffle https://carbonwasp.com/frames
Zipp wheels
Intend edge forks
xtr di2
Magura vyron
and Hope for brakes,headset and bb

Kenevo SL, can do pretty much everything on it. If only we could fly with 320wh battery!!

3 sets of wheels
XC
Trail
DH

Shark attack has hit the nail firmly on the head. Im thinking a house in Finale. Not far to drive in to the Alps for summer sessions and winter ski. Good place for spring and autumn when the alps is still closed. Gelato and the seaside for the rest of the time and a reasonable climate. What’s not to like

I’d choose Whistler

Morzine was chosen with the practicalities of it being a second home so commutable from the UK 🙂

Really boring answer but it would be a short travel 29er for me. Something like a Banshee Phantom, Transition Spur or Orange Stage Evo. Money no object, I’d have something custom built in steel or Ti

Frame: conservative approach, which is only a slight upgrade in what I have now, SC 5010 V5
Unlimited money, sight unseen, a Last Asco or Cinto.

Suspension: Lyric and Superdeluxe, curious to try flight attendant. Otherwise, just the top 2023 model, and this tart wants a bolt on mudguard.

Wheels: 30mm carbon rims, hope pro4, Berd fibre spokes

tyres: as per rules, to vary according to application. with no money constraints, can I have a second identical pair of wheels just to speed up tyre changes?

Dropper: AXS reverb. Charge Scoop saddle.

Brakes: Hope E4 200 F+R

gears: XX1 AXS 12 speed. Shimano cranks 165mm, as I prefer the hollowtech interface.

Bars and grips: DMR stem, renthal fatbar 760mm and deathgrips (what I have already, I am not good enough to tell the difference, but these seem to work for me)

OneUp EDC steerer tube tool

Fidlock Bottle

Exposure bar and helmet lights

That’s not one MTB either, one bike for everything.

I'd happily give up everything that this bike is unsuitable for (road, endurance XC, massive jumps), if I could have this.

I'm kind of there already with my Transition Spur. This bike does absolutely everything I'd ever want to do on a bike. XC, trail riding, steep stuff, chunk and tech if you pick your lines carefully, cruising round town. Does it all.

If money was no object though I'd swap the SID suspension to Öhlins, or go completely off-piste and fit an Intend Hero RD inverted fork. To be fair though, the SID stuff has been great.

Drivetrain - upgrade from GX to XX1 AXS with some nice eeWings cranks.

Chris King BB / Headset

AXS dropper

Already got some decent Roval carbon wheels but if I had unlimited cash I'd get something silly light (1,200gish) with Berd spokes and Chris King / DT 180 hubs.

XTR pedals (although happy with the current XT ones as they're more durable).

So essentially I'm halfway to my dream build already. Just really on a weight weenie mission with this bike now but it gets to a point where the grams to pounds ration stops making sense when we're in a recession and I have a family.

I’d choose Whistler but even in my wildest dreams I don’t have that much money.

or, a modest townhouse somewhere in the lower mainland. pretty much every town between pemberton and chiliwack has excellent riding and none are that far from whistler. just get there before every last piece is paved or built on!

or you could get a bit more boonies and move to the kootenays and not have to deal with the hordes.

and a starling murmur with durable components.

Production bike then Stumpy EVO S works.

If we are going down the build it yourself then

Deviate highlander

Ohlins air on the from coil on the back

XTR drivetrain (wireless would be nice but not whilst it says SRAM on it)

DT carbon wheels

One up bar stem and dropper

Trickstuff brakes

Ergon grips and Saddle

Lots of Schwalbe tyres

I would be rubbish on the road and for real XC but I wouldnt care as I dont do them

A custom built steel framed rigid bike for commuting, on and off road, and being bad at trials on. Clearance for < 2.8" tyres. 2x8 gearing with as much range as possible, maybe closer range at back with wider range at front. 30mm id rims, 32 hole, tubeless, semi slick nobblies. 203mm rotors, bracing for rear calliper. Industry nine hydra hubs. Custom quick release full mudguards, and quick release rear rack. 150 dropper. No carbon. Ti bolts maybe (never had them).

That's if I still live where I am, and daily life is relatively unchanged!

I might be tempted by carbon rims actually, they seem tough enough. Never specified size did I, might go for 26" I think.

Ask me again in ten minutes and the answer will be completely different. Right now,
Transition spur but with coil shock front and rear. That would probably require some custom work so a chunk of money/tinkering/planning/researching would go there. Then just a selection of top end kit that focuses on light weight without sacrificing durability.

Might fit some Onyx vesper hubs. Heavy, but I do love the silence.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50940343741_6ae5e5b5a3_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50940343741_6ae5e5b5a3_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2kBqzsD ]Tony Ti 2 (1)[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/91703444@N06/ ]20ston[/url], on Flickr">

got it already. just not enjoying it at present for some reason.

Specialized S-Works Epic Evo.

Project 12 Victor frame
SID Ultimate 120mm fork
X01 AXS groupset
EE Wings cranks
AXS Reverb
Syncros Hixon IC bar/stem
Hope Tech 4 X2 brakes
Carbon wheels with Chris King hubs
Ergon grips
OneUp tool in the steerer

Custom Geo Curtis AM29
140 Fox 36 Grip 2 or possibly EXT
Hope cranks, BB, headset, brakes, seat clamp and hubs (on 25mm DT Swiss rims)
Burgtec Penthouse Flat pedals
Pro Atherton saddle (discontinued)
Bike you’re dropper
2.5 minion DHF (EXO front) 2.35 DHF/SS (rear DD)
Stanton Ti bar
Hope stem
Burgtec or Deathgrip grips.

Fidlock bottle and generic stuff holders.

Colour TBC. Lol

Already got some decent Roval carbon wheels but if I had unlimited cash I’d get something silly light (1,200gish) with Berd spokes and Chris King / DT 180 hubs.

King hubs are many things, light is not one of them. Not far off double the 180’s.

If we are talking fantasy, never actually going to happen (I’ve tried most of the above) there’s no way I’d spend my own money on this…

Nigh on seventeen grand of mental

Full sus TT ebike.

A bespoke cotic solarismax but with a pinion gearbox.

Carbon Jones bars, some carbon loops, and loads of hope bling.

@tomhoward That Ryuger bike looks like something from a Wish.com Facebook feed ad, only 10,000 times the price! 😀

Curtis AM9 or DH9 frame, 150mm Intend fork, AXS groupset and dropper (nice clean look), and a mixture of Hope/Burgtec finishing kit.

For me it has to sit in the downcountry genre - so goes anywhere and handles pretty much anything.

I've been on a Spur for some time now and have to admit it is the one bike I would prefer to retain out of the contents of my garage. Built light and rugged with little eye to budget, Fox 34 Step Cast, AXS, Sixth Element etc. It hasn't let me down through 2 editions of BC Bike Race, countless rides at home and a couple of other adventures.

A second bottle cage would be nice and if I could lose a little more weight off it that would be great.

Other options include Allied BC4, Santa Cruz Blur TR, Kona HeiHei although that would be better with a threaded BB, SWorks Epic Evo.

One bike only, money no object? I'm affraid I'd be going drop-barred, sorry...

Rourke steel frame with a bit of tyre clearance, some 40mm tyres for gravelling, some 32mm-ish slicks and maybe some CX tyres too, 1x Di2 or AXS with a 10-42ish cassette, but with a middlburn square taper crank and a spider so I could easily swap N/W ring along with tyres to shift gearing range to suit different uses.

Only takes 10 minutes to swap tyres over….

Of course it does 😂

Probably an Ibis Hakka.

I’m a roadie by upbringing so it has to be something with a chance of working on the road.

After posting last night about my commutable trials hardtail with 2x8 gearing I remembered the unlimited budget.

I don't want a dinner plate chainring on the front, or front derailleur, and do want bash guard and chain guide.

So i had the idea of a 2 speed pinion gearbox to switch between trail gearing and road gearing while keeping regular derailleur on the rear. Idea being it would be lighter than a full pinion gearbox and give more clearance than big chain rings.

So i had the idea of a 2 speed pinion gearbox to switch between trail gearing and road gearing while keeping regular derailleur on the rear. Idea being it would be lighter than a full pinion gearbox and give more clearance than big chain rings.

Think you have invented the hammerschmitt

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/components/groupsets/groupset-mountain/truvativ-hammerschmidt-am-transmission-review/

or place it in the rear hub

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/07/this-rear-hub-has-2x-wireless-shifting-inside-and-11-gears-on-the-outside/

Mine is very similar to @tjagain above - I bought a Bahookie as a recovery present to myself after breaking my back in 4 places after a slow speed over the bars in March 2020, just as Lockdown 1.0 was hitting. For a short while I wasn't sure how bad the damage was going to be and in a fit of rage I sold all my bikes.....then as I slowly recovered I decided to treat myself to a dream build from Shand - I thought my riding would be limited to canal towpaths at best so I went fully rigid with the carbon fork, Gates belt driven Rohloff, 2.6 650b's, Ritchey finishing kit -

Anyhow here I am two and a half years after the accident and all is good - more or less fully recovered, but and inch and half shorter than before - and a Rohloff equipped Bahookie to my name, now supplemented by a hardtail Stif Squatch -

If I had to keep one of them, it would be the Bahookie but with a sus fork - probs a short travel (120) Pike - in fact, the fork off the Squatch!!

It's not quite as the photo now - I've gone Thompson finishing kit and 29er rims now with 2.4 Nobby Nics - I'd consider it almost perfect now (except it'd need sus forks to be a complete "all rounder")

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As commented on earlier, there are lots of multi purpose bikes being chosen. Im gueasing rhis reflects the riding we are doing most often...

I had thought there would be more love for premium brands like Yeti and Evil.
I was surprised there was no love for the Hope HB916 but maybe it again reflects the riding most of us do most often. Rqther than that 1 week a yr when i need big flattering bike in the alps.

So maybe what i really need is Tom Howard's Ra .410, or a Moots Routt 45 in RSL flavour with a Ti post and stem...

But once again , maybe it location again, and what i really want is to live in Colorado

Moors Womble, adorned with a selection of XTR and Chris King bits. It arrives in 4 weeks, not sure what fork to go for though.