Quite like the idea of building my own bike and have been looking at the Switchback unveil/hammerhead 29er frame @£629

Do you reckon its possible to build a decent bike around this frame for £1500 including buying the frame?

Cheers

Steve

Yes.

Classifieds, used, end of line etc. Anything is possible. Depends on what you value.
Whats wrong with the Giant?

How would you build it up Robdob nd links to cheap bits please

Frame @£629 leaves £870 for the following…..

Wheels
forks
drivetrain
brakes
finishing kit
tyres

Edit: just not gelled with the trance, lovely capable bike but Im having fit issues with it and have decided to cut my losses whilst it is still worth something.

Yes.
Maybe some 2nd hand bits, prioritise spending on the important bits- wheels, fork, less so on shifters/mechs etc.

Should get a decent bike with that approach.

I built my Grapil for >£800. Nowt fancy and had a few bits lying around, but not that many.
Beeter build than mine would be:
SLX group 300
Wheels £200
bars and stem £50
seatpost £30 (dropper blows this obv.)
saddle 30
tyres 50-60
Bits and bobs £50

Ha! forgot fork – no, you’re stuffed (plenty of slack in above to get a fork)!

renton – Member
How would you build it up Robdob nd links to cheap bits please

I’ll do it for 10% of the build price…

Otherwise try some well known internet bike retailers and some well known second hand sales sites…

Easily. If you shop around, you could bag yourself a suitable Rockshox Pike for just over £400 and have plenty left over for wheels and groupset.

Nowt wrong with using the forums for secondhand kit either.

Transfer all the bit’s that’ll fit from the Trance and sell frame and anything that won’t fit.

Probably the cheapest way, (though of course with all the different ‘standards’ for every conceivable part, there may not be much that will swap)

The full Trance has sold !

1500 sterling is a fortune!

I’ve a NOS carbon frame, 2nd hand shock and wheels then full XT plus new fork for just under 800 euros. Oh, I lie – there is an old hone crank on there because I like the black and the steel pedal inserts.

Admittedly my bike is old tech – but it’s still way more capable than I am.

Buy one of these for £999;

Transfer bits.

Sell HT frame for £130 or more (they’re £200 from on-one).

Yes but you need to jump on stuff like cheap forks and wheels at the right time.

That frame needs a stiff set of wheels IMO. I’d recommend Superstar Tech 4 with the burliest rims.

£870 is plenty.

Wheels- Newish Hope Hoops- £240
forks- Newish Pike RC- £325
drivetrain- SLX 1×10- £150
brakes- SLX- £90
finishing kit- Mix of on-one/ebay- £30
tyres- Slightly used choice from ebay/classifieds- £35
= £870.
I’ve recently picked up some brand news Hope hops and Pikes for the prices above.

chakaping are you reffering to the thumper?

Have you had any time on one?

The other thing is before you start work out what you want from the bike. That will steer your build. Get it wrong and buy new cheap and you will get a lump of a bike heavy and plasticy. Get the wrong used and you will get broken and a list of replacement parts. Get it right and there are some bargains out there but make sure you get the balance of strength, weight and stiffness.

check out local forum sales ads to pick up stuff as you go along, too. 🙂

Codeine Frame and finishing kit £600
Wheels £200
Fork £330
Brakes £100
Crank + NW £75
XT 11 speed £190
Tyres £40
Grips £10

£1560

Only issue is no dropper…

Frosty where are those prices from?

Like the codiene but its to short for me.

Superstar wheels are £200 should of bought them last month when there was 20% off and were £160.

Fork (Trace) and drive train prices are from CRC

Brakes I was thinking of Deore and SS rotors.

Tyres would be On-One.

chakaping are you reffering to the thumper?

Have you had any time on one?

Yes it’s a very good bike and pretty versatile.

Not the best thing for very tight singletrack or really flat trails, but a good all-rounder.

I built a thumper for about £1700, using some exisiting parts etc right enough.

Wasn’t trying to stick to a budget, but would think it was possible without too many comprimises. Have you got anything you could put towards it already?

Prior to building from scratch, could I suggest trying a fully built version (of multiple bikes) to find one you like the fit of?

^ 😆

Donor bikes is a great way to go.

It’s easily possible – if you’re really on a budget, check Wiggle, Chain Reaction, Planet X and ebay etc for each part you need – arrange each category (i.e. handlebars) by either cheapest or (preferably) biggest discount – you can easily find £40-£50 RRP handlebars for about £10-15, same with stems, seatposts etc.

Frame @£629 leaves £870 for the following…..

Do they still do the frame and a set of Pikes for £1000?

Seem to recall that option when I was looking last year. £500 to finish the build from 2nd hand parts should be a doddle.

Dropper post http://www.decathlon.co.uk/100mm-adjustable-drop-seatpost-316mm-id_8323994.html

Shouldnt be difficult at all.

I built up an on one 45650b for 1000, with all new parts, by shopping around and its decent spec. Frame cost 150.

Answer, truvativ and crank bros finishing kit. Sektor gold solo air fork, deore m615 brakes, slx, zee, raceface 1 x 10 with XT shifter, Maxxis tyres and superstar wheels.

So 870 for parts should be doable.

Having said that, it will all be a waste if you dont know what size to get. Are you sure you want one of these, as only yesterday i was reading your thread about the Bird Aeris.

Last week I spent a day pricing up a new bike. With full on bling Hope, XT, Fox, Race Face, Thomson. It came to £2100. By dropping the budget and going for perfectly good Deore, RS, On One, I could knock £600 off that easily.

I’m not going to, when The Wife asked how much and was told the truth (I know, schoolboy error) she replied “is that all!”

I’m not going to, when The Wife asked how much and was told the truth (I know, schoolboy error) she replied “is that all!”

To which you replied “plus VAT of course”

Easily with quite good parts if you’re prepared to mix in odds and sods of 2nd hand. Spend the money on forks, wheels and dropper (if you want one). Ribble, merlin, bike-discount and superstar are your friends in this but just use Google and hunt sales.

Merlin have some good prices £99 for XT brakes

Or buy a whole groupset and sell the chainrings and front mech if running 1×10

Dont forget TCB or quidco for 2-3% cashback on merlin, crc, wiggle.

Join british cycling for the 10% monthly discount code at CRC

Whether you can build a bike around that frame for £1500 or not shouldn’t be the question.

The question is, “Does this frame fit me, and solve all the things I don’t like about the Trance”.

If you can’t answer that question with a yes, then you’re gambling your money away.

Go to some demo days, and try out some bikes or just go for a shop demo and sit on a few. You’ll get an idea if they fit you or not.

I say that as the Trance gets incredibly favourable reviews from everyone, so there’s obviously something about you that is a bit different to others. Whether that be sizing, or feel, but that means you’ll struggle to rely on online reviews.

Yep I agree 100% with you rickon!!

As i say Im not going to rush into this again, Im going to take my time and have a play on a few bikes.

I did briefly have a voodoo bizango 29er for a couple of weeks and that impressed me a bit !

I did like the trance but after doing Glenlivet on it which is 14 miles and coming away in pain i knew it was time to cut my losses!

Im not sure what I want from a bike anymore???

I sometimes wish I hadnt sold my 5 spot !

The only times that I’ve ever doubted that any of my bikes have been in some way not right for me, has coincided with me not being very fit, Are you fit at the moment?.

Yep easily.

Frame for the £700 you’ve seen.
X-Fusion forks for £300-400 (new) or Sektors/Revs (also new) for £300.
Wheel build with badged rims (Mavic, Pacenti, Ryde etc) and own brand hubs from Superstar for £250-300.
Nukeproof stem, bars, headset, saddle etc for good prices (CRC, also new).
SLX 2×10 drivetrain or wait for the XT 1×11 coming soon….not sure on price.
Shimano brakes (new in SLX or XT form) for less than £100….may have to wait for a sale or go to that German site.
Tyres easy enough at £30 each.

May just go over, might have to scan Wiggle, CRC, bike-discount.de for bargains…may have to go second hand if you want a dropper post or flashy stuff like Chris King headsets etc

Nobeerinthefridge….. Im as fit or as unfit as I was when I had the 5 spot?

Dropper post http://www.decathlon.co.uk/100mm-adjustable-drop-seatpost-316mm-id_8323994.html

I hade the remote version of one if those. Twas shite. After two warranty replacements it went in the bin. Same problem everytime (sinking into its travel), and same one that’s since been reporter by others.

Whatever you do make sure that the frame is a 20″ rather than ‘large’, otherwise it’ll be too small.

And look at Alltricks for forks etc plus Merlin for groupsets.