Hi all,

Recently purchased an older rx9 frame plus forks. It came with tyres and drop bars but nothing else. I foolishly believed that I’d be able to build a modestly but ok specced gravel bike by searching for used bargains on eBay, fb marketplace and gumtree etc but turns out i don’t even know what I’m looking for.

So I’m hoping the stw hive mind will be able to help me out with used part searching suggestions for a qr, disc brake wheelset for under £150 and a groupset including cranks and hopefully hydraulic brakes for under £300.

I actually have a set of slx brakes in the garage somewhere and wouldn’t be against using the callipers if I could find something compatible.

Cheers

You’ve picked the worst time to try and buy second hand bike parts.

Where are you based. I have an old fairly heavy wheelset you can have to tide you over. One of the bearing is more grumbly than the most miserable forum member but it’s Shimano so might just need a dissemble and grease. And would be an easy hub swap.

Yours for naught but a donation to RNLI/local lifeboat or Mountain Rescue. By donation I mean anything at all not anything large.

Oh and postage because I have a sneaking it might be a few pounds.

I actually have a set of slx brakes in the garage somewhere and wouldn’t be against using the callipers if I could find something compatible.

Wiggle has [edit: had] GRX 400 2 x 10-speed levers for £250 which should work with SLX calipers – I’m about to do the same with XT calipers. You’d also need… a compatible 10-speed rear mech, which is around 50 quid, and a cassette, say £30-£40. Used cranks/rings off eBay and something like a CX70 front mech should do it. I doubt you’ll find a complete hydro groupset for anything like that price tbh. Also most of the latest stuff uses flat mount, which is a pain unless your frame/fork are flat mount.

That’d be ace josh, thanks. I live in fife.

Yeah I’m starting to realise that my budget is pretty small although there’s not really much I can do to increase it with the visit from the big man in a red suit just round the corner.

If you want to borrow bits from the mtb – take a look at the surly corner bar, drop bar you can use mtb levers on. I’m sure they’ll be copies out soon which will be both cheaper and lighter.

If it’s post mount frame and fork, I’ve got some ultegra calipers sat unused in the loft, send me a message if interested – based in Edinburgh

A fifer eh, whereabout?

Probably due a nip up to see the folks .

Oooooft lochgelly… Nomans land.

I could drop them off maybe next weekend?

haha aye, although we prefer bandit country.

aye that would be class, i have fair city enduro on saturday morning but hoping to be back early afternoon all going well and no plans for he rest of the weekend.

Road brifters are going to blow most of your drive chain budget unless.your very lucky.

Sent you a message josh.

If you go 11 speed remember there’s the Ultegra RX Road mech, that was pretty muc hthr prototype for GRX – big capacity, strong, clutch.

ZOOM XTECH HB100 MTB Hydraulic Disc Brake Calipers Front & Rear

https://a.aliexpress.com/_vDOBMe

These were a recommendation to me. Sold some Avid BB5’s and put these on my gravel bike and for about £24 delivered from China in about a week to Edinburgh they are mental good. So much better than the BB5’s and so far seem very good.

Cable operated hydro things.

If you get the above cable hydro brakes. I’ve got a unused Sora groupset (without the cranks) you could have for not a lot of cash it previous gen doesn’t go under the bar tape.

You could do easy and within budget especially if you’ve got the brakes with a flat bar but then apparently it’s a hybrid not a gravel bike. You could stick micro shift or Deore on it, use cheap mtb crank with a nw chain ring of choice.

Ive also got some older 10 speed tiagra shifters a little battered that need new hoods, pair that with a 9 speed mountain bike mech you can get a 36t cassette on the back and probably bigger with a roadlink if you wanted to go single ring.

I don’t think you will get hydro and drop bar in your budget at the moment.

I’ve got a 105 double crank, front mech, chain cassette and 105 cable brifters for sale, all 11 speed. Link those to a giant Conduct or hope semi hydro system and you will be most of the way to hydro brakes (it’s a better solution than the hydro calipers). Would be under the budget as well.

I’m using genevalle brake/shifter with trp spyre calipers that came on a bike I bought just for the frame – mechanical but surprisingly good and I’m pushing 100kg. I was expecting much worse coming from hydros on my other bikes. 3×10 setup using MTB mechs. Decided to keep using them.

Finally managed to get round to finishing this off. Went for a short blast to see how it was and I’m really happy with it despite getting a puncture on a 40 minute ride🤦‍♂️

Ended up using some slx callipers that I had in the garage and they worked pretty well.

It’s funny to see how naive I was with my budget😀

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ4caEfsMig/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://flic.kr/ps/3YkuV9