surfing for 29er parts recommendations

[kenholmes]

so Im doing it, I'm building a 29er. I have some ideas as to what I am looking for in parts and setup but I would like to know what others are recommending and swear by. So far I have not drawn out the design of the frame (for all the nerds the plan for the tubes will be true temper ox2&3) but I have put in the hub order (phil kissoff disc + fixed). everything else is up for grabs so far, so if you have some part you cant live without and know makes a difference, post it up.

I hope people have particular recommendations on rims (36 hole) and forks, particularly off the shelf rigid forks (I will be building my own eventually). Comments on suspension forks is also highly sought, as I am thinking of designing the frame to accomodate suspension.

I know its probably been beaten to death but I am curious about what people favor for gearing as well. This will be a single/fixed but I am looking to incorporate gears into the design as well.

Thanks in advance,

Ken

[Cjones]

Drinking the kool aid, eh? Cool, can't wait to see what the frame looks like!

Rims: I've had good luck with Salsa rims. Have a set of the regular Delgatos and a set of the Delgato Race disc-only rims. Like them both.

Rigid Forks: Looking for a set myself and I'm probably going to get either the Vassago ODIS, Salsa Grande Cro-Moto 29er, or Kona P2 29er. I've ridden the 26" version of the Kona P2 fork and they ride really nice with the triple butted fork tubes. Alot of folks are running carbon fiber forks -- not sure I want to go that route though. If I did I'd get the carbon fork from On-One. Leaning towards the ODIS.

Cranks: White Industries ENO (unless you need a bash guard).

Bars: Jones bars or a flat wide bar with alot of sweep. Surly Torsion Bar (15°) or Salsa Pro-Moto (17°). Titec has a 2nd version of Jeff Jones' H-Bar on the way that looks way better than the 1st one. Much less $$$ than the Ti.

Hope that helps.

Carey

[Vecsus]

I have a White Brothers carbon rigid fork and love it. It has a bit of flex to take the edge off the smaller bumps.

My wheels are built up with delgado rims and the rear has an annoying creak along the weld but I guess they have fixed that with the newer models. Other than that small annoyance, they roll great (32-hole, King hubs....all built up by Bike Lane)

When I rebuild my rigid bike next spring I will either use the White Industries Eno crank or a set of Middleburn cranks for my 1X9 setup. I have heard nothing but good comments on them both.

I'm a bad person to ask about bars because I can't seem to make up my mind what I want. Before stripping it down to build up my RIP9 for my year in Turkey, I was using the 17-degree Salsa bar and loved it. THe only downside was that I needed to use a high-rise stem and some spacers to put the bar where I wanted. So when i rebuild i will be looking for a high-sweep bar with some rise to it.

[redclayrambler]

I know its probably been beaten to death but I am curious about what people favor for gearing as well. This will be a single/fixed but I am looking to incorporate gears into the design as well.


I use the same gearing as I did on my 26in bike and like it just fine, I guess it is a little tougher going up hill (it has to be right?) but I can't say I've really noticed it much, certainly not enough to change anything.
Good luck

[kenholmes]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, and yes the impetus for doing this did come in Koolaid form,

Here is where I am so far....

In the beginning I'll be running 32x17 fixed which comes out a little lighter than what I have on my 26. We will see if I make changes to that. I have made a decision that the first bike will be a test, use cheaper tubing and cheapo dropouts, no braze-ons or rear disk tab. Use a prebuilt fork. I'll modify geometry from that initial bike.

I was initially leaning to Velocity Blunts but the Delgado is an interesting option as one can run rim brakes (saves me if I am/become lazy and dont want to figure out how to jig up a disc tab correctly!). Its gotta be available in 36 hole though.

Disc brake is going to be a BB7- since I have never run disks and my last set of v-brakes is going on 10 years I dont think I can bring myself to run hydro or fancy. I see them spec'ed on Salsa's el mariachi and that makes me confident. of course I have misplaced my confidence many a time so its about working with a cheap option.

The off the shelf fork is not totally solved but was going to be the Surly KarateMonkey. I would love to know if there was a better cheaper option. I hear this thing is painful to ride. Vassago seems to be a good option but they have yet to tell me what the steerer tube length is, and I cant do much without that.

Bars I have no idea yet, but my thinking cap is loaded. I mean on.

ken

[riderx]

29er specific parts to me means: tires, rims and fork. Everything else is just MTB specific, right? Anyway, tire wise I like fatties which means Nevegal, Karma and Rampage. Weirwolf and Mountain King have their fans as well, I just haven't ridden them.

Rims: Built quite a few Delgados, decent price, good strength to weight. I've had a few that seem a tiny bit warped at the seam, meaning I couldn't get that area perfect when trueing. Not enough to really worry about other than I tend to be a perfectionist when building. I've got a Blunt on the front now and that has been holding up good. Delgado Race? Never again, that thing was too wimpy.

Fork: Seems you should build the frame around the fork and if you are considering suspension at some point, the rigid fork shoud match that fork's spec pretty closely. The Vassago has a pretty longer steerer, I chopped a lot off of mine. Not sure of the exact numbers, but how much do you need? I know a few people using the Origin 8 carbon fork and like it. But again, I'd narrow your choices down based on a match to the numbers you need for the frame. There's been some tweaking in the offset of 29er suspension forks over the last couple of years, so I'd do some research on this angle as well when making your design decisions.

BB7, can't go wrong with them.

Gearing wise I run 52" day in and day out riding mostly the Shed/Gambrill as well as Michaux, Patapsco and Elizabeth Furnace. Places like Schaeffer I usually run around 62"

[Cjones]

The Vassago has a pretty longer steerer, I chopped a lot off of mine

How did you like the ODIS fork?

[riderx]

How did you like the ODIS fork?

The fork is fine. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing special about it either. It's a 4130 Taiwanese fork, average weight and on par with other offerings such as Surly and On-One.

[kenholmes]

vassago is out. steerer is 300mm (got that number from vassago) and that is just too short for me to be comfortable with given the drawing has not been made. I need at least that length on my 26" and while I will increase atc its not enough to make me want to spend the money. I spec'ed out a minimum of 350mm given my initial thoughts on how the bike is going to need to be built. I am erring on the side of caution with this but its sensible.

glad to hear that the delgados are holding up for people.

riderx thanks for the gear/inch numbers, most helpful to have a frame of reference for the rocky stuff.

maybe I will have to turn this thread into how to build your own 29er frame and post some pictures up with descriptions.

thanks all

ken

[smdubovsky]

Ken, I sent you a PM. Im really quite interested in this. I might be able to help out if you need fixtures built too.

[kenholmes]

Yes SM, I saw your PM. I have not had a time to reply to it so I guess I will do it now. Do I remember something about you having access to a machine shop or someone in MORE having a lathe and bridegport in their basement. It was from some thread a while back on frame dimensions I believe. Maybe someone remembers this cause now I'm thinking that was someone else.

Ive been doing the hobby frame building thing for the last two years now in an on and off poor mans fashion. AteMrYeats and I have I think it is seven and a half frames under our belts and we know what we are doing. We work with minimal fixturing but would like to change that as we have run into some problems with my out of the dumpster/freebie setup. I am self taught in that I have never taken a class or been in first person shown building methods or how to do this. Instead I have learned on my own though the wealth of information that is out there on the internet for free. I would be more than happy to talk to you about building frames, I have had more failures than successes so Ive learned a lot about the process and construction. I've taught one person already so I cant be that bad, right!


here is a picture to whet your whistle:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2809960440_6b2e887d77.jpg

&&&&&....AteMrYeats coldsetting!!!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/2229134102_bd8941970f.jpg photo supplied by AteMrYeats

[smdubovsky]

Oh man, thats AWESOME! Yeah, Im the guy w/ the machine shop @ his house:) Im currently building myself a shock dyno (very much like a reohrig, though the design is hardly original.)

Man, youre in for a million questions now though. Are you fillet brazing or tigging? Kinda looks brazed. Looks like a granite countertop under your V-blocks too. What types of problems are you having? Are you warping the frames during welding? I've got a bunch of extra plate steel I might be able to use to make a jig. About what does a bikes worth of tubing cost?

Me? I have this CRAZY desire to build a 36er :D

I'd love to stop by sometime and pick your brain - I can bring beer:)

[kenholmes]

ill take you up on that

pm sent