Finished my first build. I bought the bike in a less than ideal condition last summer, tuned it up to the best of my ability at the time and rode it until the end of the season. There were a lot of things I liked, so I decided this was the perfect frame for a build project. During the winter I stripped the whole bike down to a bare frame. I wanted to work from the frame up so I could gain a better understanding of how the whole thing works. Here comes the therapy part of it: I’ve always been a little neurotic and tend to shy away from things that could potentially (in my mind) be dangerous. The thought of fucking up the project and subsequently snapping my neck had popped into my mind a couple of times. Building my own project had, however, been a dream of mine for a long time so I decided to finally bite the bullet.
I spent a lot of time planning the build, reading different forums and trying to gain a better understanding of what size parts fit where and why. Slowly but surely it started to make sense. I spent my days working and lurking and in the evenings I worked on the bike. I was fortunately able to take advantage of some online b-stock deals on the new parts. Here’s what I got:
26” Shimano/Alex rims wheelset
Maxxis DTH tires 2.15”
SKS Bluemels mudguards 60mm
Pelago commuter front rack
XLC ahead adapter
No name stem/handlebars/grips etc
Shimano T4000 brake levers
Shimano BR-T4000 v-brake set
Shimano BB-MT501 hollowtech II bottom bracket
Shimano Deore FC-M5100-1 32T crankset
Shimano XT RD-M8000 rear derailleur
Shimano XT SL-M8000 shifter
Shimano Deore CS-M5100 11-42T cassette
The bike feels and rides great. I think it looks nice too. The next step is to take this bad boy on a bikepacking trip. Until then, I’d like to thank this community for sharing useful information. A big thanks to everyone who’s ever taken the time to post or comment. The knowledge sharing is invaluable and has been a huge help. Keep on riding!
by CupComprehensive1597