I had a hankering to get a hardtail after many years exclusively riding full suspension bikes. My local tracks are pretty smooth and flowy for the most part and most of my riding is just general trail riding with the occasional XC race to get the old heart pumping a bit harder. I like a fairly light bike so common sense would suggest that a carbon hardtail would suit best. So, after much deliberation, I ended up with a steel frame weighing just over 2.5kg and built up a bike from there using various online and local shops. For the first time ever, I've built a bike without buying from an overseas bike shop - they simply weren't any cheaper than the local guys.
First ride off road was on Sunday afternoon. At first I thought I'd made a massive mistake as being on a hardtail again was a bit brutal on the arse and back. Lets just say that I wasn't feeling any of the famed steel compliance. But after a while it all came back to me about hovering over the seat on the rough stuff. When putting the power down this thing flies through the singletrack. Once I get more used to it, I think its going to be great. A few tweaks are needed too including a dropper, more comfy saddle and still messing around getting the right bar height.
Frame - Ritchey Ultra
Rear shock - My legs
Front shock/fork - RS SID
Handlebars - Renthal Fatbar
Stem - Controltech 50mm
Headset - Can Creek 40
Grips - Odi lock ons (something I had laying around but needs to go - colour doesn't match)
Saddle - Joystick binary (something I had laying around but needs to go - doesn't suit my arse and colour doesn't match)
Seatpost - Giant (will replace with a dropper soon - just put this on to get rolling)
Front brake - SLX with 180 rotor
Rear brake -SLX with 180 rotor
Cranks - Raceface Aeffect R with 32t
Chainguide - nope
Chain - XT 11sp
Pedals - shimano m520
Front derailleur - nope
Rear derailleur - XT 11sp
Front shifter - nope
Rear shifter - XT 11sp
Cassette - XT 11sp
Front hub - Sun Ringle Charger
Rear hub - Sun Ringle Charger
Front rim - Sun Ringle Charger
Rear rim - Sun Ringle Charger
Spokes - Dunno
Nipples - Dunno
Tyres - Maxxis Ardent 2.25 F and Rekon Race 2.25 R
Tubes - nope
Total weight - 12kg ish
First ride off road was on Sunday afternoon. At first I thought I'd made a massive mistake as being on a hardtail again was a bit brutal on the arse and back. Lets just say that I wasn't feeling any of the famed steel compliance. But after a while it all came back to me about hovering over the seat on the rough stuff. When putting the power down this thing flies through the singletrack. Once I get more used to it, I think its going to be great. A few tweaks are needed too including a dropper, more comfy saddle and still messing around getting the right bar height.
Frame - Ritchey Ultra
Rear shock - My legs
Front shock/fork - RS SID
Handlebars - Renthal Fatbar
Stem - Controltech 50mm
Headset - Can Creek 40
Grips - Odi lock ons (something I had laying around but needs to go - colour doesn't match)
Saddle - Joystick binary (something I had laying around but needs to go - doesn't suit my arse and colour doesn't match)
Seatpost - Giant (will replace with a dropper soon - just put this on to get rolling)
Front brake - SLX with 180 rotor
Rear brake -SLX with 180 rotor
Cranks - Raceface Aeffect R with 32t
Chainguide - nope
Chain - XT 11sp
Pedals - shimano m520
Front derailleur - nope
Rear derailleur - XT 11sp
Front shifter - nope
Rear shifter - XT 11sp
Cassette - XT 11sp
Front hub - Sun Ringle Charger
Rear hub - Sun Ringle Charger
Front rim - Sun Ringle Charger
Rear rim - Sun Ringle Charger
Spokes - Dunno
Nipples - Dunno
Tyres - Maxxis Ardent 2.25 F and Rekon Race 2.25 R
Tubes - nope
Total weight - 12kg ish
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