What’s the plan?
Over this next winter, I’ll be working to build up a full-suspension bike. I’d much rather go big and have it last forever than cheap out, so dream build might be stretching it a bit, but either way, this page will be a working document where I can lay out parts lists and document why I’m choosing what.
Going into this winter’s build I am faced with essentially three options, keep my hardtail and buy an entire bike, sell the hardtail to buy a frame or entire bike, or salvage all the parts from my hardtail to build up a frame.
My decision, subject to change, is to salvage parts off of the hardtail and buy a full-suspension frame. This is the most financially reasonable option and I’m just really happy with all the parts on my hardtail. My concern with buying an entire bike is that I’ll just end up swapping out parts anyway, which equals wasted components and more money, so my custom build is the way to go.
Salvaged Part List
Here we have a layout of parts and costs associated with stripping my current frame.
| Part | Model | Price | Retailer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frame | Guerilla Gravity Trail Pistol | $3195 | www.ridegg.com | See the section on frame choice. |
| Shock | Rockshox Select | $100 | www.ridegg.com | Frame add-on option |
| Fork | Rockshox 35 | $0 | Salvage | |
| Wheelset | Stans Flow MK3 29″ | $0 | Salvage | Will still need to be trued by shop. |
| Front Tire | Maxxis DHF | $0 | Salvage | How much life left in these? |
| Rear Tire | Maxxis Rekon | $0 | Salvage | Ditto |
| Cassette | Shimano Deore XT | $0 | Salvage | Actually, already have brand new. |
| Derailer | Shimano XT | $0 | Salvage | |
| Shifter | Shimano SLX | $0 | Salvage | |
| Chain | Shimano XT 12 Spd | $45.99 | www.worldwidecyclery.com | The current chain beat up |
| Bottom Bracket | Raceface Cinch | $0 | Salvage | |
| Cranks | Raceface Atlas | $0 | Salvage | |
| Chainring | Raceface Atlas | $0 | Salvage | |
| Pedals | One Up Composite | $0 | Salvage | Might still want pin kit |
| Dropper Post | TranzX YSP05JL 200 x 559 | $0 | Salvage | Borderline if this will fit. |
| Dropper Lever | PNW Loam Lever | $0 | Salvage | |
| Seat | WTB | $0 | Salvage | |
| Front Brake | Shimano 4100 | $0 | Salvage | |
| Front Rotor | Shimano | $0 | Salvage | |
| Rear Brake | Shimano 4100 | $0 | Salvage | |
| Rear Rotor | Shimano | $0 | Salvage | |
| Headset | ? | $0 | Salvage | Should work… |
| Stem | PNW Loam | $0 | Salvage | |
| Handlebars | PNW Loam | $0 | Salvage | |
| Grips | PNW Loam | $24 | pnwcomponents.com | Need new grips |
| Selling Frame? | Timberjack XL | $0 | Would I though? Maybe 400 – 500? | |
| Total Cost | $3466.99 | Plus shipping |
All New Parts List
For the sake of argument and perhaps a sanity check, let’s look at a completely new build list. This isn’t a dream build tier, but just quality parts that I think are reasonable for this project.
| Part | Model | Price | Retailer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frame | Guerilla Gravity Trail Pistol | $3195 | ridegg.com | See the section on frame choice. |
| Shock | Marzocchi Bomber | $479 | worldwidecyclery.com | |
| Fork | Marzocchi Bomber Z2 | $499 | worldwidecyclery.com | |
| Wheelset | Stans Flow MK4 29″ | $965 | notubes.com | |
| Front Tire | Maxxis Dissector | $84 | worldwidecyclery.com | Likely to change… |
| Rear Tire | Maxxis DHF | $84 | worldwidecyclery.com | Just because of the yellow… |
| Cassette | SRAM GX Eagle | $231 | www.worldwidecyclery.com | |
| Derailer | SRAM GX Eagle | $135 | www.worldwidecyclery.com | |
| Shifter | SRAM GX Eagle | $49 | www.worldwidecyclery.com | |
| Chain | SRAM GX Eagle 12 Spd | $35 | www.worldwidecyclery.com | |
| Bottom Bracket | SRAM DUB | $46 | www.rei.com | |
| Cranks | SRAM GX Eagle | $146 | www.rei.com | |
| Chainring | SRAM GX Eagle | $0 | www.rei.com | Included with cranks. |
| Pedals | PNW Loam Pedal | $49 | www.pnwcomponents.com | |
| Dropper Post | PNW Dropper | $209 | www.pnwcomponents.com | |
| Dropper Lever | PNW Loam Lever | $69 | www.pnwcomponents.com | |
| Seat | Sensus | $99 | www.thesensus.com | |
| Front Brake | SRAM Level | $70 | www.rei.com | |
| Front Rotor | SRAM Centerline 200mm | $59 | www.rei.com | |
| Rear Brake | SRAM Level | $70 | www.rei.com | |
| Rear Rotor | SRAM Centerline 180mm | $43 | www.rei.com | |
| Headset | Wolf Tooth | $79.99 | www.wolftoothcomponents.com | |
| Stem | PNW Loam | $79 | www.pnwcomponents.com | |
| Handlebars | PNW Loam | $69 | www.pnwcomponents.com | |
| Grips | PNW Loam | $24 | www.pnwcomponents.com | |
| Sell old bike? | Would I? 1500? | |||
| Total Cost | $6772.99 |
Guerilla Gravity Pre-Builts
Again, as a point of comparison let’s look at the pricing for pre-builts.
| Trail Pistol | Frame Only | $3195 |
| Trail Pistol | Frame with Rockshox Deluxe Select | $3295 |
| Trail Pistol | Frame with Rockshox Deluxe Select+ | $3430 |
| Trail Pistol | Frame with Rockshox Ultimate | $3535 |
| Trail Pistol | Frame with Cane Creek DB Air IL | $3400 |
| Trail Pistol | Frame with Fox DPS Factory | $3630 |
| Trail Pistol | Ride Build | $4795 |
| Trail Pistol | Rally Build | $5895 |
| Trail Pistol | Race Build | $6995 |
In Summary…
In the end, it all comes down to dollar bucks, if money wasn’t an issue this would be such a process. Though, it is worth noting that I could very well spend all winter searching for deals and would expect the final price for a custom build to come in much lower than what I found today.
Based on all the information I have gathered here, my current plan is to transfer all my parts over to the new Guerilla Gravity frame, with a few upgrades dotted in here and there. I’ll be aiming for an overall budget of $5000.
With that decision made, it’s time to start fine-tuning the plan by determining which parts to carry over, and which to upgrade within my budget, I’ll start this planning in another post.
wp_link_pages( array( 'before' => '