After test riding a singlespeed 29er last year, I knew one was my next bike, but it took until now to put one together. Since the price and weight points of off-the-shelf and bike store custom jobs weren’t what I wanted, the project became a custom build.
The forums on mtbr turned up some good deals; a used Salsa El Mariachi frame with an eccentric bottom bracket, and made-to-order tubeless wheels with Stans Arch rims and XT disc hubs. Both of the guys I dealt with were very professional and delivered what they promised.
The rest of the parts came in two big Internet orders. Picking out all the little parts was a bit tedious; most selections fell in the mid-range of weight and price. Hayes hydraulic HFX-9 brakes won out over near-equal mechanical discs, and the fork is the moderate SL version of Rock Shox’s Reba.
Getting it all together exposed a number of gotchas. The steel frame had to be pretreated with rust protection spray special ordered through Bikesport, the tubeless rim strips needed to be seated with a 29er tube, and the brakes didn’t come with the usual mounting adapters. Outside of those hurdles, the build went smoothly, largely in part to my friend Mike’s expertise and collection of specialized tools. The guys who design bike parts must get an equal kick out of designing obscure tools to install them!
One pleasant surprise was how easy the tubeless tires were to setup. The Stans rim really grab even the non-tubeless Panaracer Rampage tires, and sealed up quickly enough. There are some good videos on their site; one very worthwhile tip is to soap up the edge of the tire before mounting so it slips on easier.
Of course, the real question is how does it ride? Smooooth. The big tires and steel frame soak up a lot, even on the gravel path leading to my local singletrack. Then they roll nicely over the roots and bumps, and even carried me over one double log pile I usually miss. The 20-tooth cog felt about the same as the 18-tooth on my 26″ singlespeed - another good tip from Mike.
All told, the build came to about $1700 and 27 pounds, just a little beyond my goals. Actually, the ride is so nice I don’t mind the extra few pounds over my other bike, and the smile it put on my face was priceless!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Hot and Smooth Salsa! Nice accomplishment!