Cheapest 'good' MTB build

[Herman Toothrot]

So I wanted a cheap but good mountain bike to leave at work so I can pop out for lunchtime rides. I started looking at complete bikes and almost pressed the button on a Voodoo Buntu as for £320 it's a bargain. However I then started thinking I may find it frustrating when I'm used to normally riding high end bikes so I thought I'd build the best bike I could for as cheap as I could but sticking to new parts as 2nd hand is such a lottery in getting worn out or damaged junk. Anyway spec has ended up as follows :-

BX HT01 650b frame, aluminium £116
BX zero stack headset £20
Suntour 650b Radion fork £159
Clarks M2 brakes £37
Deore BB & cranks, rings (will sell the rings) £49
10spd Deore shadow + mech £37
Novatec 650b wheelset £95
Planet X stem & seat clamp £11
Clarks lock on grips £4

Then I did have some spare stuff left over in the garage, cable and housing, a chain I'd cut to short for my DH bike when fully compressed, Continental X Kings, Commencal ride alpha bars & seatpost, fireEye 34T NW ring, XT 11-36 cassette and a sella italia saddle.

Think it'll actually be a really quite good bike.

I could have gone cheaper on the frame On One Parkwood £89 but I really didn't like the geometry. Also could have gone 26" but felt I didn't want to go backwards buying a quickly dying standard and I had the X Kings in 650b.

So what 'cheap' but good build would you do?

[Herman Toothrot]

Already have an On One Inbred single speed pub bike, think it was one of the very 1st inbreds amazing I didn't snap it back when it was my main bike as many did (chain stay issue on old ones), they are a good bike if a bit heavy.

The single speed things ok if you are approaching every ride as a training ride or real potter about (going to the pub) but I think it detracts from having fun so I'd want gears.

Full rigid indeed I did think of that and it was my intention however not so simple if you want modern trail type geometry as ridgid forks all tend to be to replace 100mm forks when most trail type frames want 120 / 130mm they are also not massively cheap most I found that would stand up to drops and jumps were about £70, so yeah saving against reasonable suspension. Could have gone Rockshox TK they can be had new for £110 but steel stanctions. The suntour Raidons are actually quite a good fork, whyte spec them on some quite expensive bikes.

[Herman Toothrot]

Beginning to think I should have got a 15mm through axle fork, silly but glad I just went for it and bought what I did. More thinking would have increased the spend no doubt. It escalated in one day from a £320 voodoo to a £500 custom build, another's week and it'd ended up £700 or so.

[Herman Toothrot]

Huntsman said:

I'd love to be able to do this but wouldn't know where to start! All sounds terribly complicated!

(I've got this mental wall about bikes, I've rebuilt many many car engines, engine swaps, gearboxes, axles, endless MOT repairs, 2 stroke tuning, all sorts, but I'm fecking hopeless with a bike!)

If you can do the that building a bike will be super easy.

[Herman Toothrot]

Received my clarks M2's today - bloody amazing mono block calliper, lever design seems a Deore / Slx design copy. Came with rotors, mounts, olives, pads etc £37 for a PAIR.

[Herman Toothrot]

Yes eBay, rider-republic. I got to spec rotor sizes and mounts as well I should add, looks to be a box straight out of the factory.

[Herman Toothrot]

Got my Raidon forks today from Tredz - advert clearly said steerer material : alloy, steerer size : Tapered. What I've received is a steel straight steerer version. Also a big chip on the bridge. Have emailed them to see what they have to say. Not the biggest problem in the world if they don't actually have a tapered version & offer a free adapter lower race, but then it looks a bit naff an internal tapered frame going to a spindly 1 1/8 crown. Not best pleased.

[Herman Toothrot]

So Tredz supplier only has a pile of straight steerer forks no tapered. So I can return them for a refund or get £20 off and keep them. Inclined to keep them as all I really need to do is return the headset to CRC and buy a straight steerer to tapered version instead which same brand is £1 cheaper than what I have. So -£21 to use a straight rather than tapered steerer.

[Herman Toothrot]

I took my cheap build on a 50km XC shakedown this afternoon, I actually really like it - its better than many £1200 bikes I've tried in the past. I'd go as far to say with the modern tech progression the way it performs is superior to basically any hardtail produced 15 years ago.







My final spec :-

Brand X HT-01 medium frame New £112
Brand X integral headset £19
Suntour Raidon forks New £139
Novatec wheels New £89
Deore Shadow Plus rear mech New £24
Deore 9 speed crankset and bottom bracket New £58 (will sell the rings)
Planet X 50mm stem New £8
Planet X seat clamp New £3
Clarks M2 brake set New £37 inc rotors, mounts everything

Then old stuff I had sat about doing nothing :-

Commencal ride Alpha 720mm bars, seat Post & lock on grips off my old Meta AM V4
XT 11-36 cassette
Absolute black 32T Narrow wide ring & bolts
SRAM PC1051 chain, this was New but I'd cut it so short for my DH bike
Gear cable outer New off a reel
Zee 10spd shifted and inner
Continental X-Kings 2.2 & tubes
Sella italia saddle
DMR V8

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Monday 5th December 18:53

Edited by Herman Toothrot on Monday 5th December 19:25

[Herman Toothrot]

The clarks brakes are great just as good as standard Deore, such a bargain. I'm quite a 1x10 convert I find 32T 11-36 plenty for the chilterns. My other bikes have 34T with 11-42 sunrace cassette and that really does provide more than enough range for anywhere.

[Herman Toothrot]

Same as all other brakes cut the hose New olive (supplied with kit), top up fluid job (shimano mineral oil) done :-)