SwtCraigMachine

Do you happen to know which Raidon it is? They have quite a range and it is helluv confusing I just bought a second-hand Epicon, and it has rebound adjust and remote travel adjust (100-140), but I know not all of them have that... Aside: I paid R400 for my Epicon, which seemed pretty good value, but I haven't taken it for a ride yet

Agree 100% with Drongo - if you can make the fork work for you, don't go a-changing! I haven't been riding long, but found a similar disagreement with my first coil fork (a Judy I think). I decided to go for an upgrade, and trawled the second-hand market for a bit. I wouldn't bother looking at buying a new fork (unless it's on a mad special deal), as has been mentioned here already. They are heinously expensive, and difficult to justify not just getting a new bike. If you are looking for a new fork, try get an air-sprung fork (at least Solo Air, with a single air 'coil'). If you are a bigger guy (as I am), you can pump the air spring to a higher pressure, hopefully preventing bottom-out. As Drongo said, you can pick up a Recon air (light, solid and very popular fork) for a good price quite often. If you want to save even more, try look out for an older Tora 318 (heavier, but tougher and cheaper), or one of the Suntour air forks (a lot of people look down on them, but they are even more affordable - you could pick one up for a few hundred bucks). The Tora and Suntour (Epicon) shocks also offer a little more travel (up to 130 or 140 mm), and are pretty adjustable - great for if you want to be experimenting with travel! EDIT: Just saw all the other responses that went up while I was typing - sorry for any repitition/redundancies

I think it would be worth your while to check out the Scott Scale range. They are super light and come with decent components where it matters. I think the Scale 70 or even 60 will come in around R8k. The 29er (if youre interested) is more like R10k.

Thanks for the input guys! I checked out the Mavic Crossride - it's about R1600 for a set... I know I might sound cheap, but I'm really trying not to stretch my budget too much (especially considering what I've spent on the bike already ). I'm quite happy to stick with V-brakes for the moment (also saves on cost a little - I have a decent set already). I would like to consider upgrading in the future, so it's nice to have the option. A mate of mine (experienced cyclist) actually advised that discs would be very difficult to get a good feel for while I am learning (and explained how his girlfriend was struggling because of her disc brakes). A few updates on what is available - I have some more details on some, and others have been sold or struck from the list (for actually being road wheels - doh!). Alex 24 (I think it's only Alex rims and some generic hubs) - R950 set (Olympic Cycles) Brand-X Brand-X Hubs on DT Swiss X-430 Rims - R1150 set (ChainReaction incl. shipping) Shimano Deore Wheels Disc M505 - R1100 set (ChainReaction incl. shipping) Pro-Lite Avise - R1400 (ChainReaction incl. shipping) USED Shimano RS10 wheels - R800 set (Gumtree) USED 700c wheels - "from R500 a set" (Gumtree - really not sure what to make of this) USED XT hubs, DT Swiss rims - R1000 USED Alex A-Class Vectra T2D, including tyres - R1000 set

Anybody else got any insight/advice for a newbie builder?

I had a look through the Hub classifieds. Unfortunately, most of the things are either too expensive, or don't take V-brakes (the two main problems I'm having in finding suitable wheels).

Ola! I am starting out in mountain biking, and am totally new to these forums! So, hello I bought a cheapo bike to see if I enjoyed it, but now building up something a little better. The problem is, the 9-speed casette that I bought doesn't fit on the wheels that I have (screw-on casette, apparently). So, I am looking to buy new wheels, but really hoping to keep the costs to a minimum (though I preferably don't want utter rubbish ). So, here are the wheels I have managed to track down: Alex 24 (the guy said wheels, I'm assuming it's only Alex rims and some generic hubs) - R950 set (Olympic Cycles) Brand-X Brand-X Hubs on DT Swiss X-430 Rims - R1150 set (ChainReaction incl. shipping) Shimano Deore Wheels Disc M505 - R1100 set (ChainReaction incl. shipping) Pro-Lite Avise - R1400 (ChainReaction incl. shipping) USED Shimano RS10 wheels - R800 set (Gumtree) USED 700c wheels - "from R500 a set" (Gumtree - really not sure what to make of this) USED XT hubs DT swiss X.R4.1 rims - R850 (Junkmail) USED DT Swiss wheels (the guy couldn't give me anymore info before this evening) - R1000 USED Fulcrum Racing 5 Evolution - R1200 USED Alex A-Class Vectra T2D - R1000 set I'm not sure if I should be avoiding second-hand wheels all together (though most of my build so far is second-hand stuff)? Is there anywhere/anything else I should be looking at? I need them to be able to work with V-brakes too (although both V and disc brake would be choice) I ride mostly cross-country, but like some winding single-track now and again... Any advice you can offer will be appreciated!