Delilah

Spokes (DT Swiss Revos) are being supplied by LBS currently building the wheelset Doesn't the groupset come with BB? Oops! Will have to check! Thanks Awesme

Hi Oom Koos. Thanks! I checked again and there is no 29er Talas model at that price

Okay, I'm putting together a parts list: From TheV: - Groupset and brakes: 2013 Shimano XT in black, 3x10 From CRC and Merlin Cycles: - Fork: Fox 32 Talas 120 RLC FIT 29er tapered black - Headset: Hope top integral 1 1/8" 43.95mm ID, Hope bottom standard 1.5", Hope Head Doctor red - Stem: 70mm 0 deg 31.8mm Easton EA90 black - Handlebars: Easton EC70 low-rise 685mm 31.8mm - Seatpost: Easton EC70 zero setback 400mm 30.9mm - Seatclamp: Hope 34.9mm red - Tyres: Schwalbe Nobby Nic Snakeskin 29er 2.35 - Rear hub conversion kit: Hope Evo 2 12x142mm - Rear axle: Shimano XTR trail E-thru M988 12x142mm - Spacers: BBB Ultra Space carbon spacer kit Already have: - Grips: ESI Chunky black - Saddle: Fizik Vesta Kium black Anything missing? Any bad picks above?

Hmmmmm... I see Merlin Cycles have the black Fox 32 Talas 120 RLC Fit 29er Tapered, with Kashima coating, for a great price: $730.52 Slightly heavier than Reba/Sid at 1.77kg. Any reason not to go for it?

Santa Cruz Highball carbon comes in XXL http://www.olympiccycles.co.za/Product/SantaCruz/SantaCruz-Highball-Carbon.aspx

Pun intended?

If Cassie doesn't buy them, I will! Hehe... Seriously, the Protection MKs are awesome. Running one up front on my Storm Much lighter than UST which is overweight, overpriced and overrated IMHO. If your MKs have "holey" sidewalls, add another half dose of Stan's. Pump the tyre. Get an empty bucket and lay the wheel down on the bucket taking care to get it level. Let it stay there for a few hours or overnight. Repeat for the other side. I think you got MKs from a bad batch though - mine did not have any holes in the sidewalls at all...

Hey guys, I sent the salesman an e-mail about this and he is very apologetic. He promised to sort it out on Monday. At this time I believe that it was an honest mistake. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt here, because CWC have always given me great service. This is a pain for sure, because I'll have to ship the 2012 frame back, but these things happen sometimes On to nicer things: I should be getting the finished wheelset on Monday

At R23 000 for the bare frame one does not expect to get stuck with an old model. I mean, seriously?! Wasn't the frame revised back in April already? But in good ol' jolly SA we STILL have the "brand new" old frames...

Well isn't this just bloody fantastic? I asked the sales person repeatedly if the frame is the new revised one and specifically asked if it had 12x142mm rear! He assured me that it was brand new stock. Suddenly not so very chuffed with CWC anymore

Okay, so Splat got me wondering... SC website says TBC has 12x142mm rear, but it looks quite normal-sized to me. Measured it just now and it's 135mm QR - what the heck?!

Hi Wapad, thanks for the advice. I'm pretty hesitant to change to 165mm cranks, because I've never had a problem with 175mm. So, reading your advice on longer cranks for MTB makes sense to me. As for brakes, I've never tried Formula R1 - will look into it. Must say though that I've always been happy with XT...

Thank you kindly The warranty is a 2-part affair. At first you get 2 years repair/replace. After that you get replacement bits at minimal cost, even if it was a crash, for the life of the bike. As per SC website: Limited Frame Warranty Santa Cruz Bicycles will repair or replace at its option any frame it determines to be defective. The warranty will be in effect for two years from the date of sale and applies to the original owner. This warranty does not cover custom finishes. No-Fault Replacement Santa Cruz Bicycles will make replacement parts available to the original owner at a minimal charge in the event of a crash or other non-warranty situation for the life of the bike. The hanger is replaceable, but I don't know what it costs. EDIT: A quick Google revealed that a new hanger can be bought from CRC for R170 ex shipping ex vat

LOL! Thanks Scooterza. I like to read up on the stuff I buy before buying. The carbon rim knowledge came from reading an extremely looooong thread on MTBR forums.

LMAO!!!!

Thanks Bloody Agent! But, can a Tallboy be a "she"?

Hey Splat Yeah, the Hopes are nice and good value too. The rims came in at 385 and 395g. Outer width 30mm, inner width 23mm, depth 20mm, 603mm ERD, 32 hole, tubeless compatible AM/XC rims with rider weight limit of 120kg (I should be okay then ). They're being laced up with black DT Swiss Revos. Yep, the frame is 12x142mm. Luckily CRC sells the Hope conversion kit. I think it's about R150, so not bad at all.

Awesome bike, enjoy!

That's okay. After this build I will be poor! A close-up of the 12k gloss finish:

The rims arrived late yesterday afternoon...

Hubs have been sitting around for a while - originally purchased for the Storm, they are 15mm maxle front and QR rear. Will have to buy the adapter kit for 12x142mm to fit the Tallboy.

LOL! Yeah, I did, but will keep checking back as more Reba models become available. Obviously the fork has to be black Wonder of the new Solo air models will also be adjustable with spacers... Me wants 120mm...

LOL! Thanks HandH! The build will be well documented, with frequent questions, since this is the first bike I haven't bough off-the-shelf as it were. Sound awesome! Where can one have this done? Some international online retailers already have some of the 2013 Rockshox models, but either prices have gone up for 2013 or the UK guys are more expensive on forks

Cool calculator, thanks! According to this I should be on 165mm cranks. Hey Mr Mayhem. Haven't ordered the 2013 Reba yet 'cause no retailer in SA has them yet As for a dropper, let me get used to the duallie first! Also, the finances will need some recovery time after this build!

Yep, placed an order for the triple. Have double on the Storm and its fine for XC, but I'll definitely prefer triple for this bike.