Toxic Posted April 17, 2012 Share BTW, if i had that much money, I would have gone for the Scalpel. Maybe get 2, one bike to show off with on weekend rides and one for the Epic. 50k is about all the money I had saved up for a bike. Will not be able to get 2 or a specific bike for epic alone. Wish I could, but this bike will be my next baby for a long time, so it will do XC, Marathon and stage races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendell Posted April 17, 2012 Share Hi Wendell, Did you change the cranks / casette / brakes and shifters all to XTR? Regarding the upgrade, did you're LBS do the upgrade before you take the bike out of the shop, of did you do the upgrades afterwards, and trying to sell the other parts separately?Are you happy with the wheelset?Hey Friend, I did the brakes, shifters and front der. The wheels are a bit heavy and I know I can find lighter but for now I find nothing wrong with them. My tyres are heay and I know this ( Conti Mountain King work best for me). I left the cassette as there is nothing wrong with the set. CRANKS.... I was a bit fussy and got the Cannondale set. Toxic.... fortunately I am the LBS. TheV 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxic Posted April 17, 2012 Share Hey Friend, I did the brakes, shifters and front der. The wheels are a bit heavy and I know I can find lighter but for now I find nothing wrong with them. My tyres are heay and I know this ( Conti Mountain King work best for me). I left the cassette as there is nothing wrong with the set. CRANKS.... I was a bit fussy and got the Cannondale set. Toxic.... fortunately I am the LBS. Cool. OK the fact the you are the LBS makes a HUGE difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splat Posted April 17, 2012 Share I'am not sure if I like a wheelset with a weight limit of only 85 kg. Would you do an Epic on a wheelset like this?I've got a DT swiss wheelset with 240S hubs, and in 7 years never had to tru a wheel, and those hubs IMO is awesome.A friend told me that the Chris King hubs are the best. I don't no anyone with Hope Pro II Evo hubs, but I will consider them, as the 240S hubs is also damn expensive. I weigh 95kg, so would get a ZTR Crest front rim and Arch rear rim built on Hope Pro II Evo Hubs with DT Competition spokes and brass nipples. It would be about R5500.00 for the set (which is a little more than a set Chris King hubs...). Google and you will see that Hope is quite well regarded & priced. Chris King may be considered the best by some, but its unanimous that they are expensive. The stock ZTR Crest wheelset (ZTR hubs & rims) has a weight limit of 190lb (86kg). I would imagine that the same rims on good hubs with good spokes, brass nipples and a really good builder will be stronger than that. And definitely Epic proof. Especially for someone of your weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxic Posted April 17, 2012 Share I weigh 95kg, so would get a ZTR Crest front rim and Arch rear rim built on Hope Pro II Evo Hubs with DT Competition spokes and brass nipples. It would be about R5500.00 for the set (which is a little more than a set Chris King hubs...). Google and you will see that Hope is quite well regarded & priced. Chris King may be considered the best by some, but its unanimous that they are expensive. The stock ZTR Crest wheelset (ZTR hubs & rims) has a weight limit of 190lb (86kg). I would imagine that the same rims on good hubs with good spokes, brass nipples and a really good builder will be stronger than that. And definitely Epic proof. Especially for someone of your weight. Thanks for the Advice Splat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr HED Posted April 17, 2012 Share santa cruz must be the most consistently top rated bike in europe and usa, so you cannot go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kranswurm Posted April 17, 2012 Share santa cruz must be the most consistently top rated bike in europe and usa, so you cannot go wrong. Was voted the best MTB of 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometime Posted April 17, 2012 Share I'am not sure if I like a wheelset with a weight limit of only 85 kg. Would you do an Epic on a wheelset like this?I've got a DT swiss wheelset with 240S hubs, and in 7 years never had to tru a wheel, and those hubs IMO is awesome.A friend told me that the Chris King hubs are the best. I don't no anyone with Hope Pro II Evo hubs, but I will consider them, as the 240S hubs is also damn expensive. I'm 86kg and chose to go the ZTR Arch route on Hope Pro II Evo hubs. In 10 years of MTB racing I've never had to worry about wheels buckling and I wasn't about to take the chance on the Crest rims that I am right on the weight limit for, just for the sake of saving 200g or so. You buckle a wheel and 9 times out of 10 your race is over. You can't risk that on a race like Epic where you have invested substantial time and money. Ask yourself how much time you stand to gain in a race running Crest rims vs how much you stand to lose if they break because they're not designed to carry your weight plus 8 day of abuse on the Epic? The Hope hubs are superb, well built, almost bullet proof - You can get lighter hubs and you can get cheaper hubs but to my mind they are one of the best bang for buck hubs on the market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagwil Posted April 17, 2012 Share Santa Cruz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted April 17, 2012 Share +1 on the HOPE hubs. They are the mutts nuts. And they're nowhere near as expensive as Chris Kings! PS: There's a reason HOPE have such a devout following. They are that good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manx18 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Both awesome bikes.That said, one of my riding buddies is on his 5th Scalpel frame in 4 years.The last one was replaced during the Epic, the one before that two weeks before the Epic.None of them cracked in the same place.(Can not fault a lifetime frame warranty!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummibear Posted April 17, 2012 Share This is what I would love to have, but that will work out close to R73500k way to much... around 10.8kgSC with a XT build up, with cheaper wheelset, will still be R55600 around 11.7kg The Canyon Nerve is around the 10kg mark depending on tyres and is a awesome bike. http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2562 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Unit Posted April 17, 2012 Share +1 on the HOPE hubs. They are the mutts nuts. And they're nowhere near as expensive as Chris Kings! PS: There's a reason HOPE have such a devout following. They are that good... +1+1. I built Mavic XM819's onto Hope ProII's. Absolutely bullet proof. Not the lightest, mind you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted April 17, 2012 Share +1+1. I built Mavic XM819's onto Hope ProII's. Absolutely bullet proof. Not the lightest, mind you. Yeah. I don't care about weight. I weigh 103 myself, so losing 300g on a hub is pointless, imho. I also loooooove the way that free-wheel body sounds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wynandvdmerwe Posted April 17, 2012 Share get the 'dale, change the wheels and tyres, and ride the **** out of it... I have been riding mine now for about a month, love the bike. Nothing wrong with monarch rt3, thought I was going to change it myself, but it works perfectly(international forums rate it even better than rp23...). Cannondale SL cranks are nice, but price is a bit over the top(also consider race face next cranks). See details of new Mavic SLR 29er wheels coming soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkie 2 Posted April 17, 2012 Share get the 'dale, change the wheels and tyres, and ride the **** out of it... I have been riding mine now for about a month, love the bike. Nothing wrong with monarch rt3, thought I was going to change it myself, but it works perfectly(international forums rate it even better than rp23...). Cannondale SL cranks are nice, but price is a bit over the top(also consider race face next cranks). See details of new Mavic SLR 29er wheels coming soonAnything is better than a Fox locally as their agents can't even fix a fork that is under warranty! Wheel wise I will go with DT Swiss 240s hubs and ZTR rims that suite your requirements Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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