Beast Tech Posted February 20, 2015 Share So the time has come where I have levelled up from a broke student to a poor 26 year old. And my first order of business is a massive upgrade. I have been riding for 3 years on a hardtail. But this was no ordinary hardtail. I treated it like it was a lean mean DH machine! It rode the Mankele black line countless times, championed the scout hall jump line, and saw pretty much most rad trails this country had to offer. We also have had our bad's, many pine trees found, a lot of pain staking cases on some optimistic jumps as well as a shattered elbow (thank's to scout hall). But the time has come to retire this legend in favour of a more capable beast.... My Pony: Specs: Frame: GT Avalanche 1.0 (Resprayed)Fork: Rock Shox Derailer: 9spd Shimano XT med cage (reverse spring)Crank: RacefaceChainring: Race Face Wide/Narrow 36TBrakes: Normal Simano Wheels: XT hubs on some DT swiss rims Stem: 50mm truvativeBars Wide 760mm Deity 2014Shifters: Basic Shimano That is pretty much all worth mentioning, cost me 5k back in the day with about 3k of upgrades. But do not judge her on her specs, she was fully capable of anything, and really was the best rig to learn on. Unforgiving so you really had to learn the hard way. But it proved that it is often not the bike, but the rider that is the most important thing. People are not lying to you when they say "Learn on a hardtail". She will be sorely missed, but I will never forget my bumpy introduction to mountain biking.... The birth of the Beast.... A custom built YETI SB66! After months of trawling forums and going into every LBS existent I realised 26" frames are endangered in this country sadly. So I put out a call on the hub and within a day this beauty came looking for me. Currently she has a cracked rear swing arm but that is being claimed under warranty and should be sorted in the next few weeks. Why the frame? It has one of the slackest head angles around! (67 degrees). Perfect for when the steep gets STEEEEEP! And the lengthy TT (which some of you may not like) but these are designed for pure speed, which suits me just perfectly... Photo's to come on arrival. So once the frame was sorted I needed some components. And so the shopping began. Once again South Africa really struggles when it comes to long travel 26" forks. So I turned to the hub. And within a day I had been pointed in guy named Bibi's direction from Zion bikes and boy did he have a plan for me. I introduce to you my fork, Xfusion Vengeance HLR air Let's just say the reviews spoke for themselves on this form, 170mm travel of pure power! Favoured by many a pro and a new kid on the block, but with something to say, really looking forward to trying this (it has a cane creek adapter to fit the tapered Yeti - best of both worlds) This bad boy has a 20mm thru axle so I kinda needed a new hub, and with that came a new wheel. And who better to ask then Bibi again. And boy did he deliver.... A sexy DT Swiss Magura Hub, Dartmoor rim (Tnanks to Andrew @ Dial'd for helping out), Brass nipples, and Wheelsmith DB14g spokes. This wheel feels bombroof! And I am sure it will deliver. Build will be on the go over the next few weeks so will keep updated, all I can say is if it wasn't for the hub this build would not be possible so that is why I am doing a build thread... Edited February 20, 2015 by Alien8 popcorn_skollie, Steven Knoetze (sk27), TAAHIRWP and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trail - er - park Posted February 20, 2015 Share Going to be watching this one with interest! From experience I can tell you that there is nothing that BiBi cannot assist with. If you use his real-world experience for your build it can only be awesome goodluck Phil danger and Beast Tech 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Tech Posted February 20, 2015 Share NO COUCH???? No couch but maybe a chair... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2015 Share The rock garden is mooi Beast Tech 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 20, 2015 Share Many thanks to Andrew at Dial'd for providing the rad Hoop to match what the rider has as best possible. Beast Tech 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoman Posted February 20, 2015 Share Those GTs are solid, I will never part with mine! Beast Tech 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Tech Posted February 20, 2015 Share The rock garden is mooi Wish I could take credit for that... Those GTs are solid, I will never part with mine! Yeah putting mine in the hall of fame (on my wall) Many thanks to Andrew at Dial'd for providing the rad Hoop to match what the rider has as best possible. Yeah and was sorted within a day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skylark Posted February 20, 2015 Share Looking good, how much are those forks, not easy to find long travel straight steerer forks these days Beast Tech 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Tech Posted February 20, 2015 Share Looking good, how much are those forks, not easy to find long travel straight steerer forks these days This fork Bibi made a plan at 7k, which I think is quite a steal considering competitors as well as price it fetches overseas. Eddy Gordo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popcorn_skollie Posted February 20, 2015 Share keeping it real son. 26er for life Skylark, goodluck Phil danger and Eddy Gordo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skylark Posted February 20, 2015 Share This fork Bibi made a plan at 7k, which I think is quite a steal considering competitors as well as price it fetches overseas.Looks like a beast of a fork, what size are the stanchions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Tech Posted February 23, 2015 Share Looks like a beast of a fork, what size are the stanchions? 36mm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skylark Posted February 23, 2015 Share Yoh, esp nice then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Tech Posted February 24, 2015 Share keeping it real son. 26er for life It's not always about how fast you can get to the bottom, but how much fun you can have a long the way. Yeah got super lucky with the fork, the trick will come in setting the high and low compression right DubbelBuys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAAHIRWP Posted March 5, 2015 Share I remember owning a GT avalanche 1.0, I still miss that bike, I should be kept it for commutes. Beast Tech 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Tech Posted March 8, 2015 Share And so the parts start rolling in slowly.... Firstly, the keepers from the old rig....36t Raceface narrow ride chain ring Short cage 9 speed XT rear derailer (Yes I am still 9 speed, I like it)1x Sram GXP cranks (Old but honestly the best cranks in the world!) Deity dirty30 760mm handlebars with a truvativ 50mm stem1x GXP BBMRP chain guideMountain king 2.4 tyreSome DT swiss rim with a XT hub (wheel to upgade in the future but good for now) Raceface lizard skin grips XT 9 speed cassete And for some new parts....Giant Flat pedals (My mate swears by these so no harm in trying them out, always can changeSLX Ice tech brakes (no point in getting the XT)And then the backbone, the YETI SB 66 To arrive early this week are the rest of the parts, then the build begins...203mm XT ice tec rotor 190mm XT ice tec rotor2.4 mountain king "protection" SLX shifters Wish list, when I have the cash to spend probably a dropper... Hope all arrives and then the excitement starts! Edited March 8, 2015 by Alien8 Eddy Gordo and Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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