Or should I buy a new MTB?

[lulubel]

I've been thinking for a while about upgrading my cheap MTB to make a really nice bike using the current small frame, and I'd pretty much decided to do it.

Then I saw this Giant Arete.

CRC have put it in the men's section, but it's actually a women specific bike, according to the description and Giant's website, and the XS is a 14.5in frame, which should be about as small as they get, I think.

What I can see from the description is the forks alone (apart from being exactly the forks I want) are £250 if OnOne still have them at that price. It has XT where it matters (rear mech) and mostly SLX otherwise. The numbers of chainring and cassette teeth are exactly what I would choose to have. They've put decent tyres on it. I don't know about the wheels, except that Deore are budget hubs, but I only weigh just over 7 stone and I'm not planning to ride it off drops, so they're not going to take much of a hammering, and if I do wreck them I can build better ones myself. Fizik saddles don't come cheap. And disc brakes are a total mystery to me.

Is it a good buy/good price?

 

[Cubist]

In a word, yes, it's a.good buy. As you point out, to build your current frame up you'll spend that much on fork and groupset plus brakes if you were to get them at retail. That means the new bike is giving you free wheels frame and finishing kit.

 

[Cubist]

Alternatively, you could hunt down all the internet bargains you need and build onto a bargain frame like an On One or a Kinesis Maxlight. Various German sites are doing amazing deals on groupsets for example actionsports.de are doing a complete SLX drivetrain for £200 or so.
So, On One Scandal frame £175, plus Merlin's 100mm Rebas for £233 (or an On One Inbred and Recon Gold package for £400)
Then a drivetrain groupset for £200, a pair of Deore brakes from the Fatherland for £120, a pair of Superstar Superleggera or Switch EVO XC wheels for £150, cheapie seatposts and stems from On One or Superstar, for another £80, some bargain bars from CRC for about 30 quid, and some tyres for £50.

There you go, complete custom build with quality kit for a grand.

 

[lulubel]

Hmm ....

I'm less inclined to build this one myself, to be honest, simply because I can't be bothered. The main reason for building the Surly myself was because it was the only way I could get what I wanted - a bike that would fit me nicely, would last "forever", and would be incredibly flexible in what it could do. The MTB is a toy, and will only be used to ride up and down mountains, and I can find a bike to do that easily enough.

On the other hand, I could get a decent frame, reba forks, build decent wheels, and economise on the drivetrain. The dust here coats the whole thing in a gritty paste within 10 minutes of going off road, regardless of how dry the dry lube is and how sparing I am with it, so I wonder if I should just resign myself to going through components at a ridiculous rate, and buy cheap.

 

[Cubist]

How about a used drivetrain? I am toying with the idea of going 2x10 on the HT, so have a virtually unused SLX triple to get shut of. 170 (or might even be 165) cranks, SLX triple, 42-34-22, 11-32 SRAM PG 980 cassette, SLX 3x9 shifters and a topswing LX front mech, SLX shadow rear mech, plus the chain if it's any good to you (not at .75% yet) all yours for a decent price!

Just remembered I have a used Reba 100mm that may be for sale in the near future too!

 

[MichaelM]

Unless your frame is built from extra heavy duty scaffolding poles, I'd buy the forks from On One, and get a decent set of wheels from Merlin - either Hope or XT hubs (I've had XT built wheels from Merlin before - absolutely brilliant).

 

[lulubel]

How about a used drivetrain? I am toying with the idea of going 2x10 on the HT, so have a virtually unused SLX triple to get shut of. 170 (or might even be 165) cranks, SLX triple, 42-34-22, 11-32 SRAM PG 980 cassette, SLX 3x9 shifters and a topswing LX front mech, SLX shadow rear mech, plus the chain if it's any good to you (not at .75% yet) all yours for a decent price!

Just remembered I have a used Reba 100mm that may be for sale in the near future too!

Thanks for the offer, but I'm still not at all sure what I want to do. I'll bear it in mind, though.

Unless your frame is built from extra heavy duty scaffolding poles, I'd buy the forks from On One, and get a decent set of wheels from Merlin - either Hope or XT hubs (I've had XT built wheels from Merlin before - absolutely brilliant).

It's a bit more complicated than that. My frame only has bosses for rim brakes, so I'll have to use mis-matched wheels if I stick with it - disc front, rim rear. (I build my own wheels, so not that much of a problem.) I also need a whole new drivetrain because the one I have started out cheap and has been wrecked from the gritty paste I mentioned in my earlier post. I also need to replace the stem and bars because the bars are too narrow and the reach is a bit short. And I need a new saddle because the one I have is cheap and soft, and too wide. So, it's basically a total rebuild, only keeping the frame, not a cheap option by any means.

 

[zizou]

Seems like good value

Btw for the dust and drivetrain problem have you tried a wax lube?

 

[MichaelM]

It's a bit more complicated than that. My frame only has bosses for rim brakes, so I'll have to use mis-matched wheels if I stick with it - disc front, rim rear. (I build my own wheels, so not that much of a problem.) I also need a whole new drivetrain because the one I have started out cheap and has been wrecked from the gritty paste I mentioned in my earlier post. I also need to replace the stem and bars because the bars are too narrow and the reach is a bit short. And I need a new saddle because the one I have is cheap and soft, and too wide. So, it's basically a total rebuild, only keeping the frame, not a cheap option by any means.

Only you'll know if it's worth upgrading or buying a complete bike, but I am a fan of upgrading myself!

But, if I did have a budget of £900, I'd be ringing On-One and asking them if they could upgrade the forks and do one in my size.

I'm a bit of a fan of On-One. I bought a Pompino Pro off them a few years back. I didn't like the canti's and got in touch with them They sent me 3 different sets (Shimano, Tektro, and Froggs Legs) and said "try them all and keep the ones you like best". Absolutely brilliant.

 

[MichaelM]

Nothing wrong with that Giant though.