Mountain Biking - Building from Ground Up on Litespeed Mtn Frame

I just purchased a used Litespeed Obed frame that I need to build up. In a sense, I'm looking to build a nice bike, no matter how long it takes! I would love to have some feed back on some great component options, as I have been out of the biking world for a while. A lot of people have been saying go Shimano XT. Is that the a good all around option? Or do I go with more specific components not made by shimano? Think of it as building a dream bike, how would you do it?
I would love to be able to put disc brakes on the bike, but the frame does not allow for a rear disc brake, any options?

Dustin

dustin@dustinbetterly.com

I just purchased a used Litespeed Obed frame that I need to build up. In a sense, I'm looking to build a nice bike, no matter how long it takes!... Think of it as building a dream bike, how would you do it?
Dustin

What's the vintage of the frame? I'm sort of into "period correct" components... If going with Shimmy, why not use some XTR where appropriate, along with the trick CNC boutique bits of the period?

I've recently bought a Kona Explosif frame with the same plan, to build it up slowly with top notch componentry. Here's what I'm thinking so far
Marzocchi Marathon Race or SL forks, maybe Fox F100s
SRAM X9 or X0 rear mech with X0 shifters and front mech
XT or middleburn or raceface cranks
Egg beater pedals
Easton EA70 or carbon bars with EA70 stem & seatpin
Mavic 317 disc rims on hope XC hubs
Hope mono mini discs
Hope headset (10 year warranty!)
All of this could change though as no doubt new stuff will come out as I'm buying.
If I couldn't run discs I would go XT V's and levers with goretex cables, ran this setup in the past and they felt so smooth.

I like your ideas. What about disc brakes on a bike with no rear disc mounts? What can I do about that? Go disc in front and v-brakes in the rear? Whats the opinion on Magura brakes? Anything worth investigating? Any other good brake companies?

Found a mid-nineties Dean Ti frame on Ebay a year ago. I built it up with full NOS XT 9-speed components (most on closeout deals), Thompson stem, NOS Scott LF bars, and a new suspension corrected IRD rigid fork. Sweet ride.... :)

Tell me about Magura Breaks? Good? Bad?

Magura is good. Not my favorite. I'd go Hope's or the new Hayes El Camino's.

Are you sure about the disc option??? I seem to recall that Litespeed does a similar thing to what TREK/GARY FISHER do and that's to provide a disc tab adapter that bolts to the chainstay.

Anyways, my list would include some of the following:

Shifters/Derailleurs: SRAM X.0's (X.9's are good, but hey it's a Litespeed stick with TOP OF THE LINE BRUTHER)

Cranks: Race Face or FSA's

Fork: FOX Terra Logic 100

Chris King headset (no other option in my book)

Thomson Stem, Easton Carbon Bars

Thomson Seat post.

Chris King hubs laced to some Mavic rims of your choice.

I like your ideas. What about disc brakes on a bike with no rear disc mounts? What can I do about that? Go disc in front and v-brakes in the rear? Whats the opinion on Magura brakes? Anything worth investigating? Any other good brake companies?
You could get an adaptor of some sort to put a disc on the rear, but on a litespeed I wouldn't bother. I'd aim for a lightweight bike and stick with v's to keep the weight down. If you want a disc on the front there's no problem running this with a v on the rear, after all it is the front brake that does the majority of the work. If you go down this road I'd get a Hope mono mini. But then I'm really biased towards them as they're a British company. Other disc systems are available.

I was headed your way all the way. If I can't do full disc, I'll do front disc with v's in the rear. I'm tempted to wait for the new X0's, they look incredible, I'm sure the price is up there too!

Nice one, keep us posted on how the build goes. I'm hoping to have the wheels for my explosif very soon.

I've got an Obed. One thing you should keep in mind is that those frames were built for forks with 50mm of travel. If you slap a modern 80mm fork on there it is going to ride like a pig-it'll jack up the BB and slacken the angles by over 2 degrees. See if you can find an older <65mm fork on ebay. I think the frame was originally intended to be used with around a 410mm axle to crown length fork. You can find rigid forks in that length from various manufacturers.

I'm not down with buying an older fork unless its brand new. Do you know of any good forks off hand that had minimum travel? Am I safe with 80mm? 100mm is too much according is that correct? I want to make the fork has disc brake mounts. I decided I'm probably going to go with mech. disc in the front and v's in the back? Sound good? Who makes the best mech. disc brakes? Are Hayes's mech disc brakes pretty good? I apologize for all the amateur questions, I'm just getting back into it and learning about all the new products.

I've got a 98 Owl Hollow HT - I put a Fox 100 on the front, a bit high but it handles ok - I will mod it to a 80 soon. I have a Avid BB disc up front and a XTR v brake in the back with a ceramic Xmax rear wheel. I called Litespeed and asked to have a disc tab added and they quoted me $800 us to redo the rear end, the only way they would do it. I made a disc bracket, it worked, but it looked like crap so I took it off. I may have the frame moded in the future, but it works ok now and weighs 23.5 lbs. It still is my fav - and I just got a 06 Specialized Enduro Pro.

I just spoke with litespeed this morning, they quoted me $4-500 to modify the frame for disc brakes. I still don't know if its worth it or not. How much do you gain with discs in the rear? Most of the braking power does come from the front after all.

Don't bother putting discs in the rear, especially for 500 bucks-you could probably find another ti frame for that kind of money. A front is all you need-that's where all your braking comes from. You probably can get away with an 80mm fork. What year is that frame? Mine is the first year version, I think they changed the geometry later on for slightly longer forks. It's a good solid frame, enjoy.