Building a Dirt Jump/Trials Bike
 

Hello guys, havent been on for ages, internet is broke.

Im thinking of building a bike, and im very happy with my hardrock, but would like a trials/dirt jumper

Ive set my limit for building it at £1300, not sure how much that is in Dollars....

Can anybody give me they're advise on what they would choose for the bike?

Ive got a couple of Ideas Floating about, possibly either a Specialized p3 frame, or a craftworks Rail and for the forks, it will be one of the 3 dj's which one yet i do-not-know....

Drivetrain - I dont want a single speed, but i dont want a really expensive Drivetrain because, its gonna take a beating, so i dont want to spend too much on this, possibly looking at Deore/LX componentry, with RF cranks and BB< as for the finishing Kit, i found an RF groupset that had a Raceface Evolve Stuff in it, this included Bars, stem, headset, BB, Cranks and grips, all that was for sale for £189.99, which i dont suppose is bad.

The wheels - Im getting made by a builder up country somewhere (not sure where) and i was looking at Hope Bulb Hubs laced to Sun Singletrack rims, but im really not sure about these.

As i said, i want to keep costs down, because its gonna take me ages to save up, £1300 is alot of money to me :P

So i was hoping to save on the drivetrain, and use the saved money to get a better set of wheels, or possibly a better fork...

What would you guys suggest?

Thx alot :)

Why not go with the best. Planet X...support semi local and get a killer frame cheap. With the money you are willing to pay you could build a sweet bike. To be honest, with the options you have (identi comes to mind too) I wouldn't even consider american frames.

BTW 1300pounds is a lot of money to me too ;)...you should be able to build up a really good bike for that cost.

Mael, what sort of bike would you build for dirt jumping if i gave you £1300?

I never really took much notice of Planet X frames, didnt realise they were that good, ill have a good look though.

What lvl drivetrain would you go for aswell?

One more thing, have you heard of the disc brakes Diatech Anchors? Ive been told they are the best set of Budget hydro disc brakes around, although im very hapy with the magura Julies on my hardrock, Im wandering whether i should try something different

OK guys, so i was thinking last night, and i thoght, seeing as there is a minimal amount of dirt jumps in my area, and i usually do any kind of riding, i thought i may aswell spend all this money on a bike im going to use on anything, so ive changed my mind, i know need a frame that will be capable of doing, abit of trials, abit of dirtjumping, but still light enough to do some XC, i also want one that is capable of freeride aswell..

I took maels Advice and looked at planet X bikes, I LOVE THE PAINT SCHEMES!

I was looking at the Jack Flash, which is described as having 'Variable Geometry' so it will do anything, this would be the ideal frame for me, but it means i would have to pay a little bit more than i wanted to for a frame (£350) only wanted to spend a max of £300 and then spend the rest on bits for it.

The other planet X frame i was looking at was the Armadillo, by planet X, this is ovr £100 out of my frameset price limit, so atm it is the Jak Flash, as this seems to fit my needs perfectly.

As for identiti Frames, had a quick look, liked the Dr Jekyll Frame, and i really liked the Mr Hyde frame, the Mr hyde seems to have similar ideas to the Jack Flash, built with Average geometry to fit any type of riding, these sort of frame are the frames i am looking at now, can anybody suggest any other ones for me to look at?

If you wanna save some money on the drivetrain, and get the nod from trialsers in your area, get a cheap road der. like the shimano sora. Then lock it out, and you're set. One other place to save some money (depending on prices in your area) is cranks - the truvativ hussefelt is a cheap crank that holds up to abuse quite well. Not the lightest ever, but meh - light + strong = expensive

As for the jack flash - great frame, I just sold my old one to a friend (who pulled the trialsy parts off and put on a z1). Also, check out the ghost - PX's latest and greatest playbike frame.

Thx for the help Mael and Jeremy - I have to say, i was hoping for a few more people to answer my question. Te last 2 threads ive posted asking questions there has been a minimal response.

Ive taken onboard the advice, and will keep a close eye open for a frame that will suit everything that i want.... What do youthink of the azonic DS1 Evolution II?

I looked at the ghost, and it looks great, it said that the frame was designed around a 400mm fork? Is that right? Because if it is its not the sort of frame that i want, looking for a single crown fork..

hmm...right you are about the ghost - for some reason I thought it was more like a jack flash with shorter chainstays. The azonic isn't a bad frame, definitely cheaper than PX, but most likely won't be as durable (more dent resistant, but they aren't known to be uber strong.) As far as getting more responses, you might try a more DJ/urban forum (I think ridemonkey has one).

hey i would use a 24 bikes le toy o4 frame. (black ;) )
they are pretty nice. im also looking to get a dirt jump/urban/trials bike and this is what i would get.
and i would also put a sherman firefly fork. they are pretty sweet. :eek:

I really like that On-One DJ/Trials frame. I dont know if its SS only though.

Nice frame, but WAYYYY overkill and overweight and over priced for a nice trials...amazing bikes...but they are built to go huge...not hoppy hoppy :)

Grrrrrr, dunno what to do, I was thinking, and it seems my income isnt gonna be quite as much as i thought, so i want to pay about £1000, but i dont know whether to buy a bike, or build one, theres pros and cons in either situation...

If i buy a bike, i wot get the components i want, but i will probably pay less

If i build one, it will cost more, but will have the parts on that i want....

The Craftworks Rail is an awesome bike. My friend (Hopper - he also posts here) rode one and said it was perfect on dirt jumps but is also good on DH and XC trails. I also have a Craftworks and they're awesome bikes. I would seriously think about getting one, their website is www.craftworkscycles.com and the Rail can be bought as a frame only, as you said you wanted.

Wha... ya talkin' 'bout me again :)

The build of the Rail has a nice set of rims, the tyres are pretty dodge and it is built up with SRAM X& I think. The trigger shifters are pretty cool but take a while to get used to.

The bike seems to be able to level itself out pretty well in the air and is really easy to push the front into landings or back if need be. My friend (who owns the bike) thinks the back is a bit heavy, but he is used to a Bighit DH, with heavy front and suspension kicking the back up. But I think it is really predictable on take off, flight and landing.