Well, this is going down. I decided to fork out some of my own cash (~$1k) and now we are doing a custom build, 27.5 hardtail, susp. fork, 1x drivetrain.
Purchases have been made:
Ritchey p-650b 17" (new cyan/red color scheme)
Fox Float 32, 100mm
Reynolds MTN R27.5 XC wheels
Shimano XT 1x10, using a just the middle ring from a triple
XT brakes, 160mm rotors
Thomson Elite + some random saddle
All that's left to decide is tire and bar choice - arguably the two most important ones.
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste