Instead of making a bunch of "what do you all think of this..." posts, I'm going to post the bike I'm building and open it up to comments anyone would care to make.
My goal is have a good quality hardtail for general trail riding and racing. I raced mountain bikes in the Norba Sport class about 8 years ago but haven't spent much time on dirt since then. I raced triathlons for a bit but haven't raced anything in over 6 years. Needless to say, I've put on quite a bit of weight and have no cycling shape to speak of. I run 4-5 days a week but no cycling.
I'm intending on racing some or all of the Georgia Mountain Bike Series next year but I know it will be a long climb (pun intended) back into race shape. I don't want to spend a fortune on my first bike in 8 years but I don't want a junker that will be trashed after a season, either. With that, here are the components I've chosen and my reasoning:
Frame - I picked a Fetish Discipline hardtail that I bought on ebay for $100. It's basically an overseas, mass produced aluminum frame that's been shipped here and painted by Fetish Cycles. Eventually, if I stick with it, I'm hoping to upgrade to a better aluminum frame but for now, this one will work.
Fork - Marzocchi MX Comp Coil: Found a GREAT deal on one. Could go with the ETA version for more travel but it's way too long for the frame and since my last fork had 50mm of travel and worked fine, I'd say 85 is plenty.
Wheels - Mavic 517 with Shimano XT hubs and Maxxis 1.95 tires (not sure of the model)
Drivetrain - Full Shimano XT 9speed (M750). Didn't feel it was worth the price to go with the M760, which is the combo crank/bottom bracket setup.
Brakes - Avid Mechanical 160mm disk with Shimano XT levers
Stem, Seatpost, handlebar, headset - Ritchey Pro
Saddle, pedals - Undecided. Will use my old ones until I decide.
Any comments would be appreciated. I can build this whole thing for about $1350. Looking at a new Trek, it would cost me $1800 to get an LX/XT bike with a lot of Bontrager stuff on it so I think I'm getting a much better bike (all XT), frame not withstanding, of course, for over $400 less.