Assembling a downhill bicycle
 

Hello

I cycle for about 20 years always on the road. Now I am being assaulted by the Downhill idea and I am already shivering of the pocket pain I will feel after paying for a quality DH bicycle. Beside that I do not know what is a good bicycle for the price and what are good DH components. So, I decided to assemble my own bicycle as I have done previously and I apply to the experts to make a list of componentes to assemble my DH bicycle starting by frame, continuing by hubs, rims, cranks, drive train, etc and etc.

Thanks

Im not an expert at DH everything else, but I think a crank with a bash/rock guard would be great to have:)

i am pretty sure its gona be cheaper if you bought the bike instead of trying to assemble one.

Yep. I agree. It will cost alot more. Damn fun building your own bike though and you'll get what you want anyway. Ebay, pricepoint and Greenfishsports are the best sources I've found for good component prices.

Most out of the box dh bikes skimp on parts. I believe with good shopping you could build a dh bike for a decent price.

as DBD said, true downhill or freeride? I have a steelhead and road it on all the downhills this season in the southern collegiate conference and it worked. They aren't exactly pro level though. So that leads me to ask hardtail or full suspension?

Thank you very much for your answers

I have a hardtail mountain bicycle but I suppose that I have done what is called cross-country. Detailing I have been traveling on dirt paths, some times very windy downhill and very steep up hill, not major chalanges like riding over rocks, jumping or other "stunt". So here I am consulting again the experts what is pure dh or freeride? can you get me links to the 2 types of bicycle?
About the amount of money I am willing to spend is about $4000 and I am aiming to double suspension, electronic shock absorbers, very steep descends, all sorts of difficult gound and climbing a little if needed.

Thanks

DH bike: http://www.konaworld.com/shopping_ca...8&parentid=253

Freeride bike:
http://www.konaworld.com/shopping_ca...1&parentid=253

Thanks KR24

I have made my mind, DH will be. So, what components should I look for?

Race Face Diablous line is good for DH and stuff like that. Marzocchi makes good DH froks, but Fox 40RC2 is generally the king of DH forks.

Have you ever ridden a true downhill bike? If not then I highly recommend trying one out before you dump a load of cash on building one. You may decide it is not the kind of bike for you, on the other hand you could decide it's the perfect bike for you. It's a good thing to know before hand though.

LowCel is right, and are you planning to pedal it up hills? Because that'll be a bit annoying... although you'll get an excellent workout. :p

LowCel

Answering to your very important question, I did try a DH bike once even jumping small half a meter walls. Interesting is the way I may describe the behaviour of the bicycle. Beside that I have some enduro motorcycle experience.

D. Chicken

Uphill ?!?!?! probably, but if I do not have any other possibility a man as to do what a man as to do! Most of the descends I know at same stage have a small climb in the middle.

thsnks for your questions

check out transitionbikes.com these guys make bombshell bikes for alot less than most companies, they are GREAT to deal with and are awesome guys in general. I own a dirtbag and I LOVE IT.

man if you're lookin for a budget of $4000, the Fox 40RC2 will be a little over a 1/4 of your budget

Orange and Cove make some wicked good bikes. Trek Sessions are built well and as are say a Specialized Demo. Find what cha like

http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/main/main.php

http://www.covebike.com/home.html

http://www.cycleshow.co.uk/g/logos/TrekSession.gif
Trek Session 10

http://www.81496.com/jouhou/2005/spe...e/demo9fra.jpg
Specialized Demo 9

Yeah if you like to send a cracked fork back to fox after every 6 months.... Marzocchi is the sh@t, get a 66rcx2 or 888rcx2, you wont be dissatisfied...

The Trek Session 10 comes with SRAM X.0 and Bontrager Big Earl which is pretty solid stuff. Also comes with new Manitou lines which are Travis fork and Revox rear shock, supposed to be solid as well.

The Specialized Demo 9 comes with Shimano XT, and some Hayes, and some Truvativ, and a Marzocchi 888RC

actually according to most people on ridemonkey and pinkbike, they much prefer the demo 8. i do too.

Okay, I think that I may have hit the nail on the head with this one. If you will be climbing at all then a pure DH bike wont really work. They just cannot be pedaled uphill. But, check this bike out. It's my current dream bike, and I think that you guys will see why. 33 pounds and 6 inches of travel. Reveiws say that it pedals very well. And it's beefy enough to handle DH.

http://www.konaworld.com/shopping_ca...5&parentid=253

There are two bike reveiws off to the right side of the picture. The fork on that is the FOX RC40's little brother. This is a freeride bike, but it can still be pedaled. Imagine that!

peace
harris

Thanks everyone for their suggestions.

I forgot to say a very important detail. I am a small fellow, 1.63 m and 54 kg. the frame size that suits me are 15 and 16 and of course, some one like me in a descende is going to be more time in the air, hands on the bar, rather on the saddle :p .
I start making my mind on components, and now, the controversial question:

is there any steel DH or freeride frames? (my preferences go on Reynolds 853 steel)

I've seen 2 snapped 888 rcx2's already. If your bs claim that fox's break after 6 months was even remotely true, then there are a bunch of them that are really over due then, including mine. The DH 40RC2's cracking problem was with only one batch of forks and in that batch, it was only like 20 instnaces, 20 does not equal all of them, and fox had that fixed way quicker than marzocchi would have, heck marzocchi would have blamed it on the rider and wouldn't honor the warranty.

every 6 months you say??!!?? having never tried one i'm taking your word, but the fox40 looks like a beast. appears to be much stronger than the 888, although i rode 888 once and i needed more than 1 tissue to clean myself up, to say the least.

Snake hunter

You have convinced me. A Transition DirtBag will be. It is a bicycle that fits in my definition of "what a bicycle should be". I intended to buid a bike more or less like this model. Beside that, according the descriptions, components, videos, simplicity and my limited 54 kg this machine seems to be tough and imune to all sort of agressive handling. Beside that, this is a secret among us, don't tell anyone, is Israel it costs 6300 New Shekels in USD for today 1443 :p !

http://www.x-rates.com/d/ILS/table.html