Giant NRS team.
The undecided question in mountain biking is always what to get next? Well this time I decided that i wanted to buy the best that I could afford and something that suited my smaller size (height that is). It's a tough choice, there is so much to choose from that it becomes bewildering, months and months spent buying What Mountain Bike and MBR helped in some ways but caused confusion on certain subjects. I decided to build a bike instead of just buying one and my first port of call was Wiggle, the internet bike shop. I have to say I have dealt alot with them over the past 4 years biking and have found them to be superb.
The Bones
I bought the Giant NRS Team Frame as its a great bike for an allday ride, its a great climber with having the no resonance back end and very light and agile for quick decents with a bit of suspension to cushion the bumps. also it was on special for £499
The Forks
Being a poser I had to get some bling on it and i went for the Pace RC38 LT Darks, these give you 100mm of travel, they are as light as a fart and look the dogs.
The Transmission
I have come to the conclusion that you either love Shimano or hate them, but in my case i love them to bits, everything works great and never lets you down, hence I went with new XTR throughout including the new shifters and combined hydraulic brake system.Bling bling!
Wheels
I already had some Mavic Crossmax from my last bike so I've transferred them over and again its a case of you can't go wrong.
Finishing kit
I went for the best i could afford and ended up with Easton monkeylites and Carbon seatpost, Cris King headset, and a good WTB Rocket saddle.
The parts all arrived promptly and I got them down to the local bike shop in Newcastle called Steeles Cycles, 2 days later and wham bam thank you mam, the bike was ready to pick up.
A favourite saying in our little group is "I luv me bike" and undoubtedly I was in love with my new bike. I've had the bike about a year now and I've been to many different places on it. This is not a freeride bike by any means, you can jump it and blast singletrack with it, but don't expect to be northshore jumping with it as its not built for the really rough stuff, which is great as I ain't got the skill to do that anyway.
What you do get is one of the lightest and most efficient full suspension cross country bikes available with immense mile eating capability. Its a bike for those that love their hardtail but want to move onto something a bit plusher. The NRS system is tried and tested and really works well, in hindsight I might have stayed with an 80mm fork as the 100 does make the front end stand up a bit, but when riding it doesn't seem to mess with the geometry too much.
XTR!
Much has been said about the new XTR kit with regards to brake pad wear and stopping ability and even having ago about the shifters. I changed the pads to the sintered type as against the resin and there still in there after a year. They don't squeal, they have great modulation and more importantly, they don't rub against the caliper. They are easy to shim with the horseshoe type shims, and are as good as any other brake on the market. The shifters might not suit everyone, but i have adapted quickly to them and would not change back as its become second nature, the shifts are sweet and I haven't missed a gear change for a long time now. My only criticism is I wouldn't like to replace one if i hit something.
Forxing Forks: "Ah Pace forks are the best you can get" someone told me. What a load of bollo.... Totally not impressed with these. They cost £519 and to be honest i've had better £170 forks. Why i hear you ask? Well 1st off you have to strip and clean them every 25 hours. 2nd, they have been back to Pace TWICE for the same problem which is one of the air chambers leaks. Each time you have to remove them and send them to pace at the cost of £15 to get it sorted and they come back and work for 2 minutes. Can't complain about the service but you can imagine spending £500. You want them to be perfect, wish I'd bought the Fox ones now.
Overall
I luv my bike, it handles sweetly and climbs like a goat, I can still ride the technical rocky stuff and still do jumps, i spent around £2300 in total but when you look at the bike and the spec you aint gonna get much better for your money than what I put together. Forgot to mention, it weighs in at 22lbs.
