[Arsbars]

As seen on my "Wheelset" post, I'm building up a XC race bike. Prolly getting XT/XTR group.. and I have a Orbea Lanza Hardtail. The rest I'm lost on other than hb's (monkey lite carbon) and seatpost (thomson)

Thanks monkies!

 

[blue]

Tires-Whatever floats your boat I suppose, as long as they're not too heavy. I wouldn't go over 2.1s. Most popular I've seen with racers are the Hutchinson Pythons and Scorpions, but I've also seen plenty of FireXCs.

Pedals-Once more, personal preference. I run Time ATACs, but Crank Bros egg beaters and Shimano M959s are popular.

Saddle-Whatevers comfy for you to ride on for as long as 2 hours, as long as its not heavy again. Depending on what you race (Marathon, short track, etc) you may want to change that.

Fork-This one depends on how much you weigh and how you like your fork to feel. If you don't mind, in my opinion, to feel like you're riding on a pair of shock absorbing toothpicks up front, go with the RS SID. Slightly more heavy, but stronger and stiffer feeling is the Manitou Skareb, which weighs a little more, or even a Manitou Minute/Black. If you get the right manitou, you can get SPV which will help you out a lot. Theres the Fox forks (F80, blah blah...) that cost an arm and a leg for, and that I don't have experience with. They're expensive. And damn good. If you can afford one, I'd get one. Marzo doesn't have much by way of XC stuff thats light enough except the Marathon SL, cushy ride, doesn't break. On any fork, I'd advise getting one with lockout or SPV.

On any of those components, if you've got the dough, its pretty much all about preference. You'll sacrifice some qualities for weight if you want to, or vice versa, its just how you like it. Testing stuff, demoing, and riding your friends bikes is probably the best way to find out what you want.


Oh yeah, one last thing-Don't get Shimano, buy SRAM

Cept the cranks...XT cranks...

 

[JMAC]

Well my personal specs are:

Custom made Ti hardtail from my sponsor cycles dussault
Fox Float 80 RLT
Cane Creeke S2 headset i think
FSA xc120 stem
Custom Ti handlebar
Sram X.0 shifters and rear mech
Shimano XT front mech
XTR chain
FSA Platinum pro Ti BB
FSA Afterburner crankset
Time atac pedals
Cane Creek Team Ti zonos wheelset
Sram PG 950 road cassetes 12-26
FSA seat and seatpost
Avid single digit Ti brakes
It all weighs just over 20#

 

[Babar]

RM Vertex team sc
Buncha XO, Easton, FSA, Ritchey and Thompson crap.
Ummm Shimano Dura Ace 12-27 Casette and Ti granny and RF AL, mid and outer chainring.
Kona Project 2 rigid fork.
Some Al and Ti bolt tuning...
Weight comes at 18.9 lb