Gravity Point 3 Frame and Fork

Recently I purchased a frame and fork from http://bikeisland.com. I never built up a bike before although have done most of the tuning and etc on my other bikes myself. I have a number of bikes already but, after reading about 29ers and all the debates going back and forth between 26ers and 29ers I wanted to check it out for myself. I have been riding a Motobecane fantom trail for a couple of years and love the bike However, I still wanted to experience the 700c/29er on a mountain bike. I have wanted a full suspension bike but really do not ride on a lot of trails that require it.

To begin my 29er build. I decided on the gravity point 3 with the tora fork.I could have spent more to get the recon fork with the same frame but, found that the recon basically replaced the Tora fork and was a hundred bucks less plus you could purchase the motion control for the tora and make it a better then the Recon. My Fantom dart 3 shocks were probably the crappiest part on that bike with the 28mm stanchions you can actually feel the lateral flex; someday I might upgrade that fork. I have a feeling I may be riding the 29er more.

Some of the components and parts I already had on the fantom trail. I had to purchase the wheelset and Hydraulic brakes. I purchased the Shimano Deore 565 wheelset from http://blueskycycling.com and got the Hayes stroker brakes from http://pricepoint.com. I already had the tubes and tires, Crankset, 9speed SRAM cassette, ritchey stem and handle bars, ODI grips, deore shifters and the slx rear derailler. I did buy a WTB seat, pedals and Giant coated shifter cables at Bluesky also.

I took the Gravity out on its maiden voyage this weekend and was immediately impressed. This bike was not as squirrelly as the 26er I guess that is why they say the 26er has a more lively riding characteristic. The 29er seems to roll and climb better which I would guess has something to do with a longer wheelbase of the 29er. I did notice that the larger front wheel wanted to act like a plow when turning sharply which I never experienced on the 26er of course some could be due to the type of tires I have on the 29er CST Critter which are probably the cheapest tires you can purchase. The Tora shock is miles above the Dart 3 shock and smooths out the bumps well.

I weighed the 29er when I got back and found that it was around 31 pounds which is not too bad considering the components.

Tora around 5 lbs
Wheelset around 5 lbs
Frame close to 5 lbs
That leaves around 16 lbs for everything else. Not too bad unless you are a weight weenie.