MTB 1x 9 drive train

Basics - Gravity crank set mega exo bb black spire stinger 29er specific cassette race face 36 tooth chain ring slx rear derailleur. 

Recently I purchased a frame an fork from bikeisland and so far have been very happy with it. I have made changes since I originally purchased it by adding a 60mm truvativ hussefelt stem, easton xc 70 685mm bar, removed the front derailleur and shifter, converted my gravity 2 speed crank to single speed, continental MKII 2.4 tires and then added a black spire stinger chain guide. I did this after many rides dialing in the bike on flat single track, fast and flowy single track and downhill rides locally and in surrounding areas.

The two biggest and best additions I have found for me is the 2.4 front and rear tire which makes the hard tail less hard and provides more contact and grip, the other was the 60 mm stem. The shorter stem took some getting used to which I did not think would happen; not only is it more comfortable placing you in a more upright position and body weight more balanced on the bike but, it really changes the handling. The steering response is quicker and more precise too. 

The other two items that made some significant improvement where the replacement of the Tora shock. Although I really liked the fork, for it to work appropriately it would have required a spring change for my weight. So I sold it for a fair price on ebay and purchased a new recon to replace it. What I really liked about the recon is the air adjust-ability. The other item was an add-on which I purchased used on Ebay. A chain guide. Sure it might not be considered a performance improvement it really is! No more chain slap which always made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and, also no more chain jump!

1992 trek multitrack

This bike is unbelievably heavy. Old school chromoly american made frame. Smooth as butter and after over twenty years still shifts and rides extremely nice. On this day I rode nearly 40 miles and just enjoyed myself.

Gravity point 29er

I know this is not the drive side, which everyone says should be pictured however I wanted to show off my red disc rotors lol. This was taken before I changed out the front tora shock, the conti 2.2 MKII rear tire and the easton vice stem. I was riding some local single track and stopped to take a break in some sparse shade. I also replaced the kalin seat post for an easton offset ea70 seat post. 

Normally for my mountain bikes I purchase kenda. I think kenda makes some really great off road tires. For my road bikes I have purchased nothing but conti's. I decided after much back and forth between conti and other brands and finally settled for conti MKII tires front and rear. I will say I have been really impressed with them. The  version I purchased are not the black chili nor protection series but, have plenty of grip. One thing to note they do not have transition knobs so if you are used to having transition knobs beware these feel like they are going to wash out but, immediately grab and dig in plus they roll unbelievably smooth despite the large void between the lugs. Depending on where I ride it is made up of loose over hard pack, hard pack, sand and rocks and these tires have done a very good job for me.

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.

Track Frame Geometry Comparison

Advertised Track frames	Seat Tube Length Ctr-Ctr	level top tube Length	chainstay	BB drop	fork offset	head tube angle	seat tube angle	ctr to ctr wheel base	stand over
Mercier kilo tt	53	54.8	401	60	28	73	74	974	800
Bianchi Pista	53	53.5	380		28	74	76	947	774.7
Fuji Classic	52	54	408	58	4.5	72.5	74	972.9	755.6
KHS Flite 100	52.5	56.5	401	62	37.5	73	74	974	800
Soma the Rush	53	53.6	388			74	75.3	953	787.4
Pake Rum runner	53	54	388	58		74	75.3	955	787.4
Swobo Sanchez	51	53.5	400		43	73	75	973	762
Masi Fixed Uno	53	54.5	402	70	45	73	73.5	969	760
Surly Steamroller	53	54.7	398	70	38	73	74	966.6	780.5
Raliegh Rush hour	53	53.5		58	45	73.5	75	975	780
Tommaso Augusta/Ninja Pro/BAMF assassin	53.2	53.7	390			74	75

Kilo TT Stripper Preview

I really like this bike! the ride is quite amazing and the geo is perfect for my style of riding. I have it set up single speed using white industries 16 Tooth freewheel matched up to the stock truvativ 48 Tooth chainring/crank which gives me about a 81 gear inch which I really like. In stock trim this is a fine machine.

I decided to move over some parts from my other bikes to this one. Brooks b17, Origin8 17degree stem, transx bullhorns and then added new vuelta xrp pro wheel set, all rolling on conti gatorskins.

I commute to work, ride the bike paths and use this as an exercise machine. I was in the elevator the other day and this dude says to me shaking his head nobody wants gears anymore....I replied back shaking my head you will never understand until you commit.

I troll the cycling forums and it never ceases to amaze me how passionate some folks are about their opinions from top to bottom in regards to online versus LBS bike purchases. You have people asking for opinions and those who are more than willing giving out theirs.

I can tell you first hand; the phat cycles phixie at 4 bills (that I purchased from the LBS) has no comparison to the kilo tt stripper for under 4 bills both in bone stock trim.

IMO the kilo tt is even sweeter after some personal touches. I don't care what anyone says.

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Detel Bikes Marathon 2000

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