Blog: 2.6.15 Rcycld.com’s 26" Enduro Bike

Posted on 6 Feb 19:11

Blog Post: Rcycld.com’s 26" Enduro Bike

Summary:

Check out our current enduro bike build. Listed below is the bike’s specification list, some notes on our thought process, and photos. We have also included a handful of links we feel are great deals right now on used, closeout and new product.

Overall this bike is built for fun. We love new and used mountain bikes. We love 29” wheels, 27.5” wheels, and 26” wheels. We think all the wheel sizes have their place in the market and on the trails. We feel 26” wheels offer a high degree of value in the market and the fun/cost ratio is currently of the chart!

This build came in at just over 32 pounds. If we built up a carbon fiber bike with carbon wheels and top of the line parts we could certainly lose a significant amount of weight. We definitely  understand why the serious racer would want to do that. If the bike lost 4lbs or more that is over 10% of the total weight, but losing 10% of the weight would add 300% to the cost. This bike hits the sweet spot for fun!

Spec & Notes

Frame: Intense Tracer VP 6.5/5.5 travel 26”

We have always liked Santa Cruz Bicycles’ and Intense Cycles’ virtual pivot platform

It delivers a unique plush feel, climbs well, and seems to unload forward.

(we run ours in the 6.5” travel setting)

27.5” wheels may have captured the racer’s and the industry’s heart, but we think there is still allot of value to be found in 26” wheels. 26” wheels are the wheel size of fun!

We have sold a good number of used VPP style bikes:

rcycld.com facebook photo album

We have a great deal right now on a Santa Cruz Blur LTc with VPP suspension:

http://recycledmountainracing.com/products/2010-santa-cruz-blur-ltc-frame-140mm-medium-carbon-trail-enduro

Rear Shock: Fox DHX 5 Air

(we run the Propedal platform all the time- switch pointed up)

We like air suspension for enduro riding. We feel the weight savings trumps the supplness and durability of coil shocks

Fork: Fox Float 36 RLC fit -

We have always loved Fox’s suspension forks and shocks. We have noticed the FIT models sliders seem to get less oil so we try to get ours oiled before each ride. The FIT cartridge does make the fork lighter.

(RLC is unusual for the 36 fork, but we like the lockout and use it on the climbs)

Headset: Chris King 1.5” to tapered

has oversized bearings on bottom and top

Stem: 45mm stem (unknown manufacturer)

we like this stem because it has a really low stack height and looks like a direct mount stem

Handlebars: Spank Royala 762mm

(running bars uncut, love the gold finish on these bars)

http://recycledmountainracing.com/collections/spank-closeouts

Brakes: M615 Shimano Deore

best value in hydro disc brakes

we have upgraded our brakes to Ice Tech pads. We think this is a nice upgrade to get top of the line tech in value pricing.

http://recycledmountainracing.com/products/shimano-m615-deore-hydro-disc-brakeset-pair-xc-trail-enduro

Rotors: Shimano Ice tech 203mm front / 180mm rear

Steel rotors with alloy core - work great reasonable weight.

Shifter: Shimano Zee 10-Speed

solid and a good value

Seatpost: RockShox Reverb 125mm travel w/ left hand remote

We love dropper posts. We run full extension for climbs, 100mm drop for descents

Crankset: Shimano M760 XT 175mm Hollowtech 2

This was one of the first mass produced extrenal bearing cranksets. First released in 2004! This one has been few sets of bearings but it is still going strong!

Cassette: Shimano SLX 11-36

We think the SLX cassette is a solid performer at a reasonable price. We like the increase range over 11-32 and 11-34 clusters. We will be upgrading this soon to an even wider range cassette, review coming soon. We are excited about Tickstuff’s 11-41T Shimano compatible cassette

http://recycledmountainracing.com/products/trickstuff-4111-cassette-11-41-10spd-shimano-freehub-wide-range-xc-trail-enduro

Chainring: RaceFace 34T Narrow-wide chainring

A narrow-wide chainring is probably the single best upgrade you can make to most all-mountain, trail, and enduro bikes. We love the simplicity of the 1x style drivetrain. We feel this works so well we wonder why anyone would run anything else. If you don’t know what narrow-wide is, all you need to know is it is a tooth profile that makes your chain stick to the ring like glue. This surprised us how well it works we decided to give up the chain guide even with our frame having ISCG5 mounts. We are working right now to bring in more brands to offer more options here.

Pedals: CrankBrother’s Candy.

We have always been a fan of Crank Brother’s pedal design and low profile cleat. This is the chromoly spindle version and we think it is a good value. We have a gold finished spring because we love gold! (see handlebars)

Front Tire: Specialized Butcher SX 26” x 2.5” folding

“The Butcher” form specialized is our favorite front tire tread pattern right now. The “SX” version is a lighter folding casing. Tires have a large impact on the feel of your bike’s ride, choose wisely.

Rear Tire: Continental MountainKing UST 26” x 2.4” folding

We are currently running this tire tubed but have good luck running it tubeless also. Continental is one of our favorite tire brands and MountainKing makes a great rear.

We usually have some deals on these tires:

http://recycledmountainracing.com/collections/vendors?q=Continental

Wheelset: Stan’s NoTubes Flow EX wheelset 26” 20mm/135mm

The Flow EX is our favorite enduro rim rim right now and we know we are not the only ones who feel that way given the high number of bikes specced with this rim this year (2015). We also think that it’s cool that the wheels and rims are offered in all three major wheel sizes.

http://recycledmountainracing.com/collections/vendors?q=Stan%27s%20NoTubes

 

 

Thanks for checking out our build - Let us know if you have any question:

info@recycledmountainracing.com

For more photos check out our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/recycledmountainracing

Need some guidance for your own build?

http://recycledmountainracing.com/pages/guide-1-component-compatibility