Building Dan a 29er
My sons and I went to the 2007 Veloswap in Denver (as we have for the past
several years). I took $300.00 with me and in the back of my mind was thinking
I just *might* be able to pick up a 29er for that much because I've always wanted
to try one but foremost because, yesterday I ran into Neil (biking coheart) with his new
29er which of course he loves and that really got me thinking about 'em. After
looking everything over for around 3 hours we discovered that we hadn't bought
anything of real interest because we didn't really need anything this year and
there weren't any built 29er's within my budget. We were getting ready to leave
when the recollection of a plethora of 29er parts all over Veloswap popped into my
head. After a bit of discussion, we decided to see if we could cobble together
the necessary
bits and peices to put together a 29er for me. NOW we were having fun!
Found a 2006 Gary Fisher X-Caliber frame and talked the seller down to $100.00,
found a 29 inch wheel set and talked that seller down to $50.00, found a
Marzocchi fork and Bontrager crankset...talked that seller down to $100.00 for
both, then went skipping up and down the vendor tables looking for anything else
that could be used to build this bike with my last $50.00.
Finally, after gathering the needed parts from ebay and from spares at home the
bike is complete...and for under $500.00.
$100.00 Frame (Veloswap)
$ 50.00 Wheelset (Veloswap)
$ 20.00 Cassette (Friend)
$ 50.00 BB5 Brakes (Ebay)
$ 1.00 Seat Post (Veloswap)
$100.00 Crankset + Fork (Veloswap)
$ 65.00 Steer tube (Marzocchi USA, original one too short!)
$ 25.00 Tires (Ebay)
$ 5.00 Tubes (Pricepoint)
$ 15.00 Headset (Ebay)
$ 35.00 XT Derailleur (Ebay)
$ 28.00 Shifter pods (Ebay)
$494.00 Total
Cables, seat, chain, handlebar, front derailleur other incedentials were all
found in the spare parts boxes in the garage.
