Newbie here: Bit of 29er Advice please!

[DazzR81]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post, so please be nice!

I've just bought a second-hand Voodoo Marasa 29er frame (not sure on the year, but I think it's 2012). The plan is to do a custom build, as a long-term project to give me something to do. I was diagnosed with a form of Leukaemia in Dec 2013, so like to keep busy, without too much stress(!) The plan is to use the finished bike to do short 2-5-mile commuter-type rides around London Town, to save myself some money on transport.

I'm new to bike building, but think I know most of the terms, and have a fair idea of what I want!

My first questions are;

I need to buy some forks... I was looking at some retro Kona P2's, but they are hard to come by, even on ebay. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! The other question I have, is what size forks to get - I'm a bit bewildered by the choice of axle-crown measurements on some models! I will need a steerer tube of at least 200mm, as the head tube itself is 150mm. I will also need to have disc mounts as the frame is disc-only on the rear and I want to keep it consistent.

Related to the above, does anyone have any recommendations for headset & stem's? I will need a fairly upright riding position, as I tend to get a bit of back ache quite easily.

Lastly, any recommendations on rims/hubs/wheelsets? I've heard that Mavic rims on Shimano hubs are quite a good combo, but I would like to research other options.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of other questions as I get going, but right now I just want to get to a point where I've decided the crucial major components before I start looking at gearing & brakes.

Sorry for the essay, and thanks in advance for your help!


Darren

 

[Mrs M]

Hello
Sorry can't give you any "technical" advice but good luck and

 

[lpretro1]

Well from what I can see on the bike spec it is a standard 11/8th" headset so you need a fork with that width of steerer. A new fork comes uncut so should have the length you need. the wheel size is 700c so the fork need to fit that and you need it with disk mounts. You will need a crown race setter to fit the crown race on the frok and a headset press to fit the headset. The choice of headset will be determined by the frame - according to the spec it should be a semi-integrated one so you will need to measure the diameter of the steerer tube and get the right size of cups to suit. Sounds like you need a stem with a good rise on it - again 1 1/8th" from what I can see.
Choice of wheels depends on what you want to spend. Mavic rims on Shimano hubs are pretty bombproof - so all you need to check is the dropout width - some hybrids have 130mm rear drop out and some have 135mm. 700c size wheel of course

 

[DazzR81]

Well from what I can see on the bike spec it is a standard 11/8th" headset so you need a fork with that width of steerer. A new fork comes uncut so should have the length you need. the wheel size is 700c so the fork need to fit that and you need it with disk mounts. You will need a crown race setter to fit the crown race on the frok and a headset press to fit the headset. The choice of headset will be determined by the frame - according to the spec it should be a semi-integrated one so you will need to measure the diameter of the steerer tube and get the right size of cups to suit. Sounds like you need a stem with a good rise on it - again 1 1/8th" from what I can see.
Choice of wheels depends on what you want to spend. Mavic rims on Shimano hubs are pretty bombproof - so all you need to check is the dropout width - some hybrids have 130mm rear drop out and some have 135mm. 700c size wheel of course

Thanks for the reply! Useful info - I couldn't find anything online regarding the specs, so thank you. I'll keep this post updated as I work through it.