SANTA CRUZ TR CARBON
Here's what the customer has to say... "I test rode both the TRc and the Yeti ASR5 and it was a close run choice between the two. The Santa Cruz just won me over with a combination of the ride feel, appearance, and legendary frame and pivot reliability. Although I knew roughly what equipment I wanted, the staff guided me through their excellent Custom Build Bike Packages making some tweaks along the way to best suit the TRc and my riding style. The results you can see for yourself."
We have our demo bike setup with the DT Swiss XMM120mm Twinshot Fork and have fitted the same model to this bike. Santa Cruz suggest fork travel between 120-150mm but we have found it rides superbly with a nimble character at 120mm. The Build Kit is our full XTR transmission with a double 26/38t chainset and Trail Brakes, Hope Pro2/EVO hubs in custom silver colour and Crest rims running Stans tubeless system. We had just taken delivery of 8 different coloured Shimano gear outer cables so fitted a matching green set.
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SANTA CRUZ TALLBOY CARBON
"A Tallboy to stand out in the crowd." All the staff agree that this is one of the nicest looking bikes we've had the pleasure to build. The customer test rode our alloy framed demo bike and knew the orange carbon frame was the one to have. Using our XTR 29r Build Kit as a basis we added a custom built wheelset of Chris King hubs on Stans 29r Crest rims. The fork is a DT Swiss XMM120 Twinshot which has 200 hour service intervals. The customer added his Joplin seatpost to allow complete adapability to riding a mix of terrain. The bike weighs approx 26lbs.
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YETI DIRTJUMP
Staff member Dan built up this dirtjump bike with a mix of durable components for thrashing the bike down the jump gulley and hooning around the local pump tracks. He got a little crazy with the colourscheme and thanks to Hope they made a unique set of customised Tech X2 brakes. Hope had just launched their single chainrings so Dan installed that with an e13 single ring guide. The customising continues with Goodridge white braided brake hoses to increase stopping power.
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YETI SB-66 lime
The latest SuperBike from Yeti... SB-66! Only launched in July and already winning accolades "the 66" has been highly sought after. This is presently one of very few Lime frames in the UK which we built up with our XT Build Kit for a customer from Kent. XT is now available in either silver or black (chosen here) and is just another option we can give you to "customise" your build kit. In this instance we let the frame colour do the talking and left everything else subtle. A 2012 Fox 32 Float 150mm fork complements the 160mm rear SWITCH suspension, which you can learn all about on the Yeti website, or ride our Demo Bike.
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YETI SB-66 turquoise
Another SB-66 this time in Yeti's classic turquoise. Our XT Build Kit again makes an appearance, in silver for a change. The build is a little more heavier duty trail friendly than the lime one above; with chunkier High Roller tires, a Blackspire Stinger chain device which is bottom bracket mounted as Yeti had not yet released their aftermarket removable ISCG mounts, and Easton Havoc bar, stem and seatpost to complement the tough look. The customer opted for a 2012 Fox 36 Talas 160mm fork to enable the front end to be lowered for climbing, which it is very good at.
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NINER EMD9
A simple classic, the EMD9 (eat my dust) is the least expensive frame in the Niner lineup at under £450 but it has all the Niner hallmarks of the higher end models. The customer wanted a good quality hardtail that was different to the norm and not just an out of the box bike. So using our 29r SLX Build Kit with the Rockshox Recon Gold 100mm fork we added a factory built custom coloured red Hope Hoops Pro2/EVO wheelset on Stans Crest rims. The frame colour is Moondust Grey and has a lovely finish. The fast rolling Maxxis Ardent tires have afforded plenty of grip with their larger contact patch then a 26" wheeled bike.
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SANTA CRUZ BLUR LT CARBON
An eye-catching combination of green with subtle red detailing makes this Blur LT carbon a real beauty. Utilising an XT/XTR mix, Chris King headset, Fox Float 150mm fork, and the custom coloured Hope wheelset with Stans Flow rims. The customer wanted a durable and reliable "one bike does it all" to see him through years of trouble free riding whilst on secondment in the Far East.
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SANTA CRUZ NOMAD CARBON
The Santa Cruz Nomad carbon frame is a thing of beauty; it has smooth and flowing lines which blend seemlessly at every tube junction, mated with a matt white and black finish the Nomad is as stylish as they come. This custom build has been lavished upon by it's owner, aided by our product recommendations and attention to detail, this is the ultimate dream trail bike.
The Fox 36 Talas 180mm fork is buttery smooth and exceptionally strong to handle the rough terrain the Nomad is at home in coupled with a Fox DHX 5 Air at the rear. The transmission is the new XTR Dynasys 10 speed using the Trail double chainset (26/38t). Braking is again provided by XTR with the new Trail brakes. A neat touch are the shifters and brake levers mounted together on one unified handlebar mount (the I-SPEC system) making for a compact, neat installation. The brake levers are very short but provide stacks of one finger braking power. Keeping the chain in place is a Blackspire Dew Lite double chainguide. Finishing kit is Easton Haven bars, Thomson stem, the new DMR Vault pedals, and Rockshox Reverb dropper seatpost with a remote hydraulic push button control. We're expecting this post to be the new standard due to its smooth operation and cableless design.
The wheelset is custom built by ourselves around Chris King ISO Disc hubs (in gold no less) mated with Stans NoTubes Flow rims and gold nipples just to keep the colour scheme going. Maxxis High Roller tyres are run with the NoTubes system allowing low tyre pressures for plenty of grip, but no pinch flats.
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YETI AS-R 5 CARBON
The Yeti ASR 5 has been THE frame of choice for us in 2010. Many riders want full suspension but don’t want to be "overbiked" in terms of both suspension travel and bike weight. The ASR 5 fits the bill perfectly. Choose from either an alloy or carbon front triangle, both with a carbon swingarm. A range of frame colour options gives the rider freedom to personalise their bike as with this example. Subtle gold & silver colouring in the form of high quality and reliable componentry from Chris King (tapered headset and bottom bracket), Hope (hubs, skewer & Tech X2 brakes), FSA (double 20spd chainset), and Thomson stem. The remainder of the transmission is Shimano XT. The wheels are custom built by us on Stans NoTubes Flow rims and are setup with Stans Tubeless system using Schwalbe's new Pace Star compound Nobby Nic tyres. Up front is a Fox F120 RLC Fit fork with tapered steerer, QR15mm axle, and Kashima gold coated stanchions for reduced friction and greater durability.
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ORANGE ALPINE 160
This colourful 2011 Alpine 160 is not strictly a custom build, but it shows what upgrades you can apply via Orange's website. The customer rode our demo bike, which incidentally has the same colour scheme, and simply requested "Get me one the same as that!" And here’s the end result with a few more upgrades over the stock bike such as; the Cane Creek Double Barrel coil shock - a highly adjustable unit that is quite simply the best available, a Gamut Double chainguide, Hope Tapered Headset, the Freeride Pack including Sunline stem, handlebar and pedals. We installed some more upgrades during the PDI; a pair of Shimano Saint brakes and Crank Brothers Joplin dropper seatpost. The mainframe colour is Neon Green with rims to match, and the finishing touch… a special order white swingarm which nicely sets off the white Fox 36 Fork. The proud owner adds "I can't get over how well the Alpine rides & climbs."
Contact the shop to book a ride on our test bike and then customise your Alpine here.
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YETI 575
Do you want your bike to stand out from the crowd? This 575 looks the business in gloss turquoise/white with some subtle gold detailing courtesy of Hope. We worked with the customer to build a bike around a good durable specification that could take the hits but wasn't too hefty to climb back up the hills. All in the 575 weighed ~28lbs, great for a 5.75" travel bike, with a 150mm Fox Talas to keep the front end true. The rest of the kit is; XT transmission, Hope headset and bottom bracket, Hope Tech M4 brakes, Hope Pro2 Hubs/DT 4.2 rims, Maxxis Ignitor tyres, Easton carbon bars, Thomson seatpost and stem. The owner took the photos and had this to say: "Thanks for your help in getting this sorted out, much appreciated, I'm very pleased with it. Only managed a quick spin up our local farm track, but feels very nice, and surprisingly different from the demo bike. Brakes are amazing and not even bedded in yet."
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YETI AS-R CARBON
A no compromise lightweight race/enduro machine weighing under 22lbs. A 100mm Magura Durin Race fork keeps the weight down but with very good suspension action to complement the rear travel, the rest of the spec is XTR, Hope Mini X2 Pro brakes, DT Swiss 190 Ceramic Hubs/Stans ZTR Olympic Rims, Schwalbe Rocket Rons with Stans NoTubes, and Easton bars/stem. The owner says: "It's awesome, flys uphill as quick as going back down."
