So many big brands cut corners in all the wrong places. Building allows you to spend a little extra in the most important areas like drivetrain, brakes and fork while saving money in the less important areas like the finishing kit. Great video!

I don’t understand how Brian’s build as a mullet looks so much better than what mine did hahaha

Definitely tap into your friends parts bins. I personally love seeing my friends shredding gear that I kept but didnt have a bike to put it on.

I just got one couple weeks ago after watching yours and Spindatt videos on the Norton. The things I upgraded are the forks with 140mm Marzocchi Z2 Bomber, Hollowtech BB with 170 cranks and some Shimano M520 SPD pedals. She runs a lot a quicker and lighter. Super fun bike!

Another tip for building something like this is to find, join, and hang out at your local bike co-op. They will have lots of parts that you'll need, have lots of expertise that will be helpful, and can guide you through the build process because they'll genuinely be stoked to see you do it. Win-Win all around.

Front brake adapter is the wrong way

Front brake adapter is the wrong way up (or a wrong adapter altogether)

I really like the green one with yellow logo. Great colorway!

Great vid, good info. Building up my own bike with second hand parts was a very rewarding experience. One of the best things is being able to pick the parts that work best for you instead of replacing or having to live with some stock parts you don't like.

I have built my wife gravel bike last year exactly same way. I had old 105 11s lying around, full kit, did not like old shifters so got new ones from 7000 series for 210.- euros, GRX calipers and new hoses, stem, handlebar, tape, seat, brake discs and wheels had laying around anyways. Ordered Lightcarbon frameset for 740.- euros. Painted myself (luckily I have access to car bodyshop) built it up, all in cost me 1234.- euros, full carbon bike (besides stem)…

Great video. Great information provided.

The black on black looks so good! In 25+ years of riding, I've only ever had 2 complete new bikes. One was in 1998 at the age of 14 (which I still own) and one was in 2016 (which is still my main bike to this day). I have lost count of how many other bikes I have owned, and all of them I've built up from parts. I love building bikes, and part of the appeal is sourcing bargains! Sticking it to "big bike"! My most recent is based around a Marino hardtail frame I picked up second hand. It's an absolute beast and the whole build owes me less than £600 (about $750).

Buying a frame to build your own bike is typically cheaper unless you're buying something at the entry level. The market is saturated with brand new , high end 1-3 year old components at up to 50% off as its easy to build a bike for less than what most companies charge for a full build. For what most companies are charging for a full build , you can build a better bike for less with all the discounts. You're also paying for the labor that the company charges to build the bike + shipping , so yes you get more for your money building your own bike.

One day i want to build a bike but for now i have got a pretty nice one for about 750 new with an RockShox air fork and deore drivtrain. But i think building a bike is a cool process and i want to do it in the future. Nice video

Buying used suspension is risky for people who aren’t knowledgeable. Used hard and never serviced? Is it really a new takeoff? Steerer tube cut too short? In my experience it is always more expensive to build frame up unless you have access to a well stocked parts bin or dealer discount pricing. Every little part you have to buy adds up fast.

For not much more money I’ve just built a Pace hardtail with 12 speed full XT, Fox Factory fork and carbon wheels for just over 2 grand. First new MTB for 20 years :)

That's what I did. I got a BMC Twostroke AL six for 550 bucks. So I had another 500 bucks for upgrades. And now it's a hell of a beast, exactly the way I wanted it. Customized cockpit, dropper seatpost, better fork, wider rims, upgraded brakes. And as I sold all of the original parts I had a little extra budget for some shiny, super unnecessary but extremely nice looking parts 😅

Nice looking bike.

It's a sick bike, I have a helm mk2 on mine and can adjust the geo from 120-150 pretty reasonably, but I leave it at 130

I bought an Orange P7 steel frame mountain bike with Fox Shock, all SRAM 1X. It’s very nice and in sake it was under $1800!

check out the Trek Procaliber 8: alloy frame, 12 speed, dropper, boost, tubeless, Shimano groupset, Recon fork, …

The last bike I bought except for my fatbike was from Craigslist Some guy was just trying to get rid of his GT for a few hundred bucks. He tried to make it a single speed and included all the stuff he took off. Was a young guy with a way older woman in a really nice truck so he didn't really need the money LOL.

Aside from weight, are square taper BBs really that bad? I have mostly external BBs, but it seems like some people swear by square tapers.

Norton is the best example for hardtail, we really need this kind of video for fullsus bikes also. To have fun on a trails without braking the bank🥹🤓

What's the maximum 27.5 rear tire width supported?

Did Poseidon include the rear thru axle with the frame? I saw some early buyers claiming that they had to source the rear thru axle separately when they bought the frame.

Any good forums or sites where I can dig more into this like what parts are compatible with what, how good a part is? I am searching right now to get my first mtb and the prices aren't the most friendly. I have some mechanical knowledge so I should be able to build it without too many problems and sourcing parts I don't have a sh market in my country but even buying them new I am more certain it will be cheaper then completely buying a prebuilt bike.

that bike looks nice bookmarking for later

It’s all about the friends bike network!

this frame is a life saver it's literally the only frame with modern geometry at this low of a price. My matte black XL Norton frame arrives on Monday and I can't wait to start transferring my parts over to it from my current bike when i get off work that day, lol. You wouldn't happen to know if along with the included headset it also includes the extra crown race for using a straight steerer fork with the frame? I'm only asking because I already bought another headset with the correct crown race but if it's already included with the frame then i can return the one I bought and it would save me the pain of having to remove the included one and installing the one i got. I emailed Poseidon and asked but haven't heard back from them yet.

Those bikes you all got in the USA are great bro, this would be perfect for me as i want to start mtb, but i live in europe so there are not really any good budget frame brands like this, and shipping from poseidon to here would cost more than the frame itself.

My hot take about MTB groupsets is that more gears is generally a bad thing; in a discipline where rapid changes in terrain necessitate numerous rapid gear changes, pressing the lever an extra couple of times to get to your desired gear is more annoying than being slightly over or under geared sometimes. I like 10 speed.

bought a supermarket bike 8 years ago , allright components on it deore 3x9 suntour fork , upgraded the fork in 2020 and now finally goinf 1x12 using shimano shifter and deraileur with sunrace casette and kmc chain and raceface narrow wide , would have stuck with full shimano if it didnt require me to basically replace my back wheel to more modern freehub standards to fit the shimano 10-51 casettes (hg freehubs are limited ot the 11 tooth minimum size)

Brand-X doesnt exist anymore. Used to be a great recommendation for a build lole that but not if you can't find them or service/get warranty on them.

I really want to build up a Norton but I already own a Redwood and feel like there’s not a great reason for me to own both.

Thank you! Nolan Thinking of dipping my toe into a Mountain bike. Why 27.5" v 29"?

Is anyone going to talk about what's going on with that front brake adaptor? Either wrong size or upsidedown - that rotor doesn't have much contact with pad and won't be stopping much.

Any suggestions for getting a gravel frame? Does Poseidon sell them?

I built a 27.5 carbon hardtail last summer with mostly used parts from Marketplace and Craigslist for about $800. I live in Colorado where people upgrade their bikes and sell off the "old" parts dirt cheap.

Going for quality take offs is the way to go to build a good beater bike. 🍻🍻

I wish this frame could accommodate a larger size 29 rear. I only have 29 wheelsets on hand 😢

If you bought a 135x10 bike not everything is lost though! Even though boost wheels are stronger, if you build a wheel with nice spokes and nipples and choose a decent hub it will still be trail worthy. Just talking from experience hehe

Mate, you have to go back to school, you guesstimated it cost less than 700 to build the bike............ That is way off, the real cost even with second hand parts, wheelset and fork is more likely about $1,500 and that doesn't include the cost of the tools you will need at a minimum possibly $100 (bleed kit, chain cutter, cassette tool, cable cutters etc) - Here is the real breakdown: FRAME- $300 Box 9 (cassette, shifter, derailleur, chain) - $210 Cables and housing for the shifter and dropper post - $20 Shimano Cranks (second hand) - possibly $40 Bottom Bracket - $30 Pedals - $30 Fork - $150 Stem - $30 Dropper Post - $150 Tires - $80 Tubeless Valves - $20 Sealant - $30 Seat - $50 Handlebars - $30 Grips - $30 Brakes - $100 Wheelset (good luck finding the right driver on the rear hub) - $200 Total: $1500 (not including the tools to assemble - at the least - $100)

😊

I'd say find a cheaper old model bike with good parts, then buy a modern geo frame. Transfer those parts to the new frame, and do whatever with the other frame. "Take offs" are definitely cheaper than those bought brand new.

What size 29 tire can fit?

Here in Ph, Better to Build

3:57 looks wrong

If you have the patience you can find some great deals on used bikes

Nice you've estimated that Brian spent less than $700 for this build but you donated him the front wheel, tyres and the fork...

I'm in the process of "downgrading" many of my bikes to square taper. Bearing life matters to me, as does a more tunable chainline.

progressive geometry isn't good enough, we need woke geometry in 2024