My Min-Maxing strategy for 2023 may work if the bike industry keeps the current crop of standards relevant for a while. :) It consists of building bikes from the frame up using components I already have and others I can find with nice discounts, as I need them. Basically, buy the good stuff right away and stick to it for a long time.
The good stuff for me: RockShox Ultimate-level forks, SRAM RSC-level brakes for ease of bleeding. NSB pedals and stems because Canada. OneUp bars and droppers. Stan's Flow MK4 on Vault hubs, but WAO on Onyx would be tempting. Trailmaster LTD seat.
This may not minimize the cost at first, but choosing each and every component and keeping them for several years on various bikes is probably not too bad cost-wise on the long run...and I get to ride bikes with the complete build exactly as I want it. Moreso, building a bike is super fun and riding a bike you just built from the frame up is such an excellent feeling.
One thing I really don't like about this strategy is how expensive framesets are these days. It seems most new carbon frames are selling for 4500-5000$ CDN. That sucks.
Sept. 26, 2023, 5:34 p.m. - FlipSide
My Min-Maxing strategy for 2023 may work if the bike industry keeps the current crop of standards relevant for a while. :) It consists of building bikes from the frame up using components I already have and others I can find with nice discounts, as I need them. Basically, buy the good stuff right away and stick to it for a long time. The good stuff for me: RockShox Ultimate-level forks, SRAM RSC-level brakes for ease of bleeding. NSB pedals and stems because Canada. OneUp bars and droppers. Stan's Flow MK4 on Vault hubs, but WAO on Onyx would be tempting. Trailmaster LTD seat. This may not minimize the cost at first, but choosing each and every component and keeping them for several years on various bikes is probably not too bad cost-wise on the long run...and I get to ride bikes with the complete build exactly as I want it. Moreso, building a bike is super fun and riding a bike you just built from the frame up is such an excellent feeling. One thing I really don't like about this strategy is how expensive framesets are these days. It seems most new carbon frames are selling for 4500-5000$ CDN. That sucks.