Does anyone have experience with Lexon and better yet, updates on the Riot frame? I'm close to pulling the trigger on this frame as a replacement for my 2014 Specialized Crave Expert (HT). I'm new to buying/building my own bike, but I do my own maintenance (including servicing my fork) and have installed many upgrades. The Riot seems to be the best fit for what I'm looking for in a full suspension bike - more XC leaning than Trail. I mostly ride classic Mid-Atlantic XC trails, lots of flow with some rocks, roots with the occasional (smallish) jumps & drops, but I am looking for a bike that is a little more capable taking on chunkier stuff (dare I use the term downcountry). I race a few times a year Cat 2/3 depending on my fitness level, but at this point in my racing career I pretty much use the races as motivation for off-season training (my dreams of standing on the podium are long gone).
My plan is to re-purpose as many components from my Crave (BTW - it is no longer rideable due to a bent seat stay) to help save on cost, including:
Fork: Reba RL 100mm travel (eventually upgrade to a 120mm fork)
Drivetrain and shifter: Sram GX 11 spd
Cranks and Chainring Sram GX 32 tooth
Wheelset: Mavic Crossmax aluminum (going to need adapters for rear hub for boost spacing)
Brakes & Levers Shimano BR-505 F-180mm/R-160mm
Other: Saddle, pedals, grips, tires, wolftooth dropper lever
Components to source:
Shock: Rockshox Monarch RL
Dropper Post: PNW Ranger gen3 or Loam
Handlebar: TBD - Open to recommendation for a 720-760mm width with no more than 10 degrees rise (looking to upgrade from the 700mm wide handlebar that came with the Crave)
Stem: TBD - Again open to recommendations, but thinking about something a little shorter than the 70mm stem on the Crave.
I'm 6' tall and plan on going with the Large frame. Regarding the frame fit/sizing discussion, I found the Joy of Bike video Lee Bugusky and Lee McCormack very useful: [url]https://youtu.be/HyppZOpHocM
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Again, this will be my first time building up a bike and purchasing directly from China and therefore I have a few questions:
Is my approach and thinking sound?
Have I overlooked anything/Is there something else I should be taking into consideration?
Is there a different frame I should consider? FWW my runner up is ICAN S3 (others I considered were the similar XC FS frames from: BXT, Carbonda, Seraph, Airwolf, Tideace, Trifox and Lightcarbon).
Is Lexon legitimate?
How does the Riot ride?
Is Alibaba the best place to purchase the frame from?
Apologies for the long post, this site and all that have contributed have been a great resource.