I have been meaning to tally up how much this bike ended up costing.

Although comparable bikes would cost nearly twice as much, this is a LOT of bike for a 12 year old. That being said, she does love it.

Would I build another Chinese carbon bike? It depends. The bike market has come back down to earth now post COVID, and the value of building your own bike vs buying a commercially available bike with full manufacturer warranty is negligible.

All that being said, there is a certain pride when it comes to seeing the bike you built vs the bike you bought.

Any xc frames that can take 40+ chainrings?

The mentioned Airwolf frame is a XC frame:

https://airwolfcarbonbike.com/product/yfm026-chamelon-carbon-mtb-frame-29-xc-boost-carbon-frame-thru-axle-148-quick-release-142-135-max-tire-29er2-45-inch-mtb-bicycle-frame/

Yew! How exciting! Very nice colour choice

Last year, Dangerholm showed off his "Super Gravel" Scott Scale RC build - a gorgeous Porsche Forest Green with matte gold accessorized fully rigid flat bar gravel bike.

This year, Scott have announced that they are making their own version of the bike - the Scott Scale GR.

Now that I have completed my first Chinese Carbon build for my daughter, I think it is my turn - and the above builds have inspired me.

I currently ride a Marin DSX 2 flat bar gravel bike. It has served me VERY well. It has handled everything I ave thrown at it from short rides with the family around the neighbourhood, to long distanced rides to mountain biking tracks in the hills and back home to the 'burbs. In ~3500km all that's been needed is the rear wheel to be rebuilt with a stronger rim (which is expected with how hard I ride it) and a few sets of tires.

What I like about it:

• 42 Tooth Chainring/10-51 Cassette
• versatility
• Easy to work on

What I don't like about it:

• It's a bit heavy
• XL frame size slightly too small for me
• Not too exciting to look at

About me: I am a bigger rider being 196cm tall and ~110kg. I ride and XL frame, and even then I find the DSX 2 a bit small for me. I ride my bike just about every day, and love learning new skills/how to do things myself.

My plan: My wife, daughter and I all ride bikes. My daughter's bike build I have covered on the forum - I will build a similar one for my wife soon, and I have a gravel bike and a dual suspension bike. Now that my daughter is on her 29er, I want all 3 of us to have 29ers with 10-51 12speed so all our wheels can be interchangeable.

Komm's Super Gravel bike build
(please chime in with any suggestions)
Fully rigid carbon boost frame and fork Super Gravel bike.

Frame:
FM1306
Pro: Great geometry. Available in XL size. Have dealt with Wing at Carbonda with great success.
Con: Expensive (from Carbonda), Max chainring size 36T

Spcycle T1000
Pro: Very similar to the Scott Scale frame
Con: Only available in S, M, L (I will check the geo chart and compare the L to other XL frames)

Fork
Carbonda CFO 496 - Rigid boost carbon fork

Wheels
Elite Wheels SLR-MTB 29er

Tires
Vittoria Terreno XC Race

Drivetrain
I will stick with a Shimano 12 speed 10-51. Cranks/chainring will be decided when we know the limitations of the frame, but by the looks of things I won't be able to stick with a 42t chainring on a boost hardtail bike.

Brakes
I would love to try out some Lewisbike brakes, but they are so expensive when I can get light weight Shimano XT brakes for less!

Cockpit
TBA - would love some guidance

Seatpost/Saddle
TBA - I would probably go for a dropper post.

Any advice from the esteemed Chinertown crew would be great to help build a strong but light Super Gravel bike!

Komm

Enter (stage left)

Well, the build is complete!

It was very straight forward for my first full bike build.

There are a couple of things that I will need to change: the 1 x 12 groupset came with a 30t front ring, which just is not big enough for the wide range 12 speed. We don't live in a hilly area, so the bigger rear cogs aren't getting used at all. I will change it to a 34t - unless anyone has any suggestions?

The brakes are big and bulky - they look lovely, but the rear caliper only JUST fits, pressing up against the frame. I might get a mixed set of brakes - 2 pot on the back, 4 pot on the front like the magura trail sport, OR a custom order from Lewis bike.

The current weight is, and I will remind you this was not a weight weenie build, comes in at 9.86kg (the aim was to be lighter than her old, smaller 27.5" wheeled bike that was just over 12kg)

I will reply when I get some more time with the final costs (spoiler: it was significant, but still half that of a similar build from a boutique brand)

The frame is out for delivery! It will be a long wait for my daughter to get home from school to unbox it...

In other news, we have been doing bits and pieces whilst waiting for the frame:

Most parts have now arrived, just need grips and pedals - and then any incidentals that may pop up during the build.

Set the wheels up tubeless - got some Vittoria Barzo tires on sale. 2.25 up front, and 2.1 on the back.

Not 100% sold on the disks - we will have to see how they perform.

And had to do a test fit of the tire and wheel on the fork... can you tell we can't wait for the frame to arrive?