Good things come to those who wait!

I'm still waiting for the frame to arrive at the not-so-local bike shop and the suspense is killing me! I must have built this bike a hundred times over every time I close my eyes so waiting for shipments from the U.S. is inconvenient at best!

All other parts arrived at the bike shop a couple of weeks ago, but it's about a 2-3hr round trip so it's not worth making unneccesarily and the frame is due the first week in February. To support the build, I have had to invest in certain tools. I thought it might be interesting to publish what is required:

• Lezyne Cassette & Bottom Bracket Tool
• Huge 38mm adjustable wrench
• 1/4" Torque wrench
• Magnetic hex bit to 1/4" socket adapter
• Teflon Grease
• Copper Grease
• Chain whip
• Shimano Hollowtech II Pretension Tool
• Spoke Tool
• IceToolz Headset Press
• Park Tool Crown Race Setting Tool (1.5")
• Birzmann Tube Cutter
• Superstar 3rd Hand Tool
• Superstar P-handled Allen Key Set

As you can see, there are alot of tools that I've had to add to my arsenal to actually be able to build this bike. I've been using these new tools to strip and deep clean my Cube Hardtail.

February can't come soon enough!

Hope M4 Evo Brakes

So, the first piece in the jigsaw are the Hope M4 Tech Evo brakes. The Hope M4s provide a level of adjustability which are second to none. In addition, you can't read a review without people talking about the awesome modulation. The downside of nearly every review seems to be the power, but a bikeradar test put them very near the top of their list, topped only by the Hope V2 and Formula The ONE brakes...fair enough.

The 2012 Tech Evo model has around 15% more power than the previous version and setup (including pad alignment) is critical. Oh, and did I mention the titanium hardware?!

These will be fitted to the Cube in the short term as I was on a trail recently and tried to use the Hayes Stroker Rydes, but nearly pulled the lever back through the bars. No better after bleeding or a service so I'm done with them.

Parts Parts Parts!

So I've spent quite a bit of time researching the parts I'm going to use for the build, and it currently looks like this...As I buy the parts, I'll take photos and explain my decision for choosing it. The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that the stem and bars are missing. The bars and stem will be taken off my Cube LTD Pro. They are an Easton Haven 711mm and Funn Light CNC stem.

• Yeti SB-66c Frame
• Fox 34 TALAS 160 FIT CTD w/Trail Adjust
• Industry Nine All Mountain
• KS LEV 385mm Adjustable Seatpost
• Hope M4 Evo Brakes
• Shimano XTR M985 Shadow+ 10sp Rear Mech
• Shimano XTR M986 Direct Mount 2x10 Front Mech
• Shimano XTR M980 10 Speed Trigger Shifter
• Shimano XT M771 10 Speed Cassette
• Shimano M810 Saint Bottom Bracket (73mm)
• Shimano SLX M665 Double Chainset
• Cane Creek 40 Lower Headset Cup (ZS56/40)
• Cane Creek 40 Upper Headset Tall Carbon (ZS44/28.6)
• SRAM PC1091 10 Speed Hollow Pin Chain
• Fizik Gobi XM MTB Saddle 2012 (it's black and gold!!!)
• ODI Yeti Hardcore Lock-On Bonus Pack
• 2 x Continental Mountain King II ProTection 2.4

P.S. I'm undecided on pedals at the moment, but they will probably end up being Shimano XT or XTR Trail affairs.