Giant XTC Custom Made MTB

OK, no more running for me. I move on to another old-time hobby - cycling, or I learn that nowadays many like to call it biking. Here I intro my very first bike after more than a decade I quit biking...

The Giant XTC Mountain Bike MTB. It was in the "assembly plant" of a local bike shop LBS as I did not order a factory complete bike. I worked out a different configurations with the boss and have him tailor made a complete bike within my budget with a weight of less than 11.5kg...

It's an XTC aluminum frame with Aluxx SL technology. A complete 2012 Shimano XT 3x10 HollowTech II groupset with Ice-Tech (brakes) and RapidFire Plus (shifters)...

 

 

Fox Factory 32 Float FIT 100mm with remote fork...

No budget for Kashima Coat forks but it does come with FIT technology.

Wheelset is DT Swiss X1900 couples with Maxxis CrossMark 26x2.1 donuts..

I reckon 2.1 might be a little wider to my preference, 1.95 might be good. Anyhow, I will have to gain my experience over the tires before I can tell the difference of other models.

The rest of the stuff such as stem, seat post etc is Giant factory standard. "Factory standard" also means rooms for improvement. :)

If you are getting a new bike, you will have to reserve some spare for accessories. It's not me if I don't ask for free stuff from the shop :")

 

 

 

A free upgrade to better paddle, free chain guard, pouch, pump, bottle and flashlight mount. I paid a little more "upgrade costs" to get a better rear flashlight (CatEye 5-LED) as well as the KED Champion Visor helmet. Of course not all are free, I paid for the flashlight (CREE XM-L 1000LM LED) and the gloves.

If you stay close or you plan to refill the tire in gas station (or if you have the portable air pump for your car tires), you might want to get this nipple as well...

And such bikes don't come with attached stand, so you have to get one...

I recommend to get hook stand like above (by the way, it's free too. Hehe...). Just lift and hook and you're done. You will have to do some fixing for other types of stand. One accessories missing from above is the bike carrier, I am still looking for one that is easy to assemble and value for money.

All above costs me RM5k+ for the bike and around RM400 for the accessories (my friend test-posted a RM7k sale for my bike at one of the popular local bike websites and he got few firm buyers!!). I could never get the same configurations in the same budget if I go for factory complete bike as I will need to do some upgrades. For example, I would have to upgrade the cassette, chain and brakes on Giant XTC 0 to get a complete XT groupset. In addition, the price was a "friend price" as the LBS boss was my junior in secondary school :)

Sen Aik Trading aka Legend Bike SB. The shop offers good price too even without "friend price". I recommend this shop to you if you live nearby. It's better to buy from LBS near you so it's convenient to service your bike and you don't have to pay for minor tuning.

For the same budget, I could get an entry level of full suspension MTB. In fact, many recommended me to get one and I was offered a full suspension with decent spec. I did not pick one as I wanted to get some "raw experience" with hardtail MTB and polish up my off-road skills without much assistance (from full-sus bike), and the offer (of full-sus bike) was on SRAM groupset which I prefer Shimano over SRAM (means I needed to pay extra for replacement to Shimano). I also considered 10kg carbon hardtail bike but it's way above my budget with the same configuration I want. 29er? I tested but I look like a mouse riding on an elephant :(

Last two things before I end, especially for guys...

Padded pants - highly recommended! It's to protect your "balls"!! :) And this is not free, I paid for it and worth paying. Hehe... 

And the most important one...

The glasses, Oakley Pit Boss (of course not FOC!). You'd know, one must have style even though he can't ride. LoL.