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Man, if this doesn’t make you want to start getting involved in the ST.com contests, I don’t know what will. All that hard work payed off for sure. In any event, here she is…done! And I love it. It wasn’t easy either or cheap. I did a ton of research, a lot of it right here on ST.com, and I learned a lot. I did decide to let the bike shop do most of the work because, honestly, I’m just not set-up with all the tools and stuff. I have some basic stuff, but don’t have the specialty tools required to complete the build. The guys at The Bike Shop in Ormond are really great mechanics and treat me good and they only charged me 50 bucks to do all the hard stuff, kind of a no brainer. Let me give you the tour….
Starting at the top, I went with white Specialized Grappler lock-on grips and Hayes Stroker Trail hydro brakes. The Grapplers look pretty sweet and have a really good feel to them. A little softer that my LS Moabs on my Trance. I am, however, a little concerned about their durability after my ride today. We’ll see how it goes. The bar is a Crank Brother Iodine 2, 700mm and stem is the Easton Havoc.
Got my favorite pedals on there, Crank Brother Mallets. Love these guys. The SRAM X9 2×10 drivetrain is none other than BAD ASS! Looks awesome, performs awesome…so far! I upgraded to Jagwire cables to keep these guys shifting like a champ.
Got the WTB Silverado saddle and the incredible Kind Shock i950r seatpost with remote lever. I swear this thing is awesome. I’ll get more into it later.
Got my favorite Kenda Nevegals, 2.1 on rear and 2.35 up front, wrapped around a set of Easton Havoc AM wheelset. Both tried and true performers but do, unfortunately, get overshadowed by the sweeeeeet Fox Float 32 FIT fork with Kashima Coat. This is one fine piece of equipment.
I did get a chance to ride it today and here’s my initial observations. Remember, just one ride, about 2 hours. I’ll post a full review in 3-6 months. I was honestly thinking that it wouldn’t perform nearly as well as my Trance. I love my Trance and I’m super happy with the performance of that bike. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Sortie runs head to head with my Trance in many areas. It handles incredible well. The Knuckle Box is very fluid and smooth and compliments the fork really nicely. The suspension as a whole is much smoother than my Trance. Now granted my fork on my Trance is a 2009 Fox F-Series, so I didn’t expect otherwise. One area I though my Trance was a better performer was climbing. Again, it’s early, so I can’t say for sure, but we’ll see. Overall, it performs rock solid and I can’t wait to get to know it better.
What do you think?
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Great looking set up!! I’m sure all the planning and dough will pay off. Looking forward to hearing how she treats you down the road. Congrats again on the contest win and the sweet ride.
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Sweet lookng rig…
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Great looking bike
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Awesome build! Everything looks well thought out. Need new pictures with it dirty and a first ride report. 😄 Later,
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Oh I’m jealous. Would love to own one of those one day. Maybe I’ll pick up a 2011 one this summer. Full XTR kit or sell the group for a X0 2×10. I was so close. I was planning on submitting the full eleven81 bike components catalog. Just never got to it in-time. Oh well, hey trek7k got any spare sortie frames lying around? 😃 Also thanks for the shirt and stickers I wear it around when I’m working at the bike shop and the stickers grace my stand and bike rack.
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That’s a gorgeous looking build! I’m glad you were able to do the frame justice!
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Very nice. Looking forward to updated reviews.
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