Building a Transition Blindside
Brakes:
Brakes – Custom
For brakes, I wanted a powerful setup but didn’t want a heavy brakeset. Putting together a set of Avid Code calipers to Avid Juicy Ultimate lever bodies (with Straitline levers instead of carbon levers) produced a brake that is not only lighter than a Juicy 7 brake, but almost as light as a Juicy Carbon brakeset. At ~295g per side, these brakes not only stop just as well as a normal Code, but they’re lighter to boot. Some durability is obviously lost by not using the Code lever, but I’ve never had a problem with the Juicy lever as far as breaking one, so this shouldn’t be an issue.
Our more in depth thoughts on the Straitline levers can be read here (click to enlarge)
In addition to that, picking lightweight rotors can also help reduce weight. l also opted to run a 7″ rotor in the back and it’s proven to be more than enough. Running one metallic and one organic pad as well and that’s proved very nice. If you’re looking to get light rotors that aren’t too crazy, Formula’s are your best bet. You might have to get some different adapters as well depending on which option you go with. I picked some lighter disc adapters as well as added Ti bolts to mount the rotors and the caliper to the adapters.
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The last bit added is the HEL stainless hoses that make these brakes that much sweeter. They use swaged fittings (pressed fittings) and are full stainless including all fittings. HEL’s made a big name in the moto realm but have recently started to move over to the mountain bike side. The stainless hoses are stronger than standard lines, and they feel a bit better than the stock hose does. By HEL using full stainless lines and fittings the setup is a lot safer and more reliable than some stainless kits that contain aluminum fittings. In addition, the fittings can rotate so no more cheap twisting and messing about with the standard hose/olive setup when you start to tighten it down.
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The other brakeset options I’d suggest are Formula’s K24, Bianco, or the new Formula One. The K24 / Bianco’s are lighter than the custom setup above, while the new Formula One’s are even lighter and offer more power than the K24 / Bianco’s.
The Blindside has an 8″ floating disc brake option. It weighs in at 356g (not including axle) but you won’t need a rear disc brake adapter any more. It is setup to work with a 12mm x 135mm rear hub and a 150mm axle. The floating brake sits outside of the frame itself, so the bike will always use a 135mm hub no matter if you have a floater or not.
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Cockpit:
Grips – Oury Lock On’s
You can buy custom etched levers like this in our Store (click to enlarge)
Handlebar – Deity Dirty 30 handlebar (cut to 28″)
The Dirty 30 bar is new this year from Deity. It’s not too heavy and has a great sweep and rise to them. They’re 7075 bars with a 1″ rise with a nice sweep and are redesigned to be more durable. HRCS graphics are etched into the powdercoat before clearcoat and the finish is more durable than previous Deity bars.
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Handlebar end caps – Straitline
These things are great. They pretty much extend your grips and I get no more pinched palms on the edge of the bars anymore because of them. The end cap looks similar to everyone else’s, but it’s machined so that it raises upward towards the end of the cap. This gives it a good feeling and essentially lengthens your grip space.
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Headset – Hope 1.5 to 1.125 zero stack
Great headset. Low stack height. Lightweight. Smooth. The other option typically just as light is the e13 cups with FSA bearings for roughly the same weight.
If you’d like to read more about this Hope headset check here (click to enlarge)
Saddle – Transition AM Saddle
There are definitely lighter saddles than the Transition AM saddle, but it’s a seat that can take a beating. The seat feels good and has a very nice shape to it. It’s also pretty inexpensive as well. Replacing this seat with a road saddle would save a good bit of weight but won’t be quite as durable as this saddle.
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Seatpost – Thomson Elite
Hands down, Thomson makes some of the best seatposts in my opinion. It’s one of those great set and forget pieces that you never want to neglect but can because it’s made so great. It’s lightweight and strong, but isn’t available in the Masterpiece option for 30.0 so the Elite post works just fine for this case.
find out more about Thomson’s seatposts here (click to enlarge)
Seatpost collar – Hope
Lightweight and reliable. The Hope collar weighs only 20g and is simple. The stock TBC QR collar weighed 43g and I don’t need the adjustable quick release snagging or the adjustments it offers when going downhill.
Stem – Thomson X4 50mm 31.8
It’s a solid stem that goes well with the Thomson seatpost. It’s machined beautifully and fits well with this build. Other lightweight integrated stem options are the e.thirteen ali boxxer stem, or the Sunline boxxer stem. All three of these stems are about the same weight too.
You can find out more info on the X4 stems here (click to enlarge)
Check the gallery for more pictures of the parts.
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