Thoughts on Complete Bikes and R's PBJ Rigid MTB ATB Build
We have been spending a lot of time on build kits lately. While so much of our engineering and design effort goes into crafting a beautiful frame and fork, those things are not rideable without parts. What parts to choose though? There are a lot of really good and really, really good options out there these days.
To help make it easier on us, Nick and I have been talking a ton about our guiding principles. For now, because each bike is assembled one at a time in our San Francisco shop by our incredibly small team, so we really need to have things streamlined. For that reason, we have two builds for each model: one that I've always described as "the best stuff for the least money" and one that is more or less the "blank check build".
To me, it is really important to provide value to everyone who orders a bike. Being steeped in the bike world and talking often with my friends who are career bike mechanics, designers, and framebuilders gives me insight into what parts work well and which we can pass on (even if they are bright and shiny). I find that, like myself, these hands-on people are very practical and tend to choose parts that function really well, are easy to maintain, and last a long time. That is basically how I want everything that comes out of the shop to be – not something you ride for a season or two, but something to grow old with. Something you can freshen up when the time comes.
Things that cost a little more up front can cost you a lot less over the long run. But also, bikes are expensive, we get it, and there are definitely price points we are trying to hit, and we are doing everything we can to balance that. We have planned out plenty of build kits that we can eke another $500 off of, but the difference in functional quality for a 10% price cut is so significant that we often think the value proposition makes the extra cost worth it.
In the last three years, we have gone from offering full custom builds, to very limited custom, to where we are now with no customization. It has been good to rest here for a bit while we get ready for the next phase of the bikes we offer. Those will still not have customization, but we are excited to offer a few more options for folks. If you have any thoughts on what goes through your brain when shopping for a bike, we are eager to hear them. Let us know in the comments or drop us a note.
With all that, here is a PBJ we built up for R. This is a Medium PBJ with the GX build. I love this drivetrain. It works flawlessly, it doesn't break the bank, and it is very serviceable. For brakes we went with SRAM DB8's, which feel great IMO, and while they aren't the flashiest, they were recommended to me by some mechanic friends who love them for their ease of maintenance. I have been loving mine. Of course it's running a PBJ handlebar. It also has a Range dropper seatpost from PNW Components, from whom we are now sourcing more stuff.
Check out all the details of the PBJ here.
