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Gear Talk / Elephant NFE build up.. components, suggestions please!

« on: January 31, 2016, 12:14:08 am »

I am just about to purchase a new XL Elephant National Forest Explorer (aka NFE) and will be getting only the frame/fork. I have been out of the cycling world for well over a decade and understandably, things have changed! I would really appreciate any and all of your suggestions for the components that I will eventually be putting on this bike. The style of riding that I will be doing is mostly short day trips, some over nighters, and I'll be traveling on some major paved roads but primarily on mountain gravel roads, and forest service roads. I have always been a mountain biker so any sort of road style components (shimano dura 150, etc) are completely foreign to me. I will be doing this on a budget so I'm not necessarily looking for the best (although I always gravitate towards it!), just something that is proven, and most importantly, reliable. I've always used Shimano components but I'm open to SRAM, any others? I am looking for suggestions on the whole build. Should I buy my components all separately, look for a bike on Craigslist with good components and switch them all over and then sell the frame/fork? What has worked for you guys? Please feel free to ask me any questions, and I welcome all of your input. I will update as I build it, and post pictures as well. Thanks in advance!