IT ALL STARTS WITH THE FRAME: PRIMER 29 'DREAM BUILD'
You should know the score by now. The Dream Build team get a bike and do their thing, but this time it is a little different. We let Gee Milner and the crew hand pick the components on the bike, which has resulted in some pretty special choices, some of which we’ve never heard of before! Enjoy.
Hi Gee, so what do we have here? What’s the bike and what do you plan to do with it?
The build is based around an INTENSE Primer 29 frameset and is my own personal bike. I’ve wanted to ride/own an INTENSE since my friend had a Tracer over 10 years ago, so this is a bike we’ve created to meet what I want as a ‘do it all’ bike for where I live in Snowdonia.
The first thing that I noticed was that you swapped out the air shock for a coil. What’s the story behind that?
I’ve never had the chance to ride a EXT Storia shock before and I’ve heard amazing things from a number of people. I love how a coil feels and whilst air shocks have made a massive advancement in the last few years, there’s something extra special about a coil shock.
And the forks, you are going full EXT?
I’ve ridden the Era V1 fork previously and it was incredibly impressive even out of the box with no specific setup. That bike still ran a non-EXT shock, and whilst the forks felt amazing the whole bike had so much imbalance because the rear shock would blow through its travel and overheat. I wanted to try both of their suspension offerings together and see what all the fuss was about, and I think it’s important to ride the things we build.
Tell us about the cranks. Garbaruk will be a new name to most people.
Garbaruk are one of the many incredible brands based in Poland producing amazing cutting-edge components, their CNC quality is some of the best we’ve seen and I would strongly recommend them.
The jockey wheels and cage look pretty special?
To be honest there is no real thinking behind this other than it’s something different and adds to the visual aspect of the bike. Of course again the CNC quality from Garbaruk is second to none.
And cassette, is it all Garbaruk?
Yep.
The brakes are new to me too.
Braking brakes are an Italian brand originally involved in motorbikes, I believe they’re actually the most successful brake brand within motorbike competition. I first started riding their brakes three years ago and haven’t looked back since. They’ve got incredible feel, power and reliability. I’ve not bled a set yet and they perform no matter what. Simple single pot with easily available pads, what more can you ask for?
Can you break down the rest of the build for us?
OneUP Components EDC cockpit was something I wanted since I first became aware of them, I love the idea of having a little multitool which is easy to access if you need to tighten or tweak something whilst riding.
Like every cyclist, I’m skeptical of new thinking or new product but every single item OneUp make just looks and feels so well thought out. Rather than just stamp their logo on a catalogue item you can tell there has been so much development go into it which is really nice to see.
Crankbrothers Synthesis carbon rims because after riding these rims for the last three years on a variety of bikes over what must be 1000’s of KM’s, I’ve never had a single failure or reliability issue... that’s a 100% record. I’ve never even had to true a wheel.
Tires, no brainer here. Maxxis Minion DHR & DHF, tried and tested over many years by almost every mountain biker and still at the top of their game.
MilkIt sealant and valves, we’re working with them this year because after looking at every other tubeless offering available, MilkIt are just on another level compared with the competition in what has become an area of product focussed more on the shiny aesthetic rather than the science of performance.
Assembled with Motorex, no marketing BS, just pure performance based on decades of learning and development.
And of course some protection at the start with invisiFRAME?
Bikes are so bloody expensive these days, if you have an issue with spending £80 on a frame protection kit on your £10,000 mountain bike then you have more money than most haha.
Any special techniques or special treatment involved with the build?
The technique of carrying all the components and tools with a dodgy half broken gardening cart and not dropping it down a mountain!
Any problems with the build?
Absolutely not, INTENSE make some of the best finished frames available, tubed hose/cables made building it a dream.
And I’ve got to ask. You can’t help but notice that the bike was built up on the top of a mountain! What’s the deal there?
Dream Build has become popular due to the ASMR aspect, people want to sit down and watch some of the best bikes being built-up to some relaxing music, we live in the middle of Snowdonia and the scenery surrounding us is incredible. Why not combine that backdrop with a bike build? For sure it’s a bit more work and time but the end results are worth it I feel. Nothing will ever totally replace the Dream Build workshop, but we have to keep trying new things and keep engaging our audience.
SPEC
| Frame | INTENSE Primer 29, Large |
| Shock | EXT Storia V3 |
| Fork | EXT Era V2 |
| Bars | OneUp |
| Stem | OneUp with EDC tool |
| Grips | OneUp |
| Headset | Shimano Pro |
| Shifter | Shimano XTR |
| Rear Mech | Shimano XTR |
| Brakes | Braking InCas |
| Seat | Deity |
| Seatpost | OneUP V2 180mm |
| Crankset | Garbaruk XC |
| Chainring | Garbaruk 32T |
| Chaindevice | NEVER! |
| Cassette | Garbaruk 11-51 |
| Chain | YBN 12 speed |
| Pedals | Crankbrothers Trail mallet |
| Wheelset | Crankbrothers E11 |
| Tires | Maxxis Minion DHR/DHF |
