Orange P7 dream build

I have to admit I'm lost and need direction, so your informed opinions will be appreciated

I have owned an Orange Aluminium O for around 16 years love it and will never part with it but cycling friends mostly had P7's back in the day and I remember whenever I rode these I loved the slightly more relaxed handling and compliant ride so recently bought one off eBay circa 1995 turned out to be a pup with a seized seat post and uniquely I'm told a bottom bracket inserted the wrong way round!
Then I found Retrobike and it wasn't long before I picked up a nice 1997 ish P7 frame only (thank you)

Plan is to build a lightweight bike to use for cross country work utilising modern crankset, cassette, deraillieur, shifters, V Brakes with the rest of the components being of the era (I accept I may have to fit modern equipment until retro parts become available)
I'm fortunate enough to have a reasonable budget to fund this - hope the wife doesnt read this!
My thinking is I will buy quality universal kit that I can use on future bikes should I ever wish to sell on the P7 frame
Components I'm thinking of are more mainstream and consider the availability of the possibility of parts replacements so Shimano XT or XTR, Ritchey,Hope etc. no point in looking at kit that is so rare it hardly becomes available

So far I have bought a set of Pace RC36Evo2 forks and have now stalled so please advise what parts you would now go for, please be specific as this is my first build so struggling already with the options around headset, chain sets, wheels etc

Shall I go the new XT 10 speed casette route?

I'm 6'2" and the bike is 21"

All advice greatly received

as long as the stem is the right length to get good fit, pretty much eveything else is up to you.

Fit what makes you happy.

Thank you for the response

I was thinking too much

Just rem that some may not mix and match. ASFAIK 8 and 9 wasnt too bad. I would think that 10 speeds thinner chain and 8 speed mechs/cranks may not be so smooth.

I personally would make your mind up and just go down one route. If going retro you can always buy an functional lx/stx/xt/xtr mech/cassette/shifters ect that works while waiting for a NOS one. If your not fussed about cosmetics then most things are very cheap and easy to get. Its the minty stuff that takes time and cash.

enjoy your building

If you're not going period correct with the groupset I'd just get the most modern Shimano XT or XTR you can as it's very good. If I had the money I'd go XTR all day long (especially the shifters, they're ace and as good as it gets imo) but it does cost loads more then XT and is not that much better. Also consider SLX as that's nearly as good as XT

Hope finishing kit is always very nice so worth while. Thomson are my default choice for seat post and stem.

All thanks for the advice really helps
I will go XT 9 speed with XTR shifters
Will try for 1" aheadset so I have more options on stem and hence fit
Will go for Syncros or Thompson seat post
XTR V Brakes
Any recommendations on wheels greatly appreciated

Have some built with XTR or Hope hubs on Mavic, velocity or DT Swiss rims.

If you are going modern then XTR hubs with DT Swiss XR440 rims built with Sapim Lasers or ACI aplina DB spokes (if you are a bit heavier) 3x would be a light wheelset for a light build.

You know with 9 speed you could by Paul thumbie adapters and use Dura ace 9 speed bar end shifters to make thmbies. These are very light. I have 10 speed variety on my race bike.

i have m970 shifters and m770 shifters (3 sets) , the m770 are just better constructed IMO, xtr have gaps in the casing ?

the m770 is a clunkier click but i quite like that

I had a 21" clockwork and im 6'3"
TBH every bike ive tried lower than that is just too wee. Its either the seatube or the top tube and getting them right is a real boon and thats why i found the 21" to be perfect. Over the years it went from stx cantis with the F9 fork to a more versatile mtb with hope discs{no 2 caliper] hope wheels,Z2 bam fork and mostly XT m379 groupset


I rue the day i sold it but id just had a huge spill and didnt think id every be able to cycle properly again Since then ive built about 4 18" and 19" and although i can deal with some aspects with a longer post and longer stem it was never as comfortable as the 21"
My clockwork started rigid for commuting and in the end i was using it as a jump bike to practice drop offs and the like. tbh it was like a glove ,i felt i could do just about anything on it

My current ride is a Ti affair with all the super bits and standard mtber would love to own. Its a 20 1/2" and although its a really good fit it just doesnt feel the same ,though i put that down to losing fitness after the accident and not fully recovering enough to get back to where i was .

I reclon at your height the 21" or something like my 20 1/2" would be perfect

Shall I go the new XT 10 speed cassette route?

Click to expand...

I would None of us are getting any younger and those extra gears might mean the difference
I say go for them and report back to us on the ratios :?